After Larry Page, Sergey Brin Reportedly Moves Business Entities Out Of California Amid Proposed Wealth Tax

Alphabet‘s (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google co-founder Sergey Brin is reportedly reducing his ties with California, joining Larry Page and other billionaires in doing so.

Sergey Brin Reduces California Ties

Brin terminated or moved 15 California limited liability companies in the 10 days before Christmas, according to documents obtained by The New York Times.

Seven of these entities, including those managing a superyacht and a private air terminal at San Jose International Airport, were re-registered in Nevada.

The move comes amid a broader exodus of billionaire wealth from California.

Venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya said that more than $700 billion in billionaire wealth has left the state in the past month.

“The $2 trillion of California wealth they expected to tax is now down to $1.3 trillion and falling quickly,” Palihapitiya wrote on X.

Collectively, the amount of Billionaire wealth that has left California in the last month (!) is now in excess of $700B.

That means the $2T of California wealth they expected to tax is now down to $1.3T and falling quickly. I would not be surprised if 2026 ended with less than… https://t.co/J0qIYrKJXB

— Chamath Palihapitiya (@chamath) January 9, 2026

Brin joins fellow Stanford graduate Page, who moved out of state last month. Together, they have a combined net worth of over $500 billion.

Senior political analyst Marc Joffe highlighted the significance of the departures, noting that while Google founders were “quietly paying their 13.3% income tax, the SEIU billionaire tax was a step too far.”

I can understand the pro wealth tax side being dismissive about Sacks and Thiel’s departure plans, but this is really bad.

Google founders were quietly paying their 13.3% income tax, but the SEIU billionaire tax was a step too far. And what if their company changes HQs? pic.twitter.com/31egHvDAwM

— Marc Joffe (@joffemd) January 9, 2026

These exits come amid fears that they could be affected by California’s potential ballot measure targeting the state’s wealthiest residents.

David Sacks, the White House AI and crypto czar in President Donald Trump‘s administration, and Palantir (NASDAQ:PLTR) co-founder and venture capitalist Peter Thiel have also unveiled new offices outside California.

Tech Leaders Split On Tax Initiative

Tech leaders remain divided on the tax.

Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang told Bloomberg Television he is “perfectly fine” with the tax. “We chose to live in Silicon Valley and whatever taxes they would like to apply, so be it,” Huang said.

LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman called the proposal badly designed in so many ways.

Photo: Shutterstock

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