California voters have rejected a one-time tax on the wealth of the state’s billionaires, the Associated Press reported early on Tuesday, ending one of the most expensive and closely watched ballot fights in the state’s history.
Proposition 40 would have imposed a one-time 5 per cent tax on the net worth of California residents worth more than $1 billion, measured on 31 December 2026, with eligibility backdated to anyone resident in the state on 1 January 2026. Supporters said about 200 billionaires would have paid the tax, raising roughly $100 billion, mostly to fund public healthcare.
Decision Desk HQ projected the measure’s defeat, with about 54 per cent voting against and 46 per cent in favour, according to Associated Press vote tabulations with about 71 per cent of ballots counted. Counting in California runs until 16 November and the results are certified on 11 December, so the final margin may still shift.
The campaign became a record spending battle. A billionaire-funded committee, Building a Better California, spent more than $304 million against the measure, according to local reporting. The tax was sponsored by the SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West union and backed by the California Democratic Party, the Democratic Socialists of America, Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Ro Khanna. Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, opposed it.
Voters also backed Proposition 42, a competing measure placed on the same ballot. It writes a ban on new state taxes on the ownership of personal property and savings, and on new retroactive taxes, into the California Constitution. It led 53.4 per cent to 46.6 per cent in the Secretary of State’s count on 5 November, and was designed to nullify Proposition 40 and block future wealth taxes.
The union behind the measure has vowed to try again in 2028 if the state legislature fails to deliver a solution for healthcare funding. For now, though, even in a state where taxing the rich is popular politics, voters have said no to the country’s first state-level wealth tax.
Sources: Associated Press; Decision Desk HQ projection reported by KLZ Radio (https://www.klzradio.com/for-freedom-and-truth/2026/11/09/california-voters-reject-billionaire-wealth-tax/); California Secretary of State results reported by California Today (https://californiatoday.com/news/elections/california-billionaire-tax-prop-40-prop-42-results/). Note: vote percentages are projections and partial counts, not final certified results, as counting continues until 16 November.
