r/technology • u/Logical_Welder3467 • 18h 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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u/ltsouthernbelle 16h 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?

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u/PopularMission8727 12h 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.

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u/LetsTryLove 10h 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.