California voters reject measure to tax the wealth of billionaires

California voters have rejected a proposal to impose a tax on the net worth of billionaires, according to the Associated Press. The measure, known as Proposition 40, would have imposed a one-time 5% tax on the wealth of Californians whose net worth exceeded $1 billion, with the funds intended to replace federal funding cuts to healthcare and education.

The proposal generated significant spending by prominent tech leaders, with Google co-founder Sergey Brin alone contributing over $100 million to defeat the measure. The "no" side raised roughly 10 times as much as the "yes" side. Critics argued that the tax would prompt billionaires to leave the state, while supporters saw it as a necessary step to replace an estimated $100 billion in federal healthcare funding over five years.

Despite the proposal's defeat, progressive politicians like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren continue to advocate for a federal wealth tax, with Newsom expressing disagreement on the issue.