California billionaire tax faces spectacular collapse in bombshell new poll

The billionaires appear to be winning.California voters remain closely divided over a proposed wealth tax on billionaires to backfill federal health care cuts, but just 46% of likely voters are supporting it and 43% are opposed, according to a new Citrin Center-Politico poll.Proposition 40 needs a majority of voter support to raise as much as $100 billion by imposing a one-time 5% tax on state residents who had assets exceeding $1 billion at the start of 2026.With just 15 days until the election, it may need a late surge of support from the roughly 10% of likely voters who remain undecided.

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By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.Never miss a story A billionaire boys’ club is spending big to keep California’s hands off its fortunes, with Google co-founder Sergey Brin leading the charge with more than $100 million of his own money.

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt — who at one point was furious about billionaires taking their eye off the ball in defeating the wealth tax — and cryptocurrency mogul Chris Larsen have joined him with eight-figure contributions.A separate Public Policy Institute poll conducted last month found the billionaire tax narrowly leading, with 52% of likely voters backing the tax plan.In total, opponents of the billionaire tax have raised well north of $300 million to fight Prop.

40 and support other state ballot measures, including Propositions 41 and 42, designed to erect barriers against wealth taxes.If Prop.

42 receives more votes than Prop.40 and both pass, it would override the billionaire tax.By comparison, the union behind the billionaire tax — Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West — has raised and spent approximately $40 million on the measure.

That would be a formidable war chest in most statewide ballot measure f...