Vinod Khosla isn’t packing his bags. As a wave of Silicon Valley billionaires quietly (or even loudly) sever ties with California over a proposed wealth tax that could levy a one-time 5% charge on assets held by residents worth $1 billion or more, the legendary venture capitalist and Sun Microsystems co-founder says he’s staying put—even as he sounds the alarm about what he calls permanent damage to the state’s tax base.
“California will lose its most important taxpayers and net off much worse,” Khosla wrote on X in late December, responding to Rep. Ro Khanna’s vocal support for the measure. And in a warning that goes beyond the billionaire class, Khosla added that “even people who don’t expect this initiative to pass are still planning to leave because there will be another one.”
