--- title: "Bernie Sanders Slammed Google Co-Founder for Spending Millions to Stop California's Billionaire Tax Proposal—Crypto Punters Weigh Passage Odds" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/295748003.md" description: "Cryptocurrency prediction market Polymarket has slightly increased the odds to 32% that California's proposed one-time 5% billionaire wealth tax will pass in the November election. The measure, targeting residents with over $1 billion in net worth, has qualified for the ballot with over $3 million wagered. Senator Bernie Sanders criticized Google co-founder Sergey Brin for spending $100 million to oppose the tax. While Governor Gavin Newsom opposes it due to fears of capital flight, the California Democratic Party and some tech leaders support it." datetime: "2026-08-13T04:58:16.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/295748003.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/295748003.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/295748003.md) --- # Bernie Sanders Slammed Google Co-Founder for Spending Millions to Stop California's Billionaire Tax Proposal—Crypto Punters Weigh Passage Odds Cryptocurrency bookmakers slightly raised odds that California’s one-time billionaire wealth tax will pass in this year’s general election. ## Prediction Markets Wager on Passage Odds **Polygon** (CRYPTO: POL)-based **Polymarket** currently prices this outcome at 32%, up 1 percentage point over the past week and 4 points over the past month. The proposal has officially qualified to appear on California’s ballot for the Nov. 3 general election. Over $3 million has been wagered on the outcome. The market resolves to “Yes” if a proposal containing a one-time 5% tax on accumulated worldwide net worth exceeding $1 billion for California residents—targeting individuals, households, or family units with wealth—passes in the election. **Read Also: Polymarket Loads Up on Robinhood, Coinbase, Nasdaq Veterans Ahead of Its Biggest US Test** ## Sanders Targets Google Co-Founder Sen. **Bernie Sanders** (I-VT) took a dig at **Alphabet’s** (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) subsidiary **Google** co-founder **Sergey Brin** for his efforts to oppose the proposed billionaire tax, highlighting the wealth he amassed since President **Donald** Trump’s election. “If California passes its one-time 5% wealth tax, he would owe $14 billion and still be worth $270 billion,” Sanders said. “So what is he doing? Spending $100 million to defeat the proposal. ## The Big Divide The campaign is led by the Service Employees International Union, which represents about 2 million workers in more than 100 job types across the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. The union says the tax is needed to make up for large cuts to federal Medicaid and food assistance programs that were recently signed into law by President **Donald Trump**. **Dave Regan**, the president of the union, said the effort has grown into a “national campaign,” as part of a wider push to reach money "hoarded outside of the tax system,” according to Politico. The proposal has divided Silicon Valley. Venture capitalist **Chamath Palihapitiya** said he will stay in California and pay the tax, and **Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA)** CEO **Jensen Huang** has also urged wealthy residents not to leave. California Governor **Gavin Newsom** strongly opposed the tax, arguing that it could prompt wealthy residents and capital to leave California. The California Democratic Party, meanwhile, has endorsed the November ballot measure to tax billionaires’ wealth. **Read Also: Coinbase, Polymarket, Kalshi Face NYC Prediction Market Investigation** _Photo Courtesy: Christopher Penler on Shutterstock.com_ ### Related Stocks - [GOOG.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GOOG.US.md) - [GOOGL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GOOGL.US.md) - [GGLS.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GGLS.US.md) - [GOOW.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GOOW.US.md) - [GGLL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GGLL.US.md) - [GOOY.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GOOY.US.md) - [GOU.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GOU.US.md) - [GOOX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GOOX.US.md) - [GOOP.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GOOP.US.md) - [MAGX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/MAGX.US.md) - [HOOD.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/HOOD.US.md) - [COIN.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/COIN.US.md) - [NDAQ.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/NDAQ.US.md) - [NVDA.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/NVDA.US.md) - [NVD.DE](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/NVD.DE.md) ## Related News & Research - [Google co-founder Sergey Brin has now spent $100 million to fight the billionaire tax](https://longbridge.com/en/news/295453633.md) - [The 7 biggest announcements of Google’s Pixel 11 launch](https://longbridge.com/en/news/295677917.md) - [‘That is not acceptable’: Judge orders Google to make rival app store installs easier](https://longbridge.com/en/news/295853322.md) - [EXCLUSIVE-Inside the Google executive moves that led to its big AI reshuffle](https://longbridge.com/en/news/295694902.md) - [Google Launches Gemini 3.7 Flash: Major Leap in Coding and Agent Capabilities, Three-Week Iteration Sets New Speed Record for Low-Cost Models](https://longbridge.com/en/news/295829050.md)