California billionaire wealth tax measure trails in early results, too close to call

California's Proposition 40, a one-time 5% tax on billionaires' assets, was trailing in early election results on Wednesday, with the secretary of state's figures showing it on a path to defeat, though one outlet described the race as too close to call. The measure would have taxed assets such as businesses, securities, art, collectibles and intellectual property, while excluding select pensions, real estate and retirement accounts. It applied to billionaires who were California residents on Jan. 1, 2026, a retroactive provision meant to stop them from leaving. Around 200 people would have been affected, and supporters projected roughly $100 billion in revenue, to be spent on healthcare. The Democratic Socialists of America backed the measure, as did Sen. Bernie Sanders and economists Gabriel Zucman and Emmanuel Saez. Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, opposed it and warned that billionaires could leave and take their future tax payments with them.

Right-leaning outlets Fox News and the Washington Examiner lead with the measure's apparent defeat and Newsom's opposition. Fox News centers the Democratic Socialists' backing and the split with Newsom, quoting Richard Stern of Advancing American Freedom on wealth redistribution and capital flight. The Washington Examiner stresses that even a left-leaning stronghold appeared to reject the tax, notes Sanders is a multimillionaire, and points to California's 13.3% top income tax rate and years of vilifying the rich. Left-leaning outlets had not reported this story at the time of writing, while the right-leaning and independent outlets had. Semafor takes a distinct angle, treating the vote as a referendum on the tech industry. It cites public worries about social media's effects on children, anxiety over AI and backlash to data centers, plus resentment of wealth from the Anthropic, OpenAI and SpaceX IPOs.