Google Co-Founder Spends Rp 764.4 Billion to Avoid Tax on the Wealthy
Google co-founder Sergey Brin has allocated a total of US45million, equivalenttoRp764.4billion(assuminganexchangerateofRp16, 988perUS), to fund a campaign opposing taxes on billionaires in California, United States.
The funds were channelled to a political action committee (Super PAC) named Building a Better California, specifically established to block wealthy tax regulations in the state.
Citing The Guardian, spokesperson for Building a Better California, Abby Lunardini, confirmed the receipt of financial support from these tech billionaires. She explained that her political committee is currently focused on efforts for long-term policy reform in the California region.
“We believe in public investment in housing, infrastructure, and education, but also that Californians deserve more accountability and protection for their tax dollars,” Abby stated, as cited by The Guardian on Monday (23/3/2026).
The proposed rule opposed by Brin and Silicon Valley elites is known as the California Billionaires Tax Act. The rule requires every California resident with wealth exceeding US$1 billion to pay a one-time tax of 5% of their total assets to fund education programmes, food assistance, and healthcare.
Based on calculations, implementing this tax rule would require Sergey Brin, who has a net worth of around US$247 billion, to pay taxes of more than US$12 billion.
The plan to implement the tax, based on residency status as of 1 January 2026, has even prompted Brin and several other billionaires to exodus from California at the end of last year, with Brin now choosing to reside in Nevada.
In addition to Brin, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt is also recorded as opposing the rule by donating more than US$3 million to the same Super PAC. Schmidt is also known to have provided additional funds of US$1.04 million to another committee named California Business Roundtable, which has a similar objective.
Opposition to the billionaire tax has received financial support from various prominent tech figures. Several big names, such as Palantir founder Peter Thiel, DoorDash CEO Tony Xu, and Stripe CEO Patrick Collison, are recorded as contributing millions of dollars to the anti-tax political action committees to protect their assets.