After nearly a full week of post-2026 US midterm election ballot tabulations, official projections confirmed that California’s electorate has voted down Proposition 40, a historic ballot initiative that would have marked the world’s first targeted one-time wealth tax on the state’s billionaire class. The proposed policy would have imposed a 5% levy on the total net worth, including stock holdings, real estate assets and accumulated wealth, of all California residents with a fortune exceeding $1.1 billion, a group that numbers roughly 200 people across the state, including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, media icon Oprah Winfrey and entertainment personality Kim Kardashian. Proponents of the measure framed it as a mechanism to raise $100 billion in dedicated funding to offset deep cuts to federal healthcare allocations implemented under former President Donald Trump’s landmark tax and spending overhaul, arguing the policy would ensure ultra-high-net-worth individuals pay their equitable share to fill critical gaps in the state’s public health budget. Despite broad popular support for progressive tax reform among some California voters, the initiative collapsed due to deep internal rifts within the state’s Democratic Party and widespread pushback from major labor unions, alongside fierce, well-funded opposition from some of the state’s wealthiest residents. Google co-founder Sergey Brin emerged as one of the most prominent critics, with Los Angeles Times records showing he donated over $100 million to a political advocacy group dedicated to defeating the ballot measure. Multiple billionaires even relocated their official residency outside California in advance of the vote to avoid potential liability under the proposed tax. Outgoing California Governor Gavin Newsom also publicly opposed Proposition 40, warning that the policy could trigger an exodus of the state’s highest earners, eliminating the substantial personal income tax contributions they make that fund a large share of California’s core public services.