Sanders Backs Push for Billionaire Tax in California as Newsom Raises Money to Fight It

US Sen. Bernie Sanders on Tuesday endorsed an effort in California to impose a one-time tax on the wealth of the state's billionaires, a grassroots campaign that has drawn opposition from Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and powerful investors.

Sanders (I-Vt.) said the proposed ballot initiative, which is currently in the signature-gathering phase, "is a model that should be emulated throughout the country." The senator said he plans to introduce a proposal for a national wealth tax in the near future.

"In my view, in a democratic society, we cannot continue to tolerate a rigged economy in which 60% of our people live paycheck to paycheck—struggling to pay for housing, food, and healthcare while the top 1% now owns more wealth than the bottom 93%," Sanders said in a statement posted to social media. "We must not continue a trend in which, over the past 50 years, $79 trillion in wealth in our country has been redistributed from the bottom 90% to the top 1%."

If placed on the November 2026 ballot and approved by voters, the California Billionaire Tax Act would levy a single 5% tax on the wealth of the roughly 200 billionaires who reside in the state. Those subject to the tax would have the option of paying the amount owed all at once or over a period of five years.

Organizers say the measure would generate $100 billion in revenue, which the state could use to avert a looming healthcare crisis fueled by the unprecedented Medicaid cuts that US President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans enacted over the summer.

“California is facing massive federal healthcare cuts—$20 to $30 billion a year for the next five years," said Suzanne Jimenez, chief of staff of Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West, a top supporter of the proposed ballot initiative.

"The billionaire tax would raise dollar-for-dollar emergency funding of $100 billion through a one-time 5% tax on the worldwide net worth of California’s billionaires," Jimenez added. "Any reductions in state income tax would be negligible in comparison to the billions that will be raised by the billionaire tax. And billionaires would still be taxed at lower rates than were in effect under President Reagan."

"We need a tax system that demands that the billionaire class finally pays their fair share of taxes."

Last week, California Attorney General Rob Bonta formally issued the title and summary of the proposed initiative as prominent billionaires—including Peter Thiel and Larry Page—threatened to leave the state over the measure, which would apply retroactively to those living in California as of January 1, 2026. Thiel is facing a potential $1.2 billion tax, while Page would have to pay roughly $12 billion.

The New York Times reported last week that Newsom, "who has been close with people like Mr. Page, is raising money for a committee to oppose the measure."

"The committee received a $100,000 donation from the venture capitalist Ron Conway in November, according to state campaign finance records," the Times added.

Other lawmakers from the state are supporting the measure, including US Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who represents Silicon Valley.

Sanders, in his Tuesday statement, applauded Khanna, saying he is "absolutely right to support this effort."

"From a moral, economic, and political perspective, our nation will not thrive when so few own so much while so many have so little," said Sanders. "We need a tax system that demands that the billionaire class finally pays their fair share of taxes."