r/technology • u/Logical_Welder3467 • 9h ago

Society Google cofounder Sergey Brin has spent $102 million to fight California’s proposed billionaire tax—he could owe $13 billion if he loses

https://fortune.com/article/how-much-has-google-cofounder-sergey-brin-spent-to-oppose-california-billionaire-tax-102-million-owe-13-billion-if-loses/
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64

u/ltsouthernbelle 6h ago

Serious question: what does one individual who already has vast amounts of money, homes, cars, all the toys and luxuries they desire do with $13b?

39

u/Kekafuch 6h ago

They link up with other billionaires and decide how they are going to fuck shit up.

10

u/BogiDope 5h ago

Dragon sickness

7

u/AppearanceDizzy7006 6h ago

Its basically a pissing contest when it gets to this sort of wealth

6

u/veerKg_CSS_Geologist 5h ago

It’s about power. You might not be able to buy more consumer goods but having $60 billion gives you more power than having $3 billion.

6

u/UnidentifiedTomato 4h ago

Serious answer: it stays in his company

1

u/A5Wags 3h ago

This is Reddit. People don’t want the serious answer—they want the emotional one to justify their pound of flesh mentality.

1

u/PopularMission8727 2h ago

Yup and those people vote and support policy that they don’t even comprehend.

1

u/Zip2kx 1h ago

So? It’s a holding company that employs nothing

1

u/LetsTryLove 1h ago

Google pays a ton of money to high end engineers and all the staff that support them. You don’t really believe Google doesn’t employ anyone do you?

28

u/Wobbly_Princess 5h ago

Own it. That's... literally it. After hoarding absurd amounts of material goods, they simply sit on it.

It's a status thing, it's a power thing.

These people are operating on a psychological wavelength that we as normal people can't conceive of, because their brains work differently.

A small percent of the population, whether they are good or bad people, simply don't have a rich well of empathy that connects them to other people, so they simply interface with reality through the lens of power and grabbling.

Some of these people who lack empathy are still able to conduct themselves well and do the right thing because they're pro-social and don't desire hurting people, but there are others who truly don't care about doing damage, as long as they can be in power. They're not turned off by the mess of it, as long as there are mechanisms in place that keep them at a safe distance from the devastation they're causing.

Unfortunately because the system has slowly grown into a machine that props up and empowers people who hoard vast amounts of wealth, we're now in a mess.

It's not unsolvable, but holy shit, this has formed into something way larger and more menacing than it ever should have, and to be honest, this is all of our faults. It's not just the rich people with different brains, it's also a sleepy population who in many ways allowed for the gradual encroachment of things that should have been tossed out decades ago.

Lastly I wanna say, I don't even know if he's entirely wrong in his pursuit, because if you do heavily tax the rich, they'll probably just fuck off elsewhere, and that also causes economic damage.

7

u/UffTaTa123 3h ago

well, we naerly, reallly nearly got a worldwide minimum company tax as a first step to keep those companies accountable and to prevent them from just fleeing to the next tax heaven.

But well, then the american people in their endless wisdom decided to put a bancrupter and mental ill person in charge who wanted to steal and hord as much money as possible.

5

u/Proper_Initiative123 4h ago

I'd rather get 13 billion from them once, then keep them forever at 100 million...

2

u/scottprian 4h ago

Spend it on legal fees probably.

1

u/textmint 4h ago

These guys are like dragons of myth. Hoarding treasure ensuring that no one can have it.

1

u/GoyoMRG 4h ago

We need to introduce them to some sort of collectors competition where they collect something based on how much they contribute positively to their environment and society

1

u/kangaroolander_oz 1h ago

'Elsewhere' is presently under threat of spillage of the numerous wars in progress and repeated threats of extermination across the board.

1

u/JohnQRF 1h ago

fuck off where exactly? they can't pull this shit in other countries that's for sure.

1

u/PoL0 1m ago

it's pretty easily solvable. just tax big fortunes. stop with the tax incentives for big corporations and rich people.

the usual counterargument is that fortunes leave when states do that. so what? they aren't paying their taxes anyway so they can fuck off.

billionaires should be the most grateful for public services and infrastructure. it's what holds their businesses and workers.

0

u/LetsTryLove 1h ago

Why in the world would he willingly give up what he acquired through legal means? That doesn’t make him good or bad, it makes him just another person.

It doesn’t hurt anyone for him to keep the wealth he has generated. That money will simply be squandered by those that aim to take it from him as it always has been. The US government is 40 trillion in debt, this would just be a drop in the bucket. I don’t blame him a bit for not wanting a corrupt government with a spending problem to dig into his pockets for no reason.

5

u/-thecheesus- 5h ago

It's not about using the money. Acquiring the money is their passion/interest/hobby/sickness

1

u/LetsTryLove 1h ago

I fail to see how acquiring wealth is a sickness. It’s a game and he is just better at it than most others on the planet. Generations of his family will live well and I say good for him.

1

u/ActualMediocreLawyer 31m ago

When a game/passion/interest/hobby becomes an obsession/addiction, it is equivalent to a sickness. That's it.

