Google Co-founder Sergey Brin has made his largest public donation yet to address California’s housing crisis, just weeks after moving his primary residence to a $42 million mansion on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe, according to new documents and property records. The move shows how one of the world’s richest men is trying to shape the future of a state from which he is increasingly alienated, both physically and possibly for tax purposes, as questions are raised about how many California billionaires might leave the state through a ballot initiative targeting 1% of their wealth.
According to recent state disclosures, Breen has pledged $20 million to a new organization called Building a Better California, a political and policy effort specifically targeting California’s worsening housing affordability problem. new york times. The funding is part of a broader $35 million startup package that also includes $15 million from eight other wealthy business leaders, including former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and venture capitalist Michael Moritz, who each contributed $2 million. About a week ago, another Silicon Valley billionaire made his largest political donation in years. Peter Thiel Donated $3 million to a California business group leading opposition to a proposed wealth tax on billionaires.
Even amid his rapidly expanding philanthropic and political spending, Breen’s contributions stand out and have been described as era His donation is his most visible single cash commitment to housing affordability in the state, according to people familiar with him. Build Better California is expected to support statewide ballot measures and legislation to boost housing construction and streamline permitting, making Breen a major player in one of California’s most contentious policy fights. A person familiar with Breen’s thinking told The Times that Breen has been considering potential reforms to address California’s economic and budget problems since last year, when the wealth tax effort had not gained traction.
Move out as money comes in
Breen’s surge in political donations comes just weeks after he was rumored to be purchasing Crystal Pointe, a sprawling lakefront estate on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe for $42 million. Bloomberg reports Public records and LLC documents link the buyer to Breen as part of a broader effort to move assets and residency out of California.
The Lake Tahoe property, which had been billed as one of the most expensive listings in the area, features five acres of land, multiple buildings with direct access to the lake, and two glass walkways extending from the hillside to the water.
this era reported before Brin and his fellow Google co-founders cut ties with California in a variety of other ways. For example, an entity tied to Breen terminated or transferred 15 California LLCs 10 days before Christmas, according to documents seen by the FBI. era. Seven of them were converted to Nevada entities.
Meanwhile, Page followed a Bezos-like strategy and fled to Miami, spending about $173 million to buy two ultra-luxury beachfront mansions in Miami’s posh Coconut Grove district. Regulatory filings show Page also moved his family office and several investment and holding entities out of California. business insider reportre-registered in Delaware and listed a new business address in Florida.
The $20 million housing gift comes as Brin’s overall giving has expanded rapidly, driven by massive transfers of Alphabet stock to charities over the past two years. A recent analysis found that Brin’s funding surged, exceeding that of several Heritage foundations, and that his vehicle Approximately $1.1 billion to be spent in 2025 alonesolidifying his status as one of the most active big-money donors in the United States. Funding from his Catalyst4 nonprofit and family foundation is earmarked for areas such as health, climate and scientific research.
housing crisis background
California’s housing crisis has become the state’s defining challenge, with high rents, soaring home prices and persistent homelessness fueling voter anger and anti-NIMBY action. Cities in the Bay Area and Los Angeles have struggled to approve and build enough housing to keep pace with job growth, while local resistance and complex financing rules have slowed progress on affordable housing projects. A recent report from UBS Global Wealth Management showed that Los Angeles and San Francisco have joined Miami and New York. real estate bubble index As one of the cities with the most out-of-control housing prices in the world.
One person appears to agree with Breen on housing: an architect of the wealth tax who appears to be pushing Breen to leave the state. wealth Recently spoke with Brian GallerUC Berkeley professor, leading expert on wealth taxes, and one of the architects of the billionaire tax ballot proposal. He is also a recent transplant to the Bay Area after teaching for ten years at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and growing up in the New York City area. “I think one of the most confusing things (about California) is their housing policy,” he told wealthadding that he believed California “could be more enthusiastic about embracing newcomers” and that there was too little housing available.
“I’m not going to tell you about my search for housing, but it was traumatic, and I’m sure it was for everyone,” Galle said. He said the sprawling, car-centric state seemed to have other problems, with counterproductive urban planning choices. For example, local BART stations in Berkeley and Oakland are not surrounded by dense development. “You look around and there’s an empty parking lot covered in tumbleweeds. You think, what are we doing? In Washington, D.C., the whole place is going to be covered in condos and retail, whereas California never seemed to get the message on how to build on the infrastructure you’re pouring billions of dollars into.”
Although Galle stresses that he is a lawyer, not an economist by training, he thinks economics can help here. “There’s been a lot of evidence recently that, in general, building more housing is actually good for current homeowners. Like, everyone thinks if I build more housing, then my house is going to be less valuable. But it turns out that actually, more people who love your neighborhood means more people who love your neighborhood and want to live there.”
California’s new housing push expands Breen’s influence into overt political territory, with deep-pocketed donors increasingly funding campaigns aimed at reorienting how and where homes are built in the state. For California, Breen’s latest move captures an emerging paradox: Even as billionaire founders move their wealth and residences to states with lower taxes, their money will flow back into the Golden State’s fight over how to provide housing for workers and share the costs of its prosperity.