California
Amid rising costs, California and L.A. initiatives aim to tax the ultra-rich
California has billionaires on the brain.
Last week union activists, hoisting giant cutouts of money bags and a cigar-smoking boss, announced a proposal to raise Los Angeles city taxes on companies with “overpaid” chief executives.
They rallied in front of a symbol of the uber rich: the futuristic, steel-covered Tesla Diner owned by Elon Musk, the world’s richest man.
Meanwhile, a “billionaire tax” proposal prompted some of the wealthiest Californians to consider fleeing the state, amid arguments that they would take their tax revenue — and the companies they run — with them, hurting the ordinary residents the proposal is designed to help.
The focus on taxing the richest of the rich comes amid a growing affordability crisis in California, home to the nation’s most expensive housing market and highest income tax.
More than 200 billionaires reside in California, more than any other state, according to a group of law and economics professors at UC Berkeley, UC Davis and the University of Missouri who helped draft the statewide billionaire tax proposal, which proponents are hoping to place on the November ballot.
And they are getting richer. The collective wealth of the state’s billionaires surged from $300 billion in 2011 to $2.2 trillion in October 2025, according to a December report by those professors. In Los Angeles, where the median sale price of $1 million puts home ownership out of reach for many residents, prominent billionaires include David Geffen, Steven Spielberg and Magic Johnson.
One conspicuous billionaire is especially unpopular in California: President Trump, who, despite campaigning on bringing down the cost of living, recently called the word “affordability” a “con job” as he redecorated the White House in gold.
“In a deep blue state like California that has voted against Donald Trump by such large numbers in the last three elections, voters are even more predisposed to be suspicious of billionaires, because he’s now the person with whom they associate the status,” said Dan Schnur, a politics professor at USC, UC Berkeley and Pepperdine.
The state and local tax-the-billionaires proposals, he said, are “about retribution,” much like last year’s Proposition 50, which temporarily redraws the state’s congressional districts to favor Democrats as a counterweight to Trump’s efforts to increase Republican seats in Texas.
To get the statewide billionaire tax proposal on the November ballot, supporters need to collect nearly 875,000 signatures by June 24.
The measure would impose a one-time tax of up to 5% on taxpayers and trusts with assets, such as businesses, art and intellectual property, valued at more than $1 billion. It would apply to billionaires who were residents of the state on Jan. 1, with the option of spreading the tax payment over five years.
Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West, its main backer, said it will raise $100 billion. Most of those funds would be used for healthcare programs, with the remaining 10% going to food assistance and education programs, the union said.
Suzanne Jimenez, the union’s chief of staff, said Friday that “catastrophic” federal funding cuts stemming from Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act will force hospitals to close, eliminate healthcare jobs and cause insurance premiums to spike, leaving senior citizens and veterans with limited access to services.
The California Budget & Policy Center estimates that as many as 3.4 million Californians could lose Medi-Cal coverage and rural hospitals could close unless a new funding source is found.
Jimenez called the proposal “a modest tax” that “affects few people.”
But Gov. Gavin Newsom vowed to stop the billionaire tax, arguing that California can’t isolate itself from the other 49 states.
“We’re in a competitive environment. People have this simple luxury, particularly people of that status, they already have two or three homes outside the state,” Newsom said at the New York Times’ DealBook Summit last month. “It’s a simple issue. You’ve got to be pragmatic about it.”
The billionaire tax would temporarily increase revenues by tens of billions spread over several years, but if billionaires move away, the state could lose “hundreds of millions of dollars or more per year,” according to the nonpartisan California Legislative Analyst’s Office.
Some of California’s wealthiest say they are indeed heading for the exits.
Andy Fang, the billionaire co-founder of DoorDash, wrote on social media: “I love California. Born and raised there. But stupid wealth tax proposals like this make it irresponsible for me not to plan leaving the state.”
Peter Thiel, the billionaire co-founder of PayPal and Palantir, announced in December that his investment firm opened a new Miami office. He donated $3 million that month to a political action committee connected to the California Business Roundtable, which is fighting the measure.
State records show that Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin have been cutting ties to California and moving business interests out of state.
Rick Caruso, the billionaire real estate developer who self-funded his losing 2022 L.A. mayoral campaign to the tune of more than $100 million, said in a statement that “the proposed 5% asset tax is a very bad policy. It will deliver nothing it promises and instead hurt California with lost jobs and hundreds of millions a year in lost revenue from existing income taxes.”
