California Billionaire Tax Measure Likely to Fail, Setback for Wealth-Tax Push Nationwide

California voters were projected to reject Proposition 40, the first U.S. proposal to tax billionaires, bringing a costly and deeply divisive political battle in the state to a close. According to Sina Finance, citing DDHQ’s post on X, 46% of voters supported the measure and 54% opposed it, with about 71% of ballots counted. The measure would have imposed a one-time 5% wealth tax on assets held by billionaires living in California at the beginning of 2026, with most of the revenue used to shore up healthcare funding. Its defeat is a major setback for nationwide efforts to tax large fortunes; supporters had hoped California would provide a model for similar campaigns elsewhere in the United States. Opponents included tech billionaires, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and California Planned Parenthood affiliates. They raised more than $300 million, with the leading group, Build Better California, funded by Google co-founder Sergey Brin and other ultra-high-net-worth individuals. A healthcare union first proposed the tax more than a year ago to offset federal budget cuts that could force multiple hospitals to close and leave millions of Californians without health insurance. Supporters included Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Ro Khanna, whose district includes Silicon Valley. At a news conference as voting ended, Khanna said, “Billionaires must be taxed. We will achieve this goal, we will succeed, and we can defeat capital.” The proposal divided Democrats and labor groups.