Wealth tax threat prompts at least six billionaires to cut ties with California, as about 20 more mull exit: report

The threat of a steep new wealth tax in California has reportedly prompted at least six billionaires including Larry Page and Peter Thiel to cut their ties with the state — and as many as 20 others could be heading for the exits.The half-dozen billionaires made their moves before New Year’s Day — the cutoff date to avoid a potential one-time tax of 5% on fortunes exceeding $1 billion — which California residents will vote on in November, according to Bloomberg News.David Lesperance, a tax adviser who specializes in relocating ultra-wealthy clients out of high-tax jurisdictions, told the outlet he personally helped four billionaires end their California residency before the proposal’s Jan.1 cutoff date.Divesh Makan, co-founder of Silicon Valley investment firm ICONIQ Capital and a wealth manager for some of the tech industry’s richest figures, said he knows of as many as five families that have already left the state.Makan told Bloomberg he expects another 15 to 20 billionaire families to depart if the tax is approved by voters — a significant portion of California’s roughly 200 billionaires.Google co-founder Page has quietly shifted his base to Florida after snapping up roughly $173 million worth of waterfront property in Miami’s Coconut Grove.He bought a $101.5 million estate in December, followed days later by a $71.9 million mansion less than a mile away.

The moves coincided with the formation of Florida-based entities tied to his family office.Page officially cut ties between California and most of his assets ahead of the Jan.1 deadline, according to Business Insider.Thiel, the billionaire PayPal co-founder and prominent conservative donor, has also deepened his Florida footprint.Thiel, who has long criticized wealth taxes, announced on Dec.

31 that his investment firm, Thiel Capital, had opened a Miami office.He has already registered to vote in Florida and has been spending more time outside California, even as he still maintains a home in...