Another billionaire, this time Mark Zuckerberg, has fled the Golden State. There are still plenty left. But the trickle could quickly turn into a flood if voters and lawmakers continue to punish the rich. At what point, one wonders, will it be too late for the state to abandon the path to destruction that it chose to take many years ago?
Zuckerberg follows Peter Thiel, Sergey Brin and Larry Page as recent ex-pats. He and his wife are reportedly relocating in income-tax-free Florida. The exodus is clearly in response to the probability that voters will approve a special tax on billionaires this fall.
Most reports indicate the tax will be a one-time levy of 5% on billionaires. But due “to aggressive design choices and possible drafting errors, the actual rate on taxpayers’ net worth could be dramatically higher,” the Tax Foundation says.
It might also be more lasting than just a single assessment. As we closed out 2025, we warned that “no one should kid themselves about” the tax sunsetting as promised:
California voters approved Proposition 30 in 2012, a ‘temporary tax’ on the state’s high-income earners to underwrite education spending. It was extended in 2016. For now, it will sunset in 2031. But there’s never enough of someone else’s money, so the usual agitators want to make it permanent by placing it on the 2026 ballot in tandem with the Billionaire Tax Act.
Because there’s never enough of other people’s money, we expect that millionaires will be next in line for the shakedown. This is not some irresponsible claim because California tried just a few years to reach deeper into the wealthy’s pockets with a bill that would have hit couples whose net worths exceeded $50 million with an additional tax. Just because it failed, it doesn’t mean that the junior Castro-ites in Sacramento will abandon the idea.
It’s rather demoralizing that in our society, billionaires are demonized. When Robert Reich, now a University of California, Berkeley professor who imparted leftist counsel to past presidents, says he wants the U.S. to drive billionaires “to extinction,” and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani says “I don’t think we shouldn’t have billionaires,” they are cheered, not jeered, by the products of public education that is dominated by leftist ideology.
In a sane and reasonable world, we would all agree that California — as do all states — needs billionaires. They use their capital to increase wealth all around, create jobs, develop life-enhancing and lifesaving innovations, dream up and build modern conveniences, invest in talented and driven people, manufacture markets that had never before existed and underwrite philanthropy.
Or put another way, “Everything you love about life was either made by God or a billionaire.”
Or put yet another way, the recipients of the redistribution of wealth taken by taxation can do none of those things.
Contrary to the lies constantly dropped on us by Democrats and progressives, billionaires also pay taxes, and after they’ve quit California, they’ll be paying them in other states. To see how destructive this will be, consider that at the federal level, the wealthiest 1% in the country pay 41% of the income taxes, while the top 10% pay 72%. In California, those who earn more than $1 million a year provide roughly 40% of income tax revenues.
California seems destined to find itself in a struggle to retain any part of what it once was. Sure, it can survive if half of its 200 or so billionaires flee. But California was never about survival, it was about opportunity, growth, the future. It can be again, but not until the ideologues who have all the political power are thrown out.
U.S. Military Readies For Possible Strikes In Iran
A surge in the U.S. military presence in the region, including the deployment of a second aircraft carrier, is the clearest sign yet that President Trump may be preparing to strike Iran.
In a major display of firepower, the USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest warship, has been sent to the region. The carrier is expected to be on station south of Cyprus within the next few days, according to defense sources.
The naval build-up also includes additional destroyers in the area. One has been sent to the Northern Arabian Sea, and another is en route, bringing the total number of U.S. destroyers in the wider region to 13, a Navy official said.
Air assets are also being concentrated at strategic bases. Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in eastern Jordan has emerged as a central node for the buildup, receiving at least two waves of attack aircraft between mid-January and mid-February, bringing the total number stationed there to nearly 30.
U.S. media reports that Trump has discussed attack options with advisers, and that a U.S. strike could take place as early as Saturday, the BBC says.
Barcelona’s Sagrada Família Reaches Full Height
More than 140 years after construction began, the masterpiece of Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí is approaching a historic milestone, with its main 172.5-metre tower set to be completed to coincide with the centenary of Gaudí’s death.
The Barcelona basilica has already surpassed the height of the spire of Ulm Minster and is set to be crowned in the coming months by a monumental cross that will complete the tower’s silhouette.
To mark the centenary, the basilica will host a series of commemorative events celebrating Gaudí’s artistic and spiritual legacy, including a solemn mass scheduled for June 10, to which Pope Leo XIV has been invited.
Construction of the Sagrada Família began in 1882 and Gaudí himself never expected to see it finished; only one tower had been completed at the time of his death in 1926. The year 2026 will mark 100 years since his passing, and the church plans several initiatives to honour his enduring influence.
Despite the symbolic importance of unveiling the cross, the project will not be finished then, with overall construction work expected to continue until around 2034.
Catch up on today’s highlights, handpicked by our News Editor at TIPP Insights.
1. Trump Signals Possible Iran Decision Within 10 Days
2. Iran Strike On The Table As Trump Reviews Military Readiness: Report
3. Iran Nuclear Stockpile Still Largely Intact, Warns IAEA Chief
4. U.S. Warplanes Surge As Trump Presses Iran On Nuclear Deal
5. China's UN Envoy Warns Japan Over Taiwan Military Moves
6. Putin Condemns U.S. Oil Blockade On Cuba
7. British Police Arrest Prince Andrew After Epstein File Revelations
8. Epstein Files: King Charles Says Law Must Take Course After Andrew Arrest
9. Family Of Virginia Giuffre Respond To Arrest Of Former Prince Andrew
10. Bill Gates Pulls Out Of India AI Summit Amid Epstein Files Scrutiny
11. South Korea Punishes Ex-President With Life Sentence Over Failed Martial Law Move
12. Who Leads In 2028 Presidential Race And In 2026 Midterm Elections? I&I/TIPP Poll
13. Billionaire Money’s Growing Role In U.S. Elections
14. Net Illegal Immigration Turns Negative In 2025
15. Working From Home Means Less Work, More Life
16. What The New DHS Memo Means For Refugees Without Green Cards
17. Why Lawmakers Are Pressing The Park Service On Trump Ballroom Funding
18. Fast-Track Vote Pushes Trump Ballroom Project Forward
19. How Nestle Plans To Reshape Its Business Without Ice Cream
20. Apple Faces Lawsuit Over Alleged iCloud Abuse Failures
editor-tippinsights@technometrica.com
