California's wealth tax fails — but the damage remains

California is a stronghold of the American Left. Yet even there, a wealth tax on billionaires appears to have been rejected by voters.

The tax was supported, among others, by economists Gabriel Zucman and Emmanuel Saez, who have been campaigning for higher taxes on large fortunes for years. The proposal called for a one-time tax of 5% on billionaires’ wealth. Around 200 individuals would have been affected. The decisive criterion was residency as of Jan. 1, 2026.