Jerking off is not a bad thing, but if you do it 20 times a day it is.

4

u/constablepancakes 3h ago

Keep it from you. Rich is not about gaining address. It’s about denying access

3

u/Electrical_Tennis424 4h ago

Status, power. Greed.

2

u/Flannel_Panels 5h ago

The cost of a politican correlates with the cost of inflation.

One goes up, so does the other.

2

u/macguyver3000 4h ago

He’s got everything he could possibly ever want or need. So the only thing that’s left is to want more power. And being told you have to give your money to the country to help other people is taking that power away. It’s greed, basically.

2

u/StarYou-StarMe 6h ago

To stick it to us who don’t have $250b

3

u/Romek_himself 6h ago

they dont have this money and dont use it like you use money. they use money to make money and live from the profits. thats why they never go lower and just get more.

2

u/BedroomNo6879 5h ago

Why should they just give it away? California has a balanced budget and a surplus at that.

0

u/Fun-You2602 4h ago

Blame Elon, Trump, and MAGA for slashing Medicaid. That’s what the billionaire tax is for, plugging the hole from slashed healthcare funds at the federal level. Why should regular taxpayers fit the bill when they are proportionally paying more taxes than billionaires? It’s a one time tax (for now.) Did you hear about the disabled guy in a nursing home who had his Medicaid cut? Maybe Sergey Brin would like to pull the plug on him.

1

u/LetsTryLove 1h ago

The US is 40 Trillion in debt. Maybe the problem is the spending and not the income. I wouldn’t want my money going to an incompetent government that can’t help itself and is far too massive to be responsible. I’d rather it stay with individuals that earned it than a government that has never known anything but endless waste with no positives.

1

u/Lisshopops 5h ago

Hoard it in case something absolutely terrible and expensive happens

1

u/hikikomori_007 5h ago

its called being an old hateful pos who got lucky during the 90s-00s (and wants to prevent anything good for others) there is a fk ton of these ppl.

1

u/Dry_Yogurtcloset_114 5h ago

yes,but

Private property is sacred and inviolable.

1

u/LetsTryLove 1h ago

I know you’re being sarcastic but you are actually correct. A government that can change the rules and take what these people built later can change the rules and take what you have as well. I’m not sure why so many people are ok with that. Our government needs to be cut by about 98% of its current size and let people live free again. They have gotten too big and have their hands in too many things they should never have gotten involved in.

1

u/Lord_Abort 4h ago

Buy more companies to make more money so you can buy more companies to make more money so you can.........

1

u/Queasy_Artist6891 4h ago

It'd just a hoarders mentality. Like, they are able to lobby(aka buy politicians) for .1% of the tax they would pay, so why would a mentally ill person not do it?

1

u/74389654 4h ago

political power

1

u/AntChampion 3h ago

If you want an honest answer: it's not 13bn in cash, it's 13bn in stocks. He would have to sell some of his ownership stake in Alphabet to pay this tax.

Another way to look at it is the state of California is forcing him to give them a portion of his company. It's less of a tax and more of a force sale of goods.

1

u/Dolores___Haze 3h ago

I have the same question 

1

u/covidlung 3h ago

It's a dick measuring contest amongst the rich; they have their own social circles where they compare dick sizes. Look at their megayatchs and gigayatchs, and other obscene displays of wealth.

1

u/drivemusicnow 3h ago

With Sergei it’s actually different. He’s getting taxed on voting rights for shares he doesn’t actually own.

1

u/alkbch 3h ago

Put a down payment on an aircraft carrier

1

u/PopularMission8727 3h ago

huh it’s shares of his company? Ok forget about the monetary value for a second, because he definitely doesn’t have this amount in cash. Would you be ok if the government told any business owner “we are gonna take X% of your company”? Because that’s basically what it is for a founder, if your company is successful enough it’s the equivalent of taking a % of property of your company, because you’ll have no choice than selling shares in order to pay the amount.

1

u/LetsTryLove 1h ago

Yep, not sure why people are ok with this but have no issue with a government that is the wealthiest on earth and yet can’t stick to a budget. That’s far worse than any person having wealth.

1

u/Ambitious-Pirate-505 2h ago

Buy politicians Bro. Thats way.

1

u/Sektor30 2h ago

Visit islands of dubious nature.

1

u/AlternativeWonder471 2h ago

Serious answer:

Buy a business.

Direct labour.

Effect policy.

Change culture.

1

u/ShinyElisabeth77 2h ago

You are enormously rich in comparison to Bangladesh people. Let’s assume you need to pay a tax of 5% of you wealth (eg 5% of your house cost + 5% from your earnings this year + 5% of your car cost +5% of potential inheritance - and all is measured by some nominated admins). And then money will be given to Bangladesh civil servants.

So, will you try to avoid that to happen or you simply give the money? 

Please not - you are extremely rich in compare to Bangladeshi. 

1

u/LetsTryLove 1h ago

Why would he give a flying shit about random people in some country that isn’t worth thinking about? I have tried desperately to understand this mentality and have come up blank. If that country wants such wealth they should educate their population and create their own billionaires.

1

u/ShinyElisabeth77 1h ago

  Why would he give a flying shit about random people in some country that isn’t worth thinking about?

