Facing a Rp144 Trillion Tax Bill, This Tycoon Gives an Unexpected Response

Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang has given an unexpected response to a proposed wealth tax on billionaires in California, United States. Despite potentially having to pay nearly US$8 billion, or around Rp144 trillion, Huang admitted he has no issue with it. The proposal is a one-off 5% wealth tax for individuals with assets exceeding US$1.1 billion. If the policy is enacted, Huang would be one of the billionaires affected. As of 6 January 2026, Huang’s wealth is estimated at around US$155 billion, making him the ninth richest person in the world. With that total wealth, Huang is estimated to have to pay around US$7.75 billion in tax. “I haven’t even thought about it,” Huang said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. He stated that he would still fulfil his tax obligations if the rule is actually implemented. “We chose to live in Silicon Valley, and whatever tax they want to impose, it’s fine with me,” he said. The tax proposal was submitted in November 2025 by healthcare sector labour unions and supported by several progressive US legislators, including Congressman Ro Khanna and Senator Bernie Sanders. The scheme is expected to target around 200 of the richest people in California with a potential revenue of US$100 billion. The proceeds from the tax collection are planned to be used to cover California’s growing health budget deficit following federal government spending cuts, as well as to fund public education and food assistance programmes. To be enacted, the proposal must gather more than 870,000 signatures to appear on the ballot for the November 2026 vote. California residents will then determine whether the wealth tax is implemented or not. If approved, billionaires living in California will be taxed on all economically valuable assets they own, including shares and business ownership, even if they decide to move out of California after the beginning of 2026. Under the proposal, property assets are not subject to the tax as they are already subject to property tax. Meanwhile, the tax payment obligation can be paid in instalments over up to five years. Huang’s relaxed attitude differs from that of several other billionaires. Some technology industry figures believe the wealth tax could force company founders to sell some of their shares to meet tax payment obligations. Anduril Industries founder Palmer Luckey said the proposal would force company founders to seek very large amounts of cash. “Now my co-founders and I have to come up with billions of dollars in cash,” he wrote in a post on platform X on 28 December. A similar view was expressed by Sun Microsystems co-founder Vinod Khosla. According to him, the wealth tax could encourage billionaires to leave California. On the other hand, supporters of the policy cite a number of studies stating that tax increases do not always cause a mass exodus of the wealthy or businesses. Citing a report by The New York Times on 26 December, a number of business figures such as Google co-founder Larry Page and venture capitalist Peter Thiel are reportedly considering leaving California before the end of 2025 to avoid the proposed tax. However, to date neither Page nor Thiel has publicly announced a change of domicile. Spokespeople for both have also not commented on the reports. For context, the majority of Huang’s wealth comes from his ownership of approximately 3% of Nvidia shares. The chipmaker now has a market capitalisation of more than US$4.6 trillion, driven by a surge in demand for chips for artificial intelligence technology.