Larry Page bought $173M in mansions to escape California's potential billionaire tax — possibly saving him nearly $15B

On Election Day, voters in California will decide whether to impose a one-time 5% tax on the wealth of the state’s billionaires — but some have already left the state to try to dodge it.

Proposition 40 is a one-time tax that would charge any billionaire who lived in the state on Jan. 1, 2026, 5% of their wealth. Over 200 billionaires live in California, but some of them chose to move out of the state before 2026 in anticipation of the possible tax.

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Among them is Google co-founder Larry Page, who moved his family office to Delaware in late December 2025. According to The Wall Street Journal, the billionaire also bought two Miami properties, one in December and one at the beginning of January.

Those two mansions reportedly cost him a total of $173 million — far less than the nearly $15 billion Fortune estimates he could have owed in California.

Opponents of Prop 40 have raised millions discouraging voters from backing it, but even if it doesn’t pass, the migration of billionaires to Miami could continue.

Debate over Prop 40

With tens of millions of non-billionaires versus a couple hundred billionaires in California, it might seem like a no-brainer that most people would believe Prop 40 is good for them. The one-time tax only targets the absolute wealthiest Californians and the money is meant to help fund healthcare and food assistance and education-related programs.

The measure, however, has been met with significant opposition. The group Vote No On Prop 40 includes over a hundred members, including statewide and regional organizations, as well as Gov. Gavin Newsom, state senators, mayors and school board trustees.

The group opposes the tax for a number of reasons. Among the concerns are that the one-time tax will hurt the state economy and budget by driving wealthy residents out of California. There is also concern the measure will give politicians the power to expand taxes to all residents and that there is no oversight into how the tax dollars will be spent.

Supporters of Prop 40 dispute these claims.

The group Yes on 40 argues the measure is a single, one-time tax that does not include any mechanism for creating additional future taxes. It also argues the measure is designed so that any legislative amendments need to stay consistent with the proposition’s stated purpose of applying a one-time tax to billionaires.

Supporters also argue the one-time tax will ensure that services can continue at clinics affected by federal cuts to Medicaid and that it will only increase funding to schools.

The proposition has received support from progressive figures including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, but voters remain unsure of whether the proposition will actually do what it says.

Why Miami has become so popular for billionaires

While some voters have expressed doubt about whether Prop 40 will truly be a one-time tax that only targets billionaires, the majority of Americans agree that billionaires should pay more in taxes.

Billionaires like Page who have left California are doing so in part to avoid having to pay the 5% tax if Prop 40 passes, but it’s no coincidence that he chose to move to Miami.

Florida has no state income tax or capital gains tax and Miami has sought to portray itself as friendlier to businesses than other cities with higher taxes.

The city also has a climate and culture that are attractive to those who can afford it.

It’s an expensive place to live and it has only gotten more expensive — it’s now the second most expensive metropolitan area in the U.S., only trailing San Francisco.

But for a billionaire trying to avoid paying more in taxes, spending $173 million to buy a couple of luxury mansions is a comparatively cheap way to live.

Larry Page bought $173M in mansions to escape California’s potential billionaire tax — possibly saving him nearly $15B