Google cofounder Sergey Brin donated $100 mn but cannot cast a vote next month

Google cofounder Sergey Brin has emerged as the biggest financial opponent of California’s proposed billionaire wealth tax, contributing more than $100 million to campaigns against the measure. However, the tech billionaire will not be eligible to vote on the proposal next month after changing his voter registration from California to Nevada, according to a Forbes report.

Brin has channelled his opposition to the tax through his Build a Better California PAC, making him the largest donor fighting the initiative. The irony, Forbes noted, is that Brin himself will not get a say at the ballot box because public records from the Nevada Secretary of State's office show he changed his voter registration to Nevada on December 10.

According to Forbes, Brin's relocation appears to be part of a broader effort to avoid the proposed tax, which would apply only to California residents as of January 1, 2026. The billionaire purchased a $42 million mansion on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe in December, and his representatives told Forbes that he is now a Nevada resident. The move also makes Brin, whose net worth is estimated at $263 billion, the richest resident of Nevada, surpassing casino heiress and Republican donor Miriam Adelson, whose fortune is estimated at $31.2 billion. Brin's voter registration reportedly lists his political affiliation as nonpartisan.

Proposition 40 will be on the ballot in November. It would impose a one-time 5% tax on California’s 200 billionaires. Ninety percent of the revenue would go to the state’s health care program. The remaining 10% would go to education, food assistance and administration. With a net worth of nearly $260 billion, Brin could owe about $13 billion if it passes.

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and PayPal cofounder Peter Thiel have also donated to groups opposing the measure. Brin has likened the proposal to the socialist society he left behind. “I fled socialism with my family in 1979,” he told The New York Times in April, adding that he does not want California to end up in the same place. Gov. Gavin Newsom has also come out against the tax. He argues it would erode the state’s tax base and cut revenue for social services. In an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek earlier this year, he said it would reduce investment in education, teachers, librarians, childcare, firefighting and police.

Forbes reported that Brin's Google cofounder Larry Page has likewise moved away from California, although he is not yet registered to vote in Florida, according to records reviewed by the publication. Page's representatives told Forbes that his residency has changed from California to Florida. The billionaire reportedly spent $173 million on two Miami mansions between December 2025 and January 2026. With an estimated net worth of $286 billion, Page is now said to be the second-richest resident of Florida, behind Jeff Bezos, whose fortune is estimated at $374 billion. Representatives for both Brin and Page did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding their voter registration status, Forbes said.