The British "Guardian" reported that Sergey Brin, the former president and co-founder of Google's parent company Alphabet, recently made another large investment to launch a strong counterattack against California's proposed "billionaire tax." The latest filings with the state show that Breen has donated an additional $25 million to a Super PAC dedicated to blocking the tax measure, bringing its total contribution to $45 million from the previous $20 million.
Brin is not the only Google executive to increase investment. Documents show that former Google CEO Eric Schmidt also donated $1.02 million to related camps, having previously donated $2 million. The tech giants are joining forces to fight a proposal called the California Billionaire Tax act, often referred to simply as the "billionaire tax."
According to public information, the proposed referendum would require individuals residing in California with a net worth of more than $1 billion to pay a one-time 5% tax on their assets to support the state's education, food assistance and health care projects. The proposal, sponsored by the Service Employees International Union – United Healthcare Workers West, is still in the signature-collecting stage and has not yet officially entered the ballot.
If the proposal ultimately reaches the election and is approved by voters, the tax burden will be determined based on the individual's California resident status on January 1, 2026. According to data from the Bloomberg Rich List, Brin is currently worth approximately US$247 billion, which means that if the proposal takes effect, he may have to pay a single tax of more than US$12 billion. This setting of time and place of residence is considered to be one of the important reasons that prompted Brin and many other billionaires to leave California before the end of last year. Brin has moved to a mansion worth about $42 million on the northeast side of the southern shore of Lake Tai, Nevada, and the address he provided to the super PAC also shows Reno, Nevada. In contrast, Schmidt's registered address in relevant documents is still West Hollywood, California.
Brin and Schmidt’s latest super PAC is called Building a Better California. In addition to participating in the opposition to the "Billionaire Tax", the organization is also promoting another ballot proposal called "Protect Retirements", trying to "cut off" key provisions of the Billionaire Tax by prohibiting retroactive taxation. The organization's slogan is "California's best days are ahead."
"Building a Better California" spokesperson Abby Lunardini said in response that the organization is grateful for the billionaire's support and its current focus is on promoting long-term policy reforms in the state. She said that while the organization supports the government's public investment in housing, infrastructure and education, on the other hand it believes that taxpayers have the right to greater accountability and security for the use of tax dollars.
In January of this year, Brin donated $20 million to "Building a Better California," pushing his total donations to the organization to $45 million. At the same time, he has also made political donations to Steve Hilton, the Republican front-runner in California's gubernatorial election, and Matt Mahan, a Democrat considered "tech-friendly" and popular among Silicon Valley elite circles.
Schmidt also donated $2 million to Building a Better California in January, bringing his total contributions to the organization to just over $3 million. In addition, he donated $1.04 million to the California Business Roundtable, another super PAC that opposes the billionaire tax. The California Business Roundtable’s list of sponsors also includes Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel (donating $3 million), doorbell security company Ring founder James Siminoff (donating $100,000), and cryptocurrency billionaire Chris Larsen (donating $750,000). Larson also donated $2 million to Build a Better California, while food delivery platform DoorDash CEO Tony Xu donated $2 million, and payment company Stripe CEO Patrick Collison donated $7 million. The report pointed out that a number of well-known venture capital institutions and their partners also provided financial support to the two super political action committees.
The report also noted that in the past two years, Brin, like many Silicon Valley giants, has become increasingly actively involved in American politics. He also attended a White House dinner last year, where President Donald Trump called Brin's girlfriend, healthy lifestyle influencer Gerelyn Gilbert-Soto, "a great Make America Great Again girlfriend." Brin's ex-wife, Nicole Shanahan, served as Robert F. Kennedy Jr's vice presidential running mate in the 2024 US election. In comparison, Schmidt's presence in the Trump administration is not strong, but he has long maintained close cooperation with the Obama and Biden administrations.
Schmidt declined to comment on related donations and political activities, and Brin did not immediately respond to a reporter's request for comment.