Jensen Huang seems indifferent to the future of the $7.75 billion tax bill.
How much is that? Nvidia If the proposed ballot measure succeeds, the CEO could owe money to the state of California. a one-time 5% wealth tax on the nation’s billionaires. As of January 6, Huang’s net worth of $155 billion makes him the ninth richest person in the world. Bloomberg estimates — this result would be “excellent”, he told Bloomberg TV on tuesday.
“I have to tell you, I never once thought about it,” Huang, 62, said when asked if the proposed tax would apply to him. “We chose to live in Silicon Valley, so whatever tax they want to impose, so be it. I’m fine with it.”
Voting initiative, presented In November, health workers’ unions, including lawmakers, backed it Representative Ro HannaD-Calif., and Senator Bernie SandersStarting in early 2026, I-Vt., California will charge a 5% tax on the gross assets of anyone with a net worth of more than $1.1 billion. This initiative directs tax dollars to California’s health care budget. significant deficit federal spending cuts and public school and food programs.
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You have to take the initiative More than 870 thousand signatures to appear on the state’s November 2026 ballot, when California voters will decide whether to enact it. If successful, billionaires currently living in California would be taxed on all their valuable assets, including any stocks or businesses they own, even if they leave the state in 2026.
Real estate assets are tax-exempt because residents pay property taxes, according to the analysis California’s nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office. Under the proposal, billionaires would be allowed to spread their payments over five years.
Proponents say the tax could be the end collects about 100 billion dollars the state’s 200 richest people, including Juan. Although Nvidia’s CEO has never disclosed a full description of his assets, Estimated by Forbes the vast majority of his wealth comes from his roughly 3% stake in Nvidia, which is currently worth more than $4.6 trillion.
An Nvidia spokesperson declined to comment beyond Huang’s remarks on Tuesday when contacted by CNBC Make It.
“We work in Silicon Valley because the talent pool is here”
Huang’s disdain for the proposed tax puts him at odds with many billionaires in the state and elsewhere. For example, billionaire Anduril founder Palmer Lackey said the proposed tax would force billionaire founders to “sell large chunks of our companies” in order to have enough liquidity to pay the tax bills. wrote on December 28 in a post on the social network platform X.
“Now me and my co-founders have to come up with billions of dollars in cash somehow,” Lackey wrote.
Another billionaire, venture capitalist and founder of Sun Microsystems is Vinod Khosla. A post from X on 28 December wealth tax persuades billionaires to flee the state. On the contrary, there are supporters of the ballot initiative focused on research rejecting the idea that high taxes will lead to the migration of significant numbers of wealthy individuals and businesses.
Business leaders, including Google founder Larry Page and venture capitalist Peter Thiel, have considered leaving California by the end of 2025 to avoid the tax proposal. Article from December 26 In The New York Times. Since then, neither Page nor Thiel have publicly announced the change of residence, and representatives for each billionaire did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Billionaire investor Bill Ackman, whose Pershing Square hedge fund is based in New York, has been more vocal in his criticism of wealth taxes. A post from X on 29 Decemberthey wrote that it “effectively represents an expropriation of private property and has many unintended and negative consequences.” Billionaire investor Mark Cuban – he said “pride to pay” Big annual tax bill, though opposed to tax on unrealized capital gains – “I agree” he wrote In response to Ackman’s post.
California’s Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom also expressed his opposition to state-level wealth taxes as proposed. If the California initiative gathers enough signatures, Newsom and the state legislature could block it from appearing on the November ballot. emergency application by the California Supreme Court.
However, Huang was adamant that Nvidia’s location in Santa Clara, California, is still a big advantage. “We work in Silicon Valley because the talent pool is there,” he said. A company’s ability to hire skilled workers is usually the biggest factor in determining where a company will be present, he added.
“Wherever there is talent, we have offices,” Huang said.
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