Billionaires Fighting California’s Wealth Tax Have Put $333 Million Into Political Ad Machine Ahead of Elections

California's top earners have mobilized and poured more than $300 million into an aggressive public campaign to defeat the controversial Billionaire Tax Act at next week's midterm elections.The measure, which will appear on the Nov. 3 ballot as Proposition 40, would impose a one-time tax of up to 5% on the global assets of roughly 200 Californians with a net worth of $1 billion or more who resided in the state as of Jan. 1, 2026. Championed by a coalition of labor unions, the proposed tax is intended to help fund healthcare for low-income households affected by the the Trump administration's Medicaid cuts. But in the process, it has ignited fierce, bipartisan opposition among California's richest 1%.To eliminate what they view as an existential threat to their business interests, dozens of Silicon Valley billionaires banded together this year to launch Building a Better California, a political action committee. The exceptionally well-funded nonprofit's stated goals include defeating Proposition 40 and, at the same time, supporting two countermeasures.State campaign finance filings reviewed by the New York Times show that roughly 80 deep-pocketed donors, led by Google/Alphabet co-fo...