Ending months of speculation, Caruso announced Friday he will not challenge Mayor Karen Bass again, nor will he run for governor in a race that includes billionaire hedge fund founder Tom Steyer.
In Los Angeles, supporters of the “Overpaid CEO Tax” announced outside the Tesla Diner that they must collect 140,000 signatures in the next 120 days to get the measure on the November ballot. The measure would raise taxes on companies whose CEOs make at least 50 times more than their median-paid employee. It would apply only to companies with 1,000 or more employees.
The Fair Games Coalition, a collection of labor groups including the Los Angeles teachers union, is sponsoring the measure, which would allocate 70% of the revenue to housing for working families, 20% to street and sidewalk repairs and 5% to after-school programs and access to fresh food.
Business groups have denounced it, saying it would drive companies out of the city.
“Luxury for a few, while those who cook, who clean, who build, who teach, who write — the people who make the city prosperous — are stretched to the breaking point,” Kurt Petersen, co-president of the airport and hotel workers union Unite Here Local 11, said at Musk’s diner, describing it as an avatar for an unjust L.A. economy.
A similar effort to increase taxes on companies with disproportionately paid CEOs is underway in San Francisco, where voters already approved a levy on such businesses in 2020.
On Friday, Doug Herman, a spokesperson for Bass’ reelection campaign, said she has “not taken a position” on the state or city wealth tax proposals. But at her campaign launch last month, Bass framed the mayoral race as “a choice between working people and the billionaire class who treat public office as their next vanity project.”
Jeremy Padawer, a toy industry executive and animated TV producer who lost his home in the Palisades fire, said the mayor’s framing of the race as a battle against billionaires feels contrived, especially given the intense criticism of her handling of the fire.
Power is as relevant as money, and Bass is “the most powerful person in the room,” said Padawer, who organized the “They Let Us Burn” rally on the one-year anniversary of the fire.
“I know a lot of billionaires,” Padawer said. “And I think that billionaires have a propensity to do a lot of good, but they also have the propensity to do a lot of bad.”
Times staff writer Queenie Wong contributed to this report.
ANKARA
A 31-year-old suspect identified as Cole Thomas Allen is in custody following a shooting incident at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington, DC, with authorities continuing to investigate his background and possible motives, media reports said late Saturday.
Citing official statements and eyewitness accounts, the reports identified Allen as being from California, later confirmed by US President Donald Trump, who called the suspect “a very sick person,” and said he was thought to have acted alone.
Trump, along with the first lady and several top Cabinet members, was escorted out of the Washington Hilton ballroom, where the event was taking place, by Secret Service. Shortly afterward, he said the suspect had been “apprehended” and shared photos of him on the ground shirtless, along with blurry security footage of what appeared to be a figure darting past security agents.
Officials said the suspect was armed with multiple weapons, including a shotgun, a handgun and several knives. Metropolitan Police interim chief Jeff Carroll said he was also a guest at the hotel hosting the dinner.
Also speaking after the incident, Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said the suspect reportedly “rushed a Secret Service checkpoint” in a lobby before being stopped by agents.
An officer was shot during the incident but survived thanks to a bulletproof vest he was wearing.
“He was shot from very close distance with a very powerful gun, and the vest did the job,” Trump said, adding the officer was “in great shape.”
Witness accounts provided additional details about the suspect’s actions before the shooting.
A volunteer at the event, Helen Mabus, told the New York Post that the suspect appeared to assemble a “long” weapon in a lightly monitored area near a terrace-level entrance.
“He grabbed it out of a bag or something … it was long and didn’t look like a typical gun,” the daily quoted her as saying.
Mabus said the suspect was partially out of view of security while handling the weapon in a “makeshift room” used for storing bar carts.
“He put it together and … ran towards the stairs to go down to the ballroom,” she recounted.
Mabus said the suspect then began firing in multiple directions, estimating she heard at least 10 shots. “It just seemed like he was shooting all over the place,” she said, describing panic among guests.
Authorities said the suspect was later apprehended and transported to a hospital for evaluation.
Jeanine Pirro, US attorney for the District of Columbia, said the suspect would face two charges and is expected to be arraigned in federal court on Monday. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said additional charges may follow, noting that the investigation was ongoing.
FBI Director Kash Patel, who was also at the dinner, said the bureau had begun examining the suspect’s background and would “analyze all evidence immediately.”
While officials have said no clear motive was immediately clear, CBS News reported that
Allen admitted to security forces after his arrest that he intended to shoot Trump administration officials.
