Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang might be worth $156 billion, but he barely bat an eyelid at a proposed tax on billionaires which critics fear could push talent out of California.
The proposed bill would impose a one-time, 5% tax on the state’s billionaires, estimated to be some 200 individuals. Even if the indivdual barely makes the billion-dollar threshold, the tax would still demand a $50,000,000 payment. At Huang’s net worth, he would be facing an eye-watering payment of almost $8 billion.
The tech titan seemed relatively unfazed by the proposal—or its impact on the West Coast state’s talent pool. “I haven’t thought about it even once,” Huang told a Bloomberg podcast. “We work in Silicon Valley because that’s where the talent pool is. We have offices all over the world. Wherever there’s talent, we have an office.”
Already, reports are emerging that magnets of talent and investment are considering leaving the state. Venture capitalist Peter Thiel has explored spending more time outside California and opening an office for his Los Angeles-based personal investment firm, Thiel Capital, in another state, The New York Times reported a fortnight ago. Likewise, Google cofounder Larry Page has discussed leaving the state by year’s end, sources told the Times.
