Billionaires Tax Closer To California Ballot—Here’s Who Has Already Left

BreakingBusinessBillionaires Tax Closer To California Ballot—Here’s Who Has Already LeftByMary Whitfill Roeloffs,Forbes Staff. Mary Roeloffs is a Forbes breaking news reporter covering pop culture.Follow AuthorApr 27, 2026, 09:48am EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.ToplineOrganizers of a proposal to impose a one-time, 5% tax on the wealth of California residents with assets worth at least $1.1 billion say they've collected twice as many signatures as they need to get the measure before the state's voters on November's ballot—as a number of bold-faced billionaires have already change their residency.Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg attend the WSJ. Magazine 2025 Innovator Awards.Getty Images for WSJ. Magazine Innovators AwardsKey FactsThe union leading the effort said they've collected nearly 1.6 million signatures and will announce on Monday when they'll be submitted to election officials for verification. The group needed the signatures of 875,000 registered voters, and must submit them to county elections officials by June 24, to get the controversial proposition on the ballot. Supporters say the tax is needed to compensate for federal healthcare funding cuts (about 90% of the tax would be used for public health services) but opponents, including Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom, say driving billionaires out of the state will do more harm than good for California's economy and budget. Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We’re launching text message alerts so you'll always know the biggest stories shaping the day’s headlines. Text “Alerts” to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here: joinsubtext.com/forbes. if (!window.cnxel) { window.cnxel = {}; window.cnxel.cmd = []; var iframe = document.createElement('iframe'); iframe.style.display = 'none'; iframe.onload = function() { var iframeDoc = iframe.contentWindow.document; var script = iframeDoc.c...