Citing two sources, the broadcaster said Allen did not specify that he was targeting Trump, only saying he was after “administration officials.”
The suspect is reported to have earned a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from California State University, and a Cole Allen appears among computer science graduates in the May 2025 commencement program of California State University, Dominguez Hills.
According to law enforcement sources cited by CBS News, Allen worked as a teacher with C2 Education in Torrance, a private tutoring service, and was named “Teacher of the Month” in December 2024, according to a Facebook post. It is unclear whether he was still employed there at the time of the incident.
White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting
The incident occurred during the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner at the Washington Hilton Hotel, where President Trump, first lady Melania Trump and other high-level figures were present.
Witnesses reported hearing loud “pop, pop, pop” sounds, prompting guests to take cover under tables as security forces responded.
The Trump couple, Vice President JD Vance and Cabinet members were evacuated from the head table, while other guests remained inside the ballroom.
Secret Service agents and law enforcement quickly intervened, securing the scene and taking the suspect into custody as the event was halted.
Margaux Mirkin, the 70-year-old heiress whose father founded Budget Rent a Car, was the apparent victim of a home invasion on Thursday in which she was assaulted and strangled, according to police.
Officers arrived at her Hollywood Hills home in Los Angeles and learned that the attackers had left the woman inside the residence after allegedly smashing her jaw and choking her.
Property records obtained by NBC4 confirmed Mirkin owns the residence.
Although the full extent of the theft remains unclear, police said the suspects stole cash and jewelry from the home. Neighbors said some of the jewelry belonged to the woman’s late husband, who died in a house fire two years ago.
After the incident, Kristen Stavola, executive director of We Are Laurel Canyon, spoke to NBC4.
“She’s pretty shaken up, as anyone would be after being assaulted in your home and watching your valuables get stolen and driven away,” Stavola said.
An individual who did not want to be identified said the street is “dark” and a “dead-end street.”
“Not many people are on it, so of course it’s like the perfect street for a break-in,” the neighbor said.
NBC4 reported that the robbers dropped a bag containing a large amount of jewelry while leaving the home. When a neighbor saw them and shined a flashlight in their direction, they took off.
The police department’s robbery-homicide division is now managing the investigation.
Nevada — known for its vast deserts and audacious gamblers — is luring Californians away from the Golden State at a higher rate than any other.
The Silver State leeched a net 81 Californians per 10,000 residents each year from California between 2016 and 2025, as California undergoes a mass exodus of residents leaving, according to a report.
The report, titled “Priced Out: RELOCATION AMIDST CALIFORNIA’S AFFORDABILITY CRISIS,” was released on March 31 by the nonpartisan California Policy Lab.
Californians move to Nevada at a higher rate than even Texas, the report notes.
“Nevada is the standout,” the report says. “News reports often mention Texas, but that is misleading. The most accurate measure of popularity adjusts for state population and shows a clear pattern: proximity reigns. Californians most often leave for nearby states, and California also welcomes new residents from neighboring states most frequently.”
Nevada is a much cheaper state for U.S. residents to live in than California. It has no state income tax, unlike California, and housing prices, along with gas prices, are also lower. California’s average regular gas price was $5.88 on Friday while Nevada’s was $4.99, an 89-cent difference.
Evan White, a co-author of the study, says the Californians are leaving for more affordable states.
“The price tag has gone up on the California Dream, and many families are leaving the state for more affordable places,” White, the Executive Director of the California Policy Lab at UC Berkeley, said. “The difference these moves make is stark. Their destination neighborhoods are half as expensive and they end up much more likely to own a home within just a few years.”
The report shows that out-of-state movers pay an average of $672 less per month on housing costs, and home prices are 48% lower. Former California residents are about 48% more likely to own a home in their new state.
Higher-income Californians are also leaving at increasingly higher rates, the report said. The share of higher-income Californians leaving has increased from 34% to 40% since the pandemic.
“Our report shows that people who leave California are increasingly leaving from higher-income neighborhoods,” co-author Dr. Brett Fischer, Researcher at the California Policy Lab, said. “These movers are, on average, in a weaker financial position than their neighbors, and may be moving to attain the quality of life they see their neighbors enjoying but they cannot afford.”
From 2010 to 2024, nearly 10 million people left California. The state is considered one of the most expensive states in the nation.
Idaho, Oregon, and Arizona are the next largest net recipients of Californians on a per-capita basis, the report says.
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