The rich are getting richer — but some of the richest are leaving California.
Forbes’ latest billionaire rankings put Elon Musk at number one worldwide, worth an astonishing 923 billion dollars.
Amazon’s Jeff Bezos is second at 368 billion, followed by Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin.
But Page and Brin have reportedly left California for Florida and Nevada, respectively, amid concerns over the state’s proposed five-percent billionaire wealth tax. Forbes list is in real time, but looks a little like the FBI’s Most Wanted List.
California still leads the nation with 255 billionaires. But Texas has overtaken the Golden State in total billionaire wealth — one-point-nine-four trillion dollars versus California’s one-point-eight-seven trillion.
Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg is now California’s richest resident, followed by Nvidia’s Jensen Huang.
And while billionaires’ fortunes fluctuate with the stock market, California faces a more permanent concern: losing wealthy taxpayers and their future tax payments. As many as 8 billionaires may have already fled the state.
You will decide the billionaire tax proposal –and 13 other propositions — with voting going on until November third.
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