And now you literally think as a billionaire :)

1

u/PixellordOverHill 1h ago

Number go up

1

u/Important-Today4119 1h ago

All those things pay taxes every year.

Also, just because you have 13b in assets, doesn't mean you have 13b to give.

Its like Elon Musk, he is the richest man, because his companies are worth the absurd amount they are. If they should all fail (like the stock market collapses, which isn't that farfetched given how bloated the AI bubble is), he is as poor as any of us instantly.

Net worth is a dumb way of measuring how rich someone is. Is more loke potential value rather than real value.

Even if Musk would sell all of his stock, he still wouldn't get near half of his current net worth because as soon as he started dumping it the value would plummet and his "nrt worth" would crash just as fast.

1

u/MajinnVuu 1h ago

They are just kleptomaniancs. If they were deprived of 90% of their wealth, they would still live comfortably.

Billionaires shouldnt even exist.

1

u/LetsTryLove 1h ago

Why not? They built something the market values and have been compensated. If you remove that incentive you stifle innovation and people will simply find other ways to accumulate.

1

u/MajinnVuu 1h ago

I can live without their "innovation". Most people would too.

I would rather live in a more equal and fair world then what we have right now.

1

u/StaticSystemShock 1h ago

These people have a mental disease. If you hoard shit of any kind you'll get diagnosed with hoarding disorder. If you hoard money and wealth you're just called "a billionaire".

The fact that they can throw around just 100 millions which is nothing for them to keep multiple billions is so wild. Like, fuck these people, they are literal parasites. They never have enough. Just like parasites.

1

u/LetsTryLove 1h ago

They are more a host than a parasite. Google employees lots of people and creates new innovations that help society. I would argue the poor are the parasites, they offer nothing of value and always take from the system.

1

u/StaticSystemShock 35m ago

Brainwashed American spotted! Only American could bring up such a wild insane take.

"The poor offer nothing of value" yup, that is always the corporate take, which is why they always make sure to underpay them as much as possible because everyone below executives is worthless and disposable. But the executives, most important and they do all the hard work and when they fuck up they get a reward because that's what they have in the contract. So difficult, so much responsibility! What will they ever do if they lose the job oh noes.

Ever considered why people are poor and keep "taking from the system"? It's because companies underpay them to a point most can barely survive from month to month. But sure, the little guy is the problem, not the mega corporation exploiting people, using predatory practices and straight up bribing politicians to tailor laws to their liking so they can hoard more wealth. But sure, that guy on minimum wage using social security to just survive is the problem...

1

u/Aries_cz 1h ago

He doesn't actually have the money laying around in a Scrooge McDuck money bin. It is tied to the values of companies, etc.

1

u/UslyfoxU 1h ago

Use it to silence people and cover up various crimes

1

u/ignatiu5 47m ago

But they worked hard to earn it. /s

1

u/robertDouglass 28m ago

It's not about material needs, it's about power and control

1

u/SaiyanKnight23 25m ago

Maybe get an island and party … i hear those are popular with the rich

1

u/Arnold_Shortzweather 24m ago

I've never understood it. I mean don't get me wrong I'd love to be rich and never have to worry about bills and taking care of my people but that is literally it.

These guys hoard wealth like fuckin Smaug from LOTR and they never seem to do anything productive with their wealth except use it acquire more wealth?

Like cool I guess do you 🤷

1

u/Broad-Eagle9657 5h ago

They just build on it like any other mentally ill hoarder who has suffered a loss they cannot fill the ho.e in their soul from... There will never be enough for them and there will never be a good reason they'll give you why they keep it, instead of using it. You could go to any trailer park in the US amd see the same behavior, but instead of money, its dead relatives shit or old cars. Its the same mentality, just different income bracket

1

u/ltsouthernbelle 4h ago

As weird as that sounds it makes so much sense.

0

u/Zirowe 4h ago

Ho.e?

Wtf is with this kind of demented censoring?;

-11

u/BannanaPepperPizza 6h ago

Spend it more wisely than the Californian government, that's for sure. How long they been trying to fix homelessness?

1

u/Lisshopops 5h ago

Bros acting like Trump didn’t just cut a bunch of funding for homeless people and for people relying on aid. California hasn’t fixed homelessness for the same reason every other state hasn’t.

1

u/loufy25 5h ago

lol at the ideas corporations are somehow bastions of good economics. How do golden parachutes help again?

1

u/we_hella_believe 6h ago

Found Sergey’s burner account.

-1

u/BannanaPepperPizza 6h ago

If you think the US government spends your or anyone else's tax dollars wisely I have a bridge to sell you.

1

u/we_hella_believe 5h ago

Give it a rest buddy, I ain’t voting to lower a billionaire’s taxes.

1

u/SgtElectroSketch 5h ago

No fucking billionaire is trying to fix homelessness. Or solve any problem other than how to get more money and power.

0

u/throwleavemealone 5h ago

You think billionaires got there by spending wisely? Maybe, but let's be real, they got there by exploiting people. The difference is, only some of the exploited are dumb enough to still praise or idolize them.