Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Refuses To Quit California Over Billionaire Tax: ‘I’m Perfectly Fine With It’

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang is unbothered about a potential wealth tax on California's billionaires—despite others publicly declaring they will open new offices in other states.

"We chose to live in Silicon Valley and whatever taxes, I guess, they would like to apply so be it. I'm perfectly fine with it, it never crossed my mind once," he told Bloomberg Television.

Huang, who has company offices in several countries and who is facing down a possible 10-figure tax bill if the wealth tax ballot succeeds, added that "we work in Silicon Valley because that's where the talent pool is."

His comments come after several high-profile billionaires decided to flee the state over a proposed ballot measure that would level a one-time wealth tax of 5% on individuals worth more than $1 billion.

Although the ballot initiative has yet to pass, it would apply to any billionaires who lived in California on Jan. 1, 2026, prompting many of the state's ultra-rich to rush to establish alternate residency before the onset of the New Year.

On New Year's Eve, venture capitalists Peter Thiel and David Sacks announced the opening of new satellite offices in Florida and Texas, respectively, laying a paper trail that might thwart future California tax collectors.

Thiel's investment firm, Thiel Capital, announced that it had signed a lease for office space in Miami that the firm said "will complement Thiel Capital’s existing operations in Los Angeles."

The press release emphasized that Thiel "has established a significant presence in Miami over the last several years, maintaining a personal residence in the city since 2020."

Thiel had been a longtime resident of Los Angeles, where his investment company is headquartered, and owns a home in the Hollywood Hills.

Florida voting records show that he is currently registered to vote in Miami Beach, appearing to confirm his new status as a Florida resident.

Meanwhile, Craft Ventures, the investment firm co-founded by Sacks, announced it had signed a lease on a new office in Austin, TX, earlier in December.

The company said that Sacks' co-founder, Bill Lee, had lived in Austin since 2022, and noted that Sacks had “relocated to the area” earlier in the month. Sacks had long lived in the Pacific Heights section of San Francisco, an area known as "Billionaires' Row."

Thiel and Sacks, both avid Republicans and prominent supporters of President Donald Trump, may have felt special urgency to firmly establish out-of-state residency before the Jan. 1 deadline.

Several other California billionaires appear to have quietly eyed the exits in the final days of 2025.

Google co-founder Larry Page, a longtime Palo Alto resident, has made moves to establish ties in Florida, with The New York Times reporting that three companies with ties to Page filed documents to incorporate there in mid-December.

Sources told the Times that Page had discussed leaving California by the end of 2025. However, the tech wizard, known for his reticence and rarely seen in public, has made no official announcements about a move.

In July, In-N-Out Burger billionaire heiress Lynsi Snyder, long based in California, stated in a podcast interview that she is “actually moving” to Franklin, TN, where the company is building a new office.

While Snyder didn't directly cite tax considerations, she mentioned the difficulties of raising a family and doing business in California.

On New Year's Day, Bay Area tech investor Chamath Palihapitiya wrote on X that he personally knew of people with a collective net worth of $500 billion who had "scrambled and left California for good" on Dec. 31 to avoid the so-called Billionaire Tax.

"They took no risk because of the proposed asset seizure tax—introduced as a 'Billionaire Tax,'" he wrote. "Without these people, the California budget deficit will only get bigger."

California's proposed wealth tax explained

The potential California ballot measure from the health care union Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West calls for California residents worth more than $1 billion to be taxed the equivalent of 5% of their assets.

The tax could generate about $100 billion in revenue for the state.

At least 90% of the money would be spent on health care services for the public, and the rest would be spent on administration of the wealth tax, education, and food assistance. 

Whether the tax would pass remains uncertain, since a similar 1.5% tax on billionaires failed in the legislature last year, with Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, opposing the measure.

But if this measure gains enough signatures to reach the state ballot in November and wins approval, it will retroactively apply to anyone who lived in California as of Jan. 1, 2026.

The billionaires would have five years to pay the one-time tax—and the only way they could have escaped the levy is if they had left the state before New Year’s Eve 2025. 

California is a hotbed of billionaires

California is home to more billionaires than any other state, with roughly 200 residents holding fortunes exceeding $1 billion.

Among them are four of the world’s wealthiest figures: Page and Sergey Brin of Alphabet, Mark Zuckerberg of Meta, and Huang of Nvidia, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires index. 

Their combined net worth is estimated at $840 billion. At a 5% tax rate, this small group alone could yield $40 billion in revenue—provided they didn't relocate.

CPA and wealth-preservation attorney Chad D. Cummings of Cummings & Cummings Law in Florida and Texas, tells Realtor.com® he has already assisted "dozens of high-net-worth clients relocate" to states like Florida and Texas.

"They levy zero personal income tax and, in many cases, zero business income tax; provide extremely strong homestead exemptions that shield primary homes from most creditors; and maintain predictable asset protection laws that California lacks," he says.

Proponents and critics of the proposed wealth tax

While critics oppose the measure, some believe that taxing the wealthiest is a common-sense solution.

"California is facing a manufactured crisis," former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich said in a press release. "These federal cuts didn’t happen by accident—they were designed to shield billionaires from contributing while pushing the consequences onto patients and workers. A time-limited emergency tax on the ultra-wealthy is a practical way to keep the health care system functioning."

But other critics argue that increasing taxes on the wealthy would do more harm than good to California’s economy.

Billionaire investor Bill Ackman, who lives in New York, wrote on X, "California is on a path to self-destruction. Hollywood is already toast and now the most productive entrepreneurs will leave taking their tax revenues and job creation elsewhere."

With additional reporting by Julie Taylor.