Building a Better Billionaire

A digital painting showing a graph of donations by billionaires who are opposed to the California 2026 Billion Tax Initiative California.

In response, Sergey Brin and Larry Page reportedly “cut ties” with California (according to the New York Times, 01/09/2026) by moving or terminating California LLCs, though both still maintained homes in the state, leaving their actual tax residency status unclear. Rather than just opposing the initiative, Brin went on offense by co-founding Building a Better California and donating more than $50 million of his own money. The organization launched three competing ballot initiatives designed to neutralize the tax: one to amend the state constitution to forbid retroactive taxation, one to bar new taxes from circumventing education spending rules, and one to require audits of special taxes. Other billionaires have contributed as well.