Google cofounder Sergey Brin and John Doerr have donated a combined $94 million to undercut California's proposed billionaire tax. Peter Thiel has donated $3 million to a separate group.
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A handful of California’s estimated 214 billionaires are trying to stop a proposed wealth tax.
Google cofounder Sergey Brin, who moved assets out of the state, has spent $82 million.
Here are those joining him, including Peter Thiel, ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt, and DoorDash CEO Tony Xu.
California’s tech billionaires and millionaires are going down spending.
This November, Californians will vote on whether to impose a billionaire tax after a last-minute push for Gov. Gavin Newsom to broker a deal failed to materialize.
With their fortunes (or at least a lengthy court battle) potentially at stake, some of the biggest names in tech have poured in over $120 million to try to outright sink or complicate the chances of a one-time 5% wealth tax on state residents and trusts with assets over $1 billion.
In comparison, SEIU-UHW, a healthcare workers union, the wealth tax’s primary backer, has received roughly $31 million thus far.
Here’s a look at some of the biggest names that are lined up against the tax
Sergey Brin
Sergey Brin
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Google cofounder Sergey Brin was one of the biggest names to move assets outside California ahead of a key deadline in January.
That hasn’t stopped him from being the single largest funder of the opposition to the billionaire tax through a political committee called “Building a Better California.”
All told, Brin has donated a staggering $82 million to Building a Better California so far. He cut his most recent check, a $16 million donation, on May 15, just over a month before the deadline for finalizing ballot initiatives.
According to Bloomberg’s estimates, Brin is worth $280 billion and is the world’s third-richest person.
John Doerr
John Doerr
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Kleiner Perkins chairman John Doerr famously wrote the firm’s $12.5 million check for a stake in Google.
Doerr has donated $10 million to Building a Better California, making him the group’s second-largest donor after Brin, who, alongside cofounder Larry Page, pitched Doerr on Google all those years ago.
Doerr stepped down from the venture capital firm in 2016 but remains chairman. He also serves on Alphabet’s board.
According to Bloomberg’s estimates, Doerr is worth $15.6 billion.
Chris Larsen
Chris Larsen
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In 2012, Chris Larsen cofounded OpenCoin, which would later be renamed Ripple Labs, a blockchain financial infrastructure company.
Larsen stepped down as Ripple CEO in December 2016, but remains executive chairman. In 2018, Larsen made history as the first person to join Forbes’ 400 richest list with a fortune comprised primarily of cryptocurrency.
Larsen has donated $2.5 million to Building a Better California. He has also donated $5 million to Golden State Promise, a group that is outright opposing the tax. Separately, Ripple has also donated $5 million to that effort.
According to Bloomberg’s estimates, Larsen is worth $12.4 billion.
Michael Moritz
Michael Moritz
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A former Time Magazine journalist, Michael Moritz, joined Sequoia Capital in the 1980s and remained there until he stepped down in 2023.
Moritz has donated $7.5 million to Building a Better California.
An early investor in Google and PayPal, Moritz became a renowned venture capitalist and helped make Sequoia into one of Silicon Valley’s leading firms. In 2013, Queen Elizabeth II knighted the Welsh native.
According to Forbes’ estimates, Moritz is worth $8 billion.
Patrick Collison
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Patrick Collison cofounded Stripe, a payments company, alongside his brother John.
Patrick Collison has donated $7 million to Building a Better California. As CEO, Collison has made Stripe into a fintech leader.
According to Bloomberg’s estimates, Collison is worth $16.3 billion.
Eric Schmidt
Google's ex-CEO is worried most countries will adopt Chinese AI models.
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Brin isn’t the only Googler lining up against the tax.
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt has donated $3,026,176.51. After Brin, Schmidt was the earliest donor to Building a Better California.
According to Bloomberg’s estimates, Schmidt is worth $58.7 billion.
Peter Thiel
Peter Thiel speaks at the Cambridge Union.
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PayPal cofounder Peter Thiel backed away from political spending after the 2022 midterms. In January, he made one of his largest donations since then to a group looking to stop the billionaire tax.
In December 2025, Thiel donated $3 million to the political arm of the California Business Roundtable. While Thiel’s donation was not to explicitly stop the tax, the longtime industry group is one of many lined up against it.
In the meantime, the Palantir cofounder has gone further than some of California’s other billionaires. The New York Times reported in May that Thiel is spending more time in Argentina.
According to Bloomberg’s estimates, Thiel is worth $22.1 billion.
Stewart Resnick
Stewart Resnick and Lynda Resnick
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Billionaires Stewart and Lynda Resnick first bought California farmland in 1978 as a hedge against inflation. Now, Wonderful Company estimates that nearly half of all Americans buy products it grows, harvests, bottles, and packages every year.
Stewart Resnick has donated $2.5 million to Building a Better California.
Wonderful Company’s brands include Fiji Water, Pom Wonderful, Wonderful Pistachios, and Wonderful Halos. The company owns roughly 180,000 acres of California farmland.
According to Forbes’ estimates, Stewart Resnick is worth $5.4 billion.
Tony Xu
DoorDash CEO says AI-led productivity isn't everything.
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DoorDash CEO Tony Xu cofounded the delivery service alongside three of his Stanford classmates.
Xu has donated $2 million to Building a Better California.
When DoorDash IPOed in 2020, Xu instantly became a billionaire. According to Forbes’ estimates, Xu is worth $1.8 billion.
Max Levchin
Max Levchin
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Affirm CEO Max Levchin cofounded what later became PayPal in 1998 and has since become a leading member of the so-called “PayPal Mafia.”
Levchin has donated $1 million to Building a Better California.
In 2014, Levchin started Affirm, a buy-now, pay-later fintech company, which went public in January 2021. Affirm now has a total market cap of roughly $28 billion.
According to Forbes’ estimates, Levchin is worth $2.5 billion.
Ron Conway
Tech investor Ron Conway, seen here in 2013, is hoping that California Gov. Gavin Newsom helps kill a proposed wealth tax before it reaches voters.
Jeff Chiu/AP
Angel investor Ron Conway has spent decades working behind the scenes in Silicon Valley.
In March, Conway told Jack Altman, the youngest brother of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, that he was working to get Newsom to kill the proposed tax before it reached the ballot, an effort that proved unsuccessful.
“Our job is to get Gavin to negotiate this so that it doesn’t get to the ballot,” Conway told Jack Altman during an episode of Altman’s “Untapped” podcast.
Conway has donated $100,000 to Stop the Squeeze, a political group that is outright opposing the proposed tax.
Altman publicly thanked Conway for helping aid his return to the AI startup following Altman’s brief ouster in 2023.
It’s unclear what Conway’s net worth is. He was an early investor in Airbnb and GitHub, among other companies.
Daniel Tierny
The California State Capitol in Sacramento.
Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times
Daniel Tierny cofounded the Global Electronic Trading Company (GETCO) in the 1990s after cutting his teeth as an options trader in Chicago.
Now, Tierny leads Wicklow Capital, a family office venture firm he founded in 2013 that focuses on investments in “ABCD,” AI, blockchain, climate, and democracy.
Tierny has donated $500,000 to Building a Better California. He is one of 10 people to have donated to the group.
