Additional Coverage:
- ‘Million Dollar Listing’ star warns California’s wealth tax could backfire on working class (marketrealist.com)
Reality TV Star Warns California’s Proposed Wealth Tax Could Backfire on Working Class
Luxury real estate broker and “Million Dollar Listing” star, Josh Altman, is sounding the alarm over California’s proposed wealth tax, cautioning that it could drive billionaires out of the state and ultimately harm the working class through a “trickle-down effect.”
In a recent interview on Fox Business, Altman shared insights suggesting that several billionaires are already making plans to relocate to states with more favorable wealth tax policies. He warned that such an exodus would deprive California of significant tax revenue and place a greater burden on its working-class population.
The proposed “billionaire tax,” spearheaded by SEIU-UHW, aims to offset federal healthcare spending cuts by implementing a one-time 5% tax on the net worth of California’s billionaires. If approved as a ballot initiative, this tax would be due in 2027, with taxpayers having the option to spread payments over five years, subject to additional non-deductible charges, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office.
Reports indicate that the tax would apply to approximately 250 individuals in the state whose net worth exceeds $1 billion as of January 1, 2026. Speaking on Fox’s “Varney & Co.,” Altman expressed his concern to veteran journalist Stuart Varney, stating that billionaires would likely be unable to prevent the measure’s implementation, leading to their departure.
“There are about 200 to 250 billionaires in California, more than in any other state,” Altman explained. “However, there are also 40 million people in California, 23 million of whom are eligible to vote. If this hits the ballot, there is no way that the billionaires come out on top here, and that’s an issue.”
Altman drew parallels to the ULA Measure, commonly known as the “mansion tax,” which took effect in 2023. He claimed personal knowledge of seven billionaires who have already left California for more wealth-friendly states like Florida and Nevada. He argued that this kind of departure would result in lost tax revenue for the state and have far-reaching consequences for the working class.
“It’s the trickle-down effect,” he asserted. “It’s the people, the hundreds of thousands of people who work for these billionaires. It’s the trillion dollars in taxes that we’re going to lose.”
Prominent figures, including LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and Google co-founder Larry Page, have previously voiced their opposition to the California Billionaire Tax Act, as reported by The Daily Mail.
Altman concluded the interview with a stark anecdote: “You know what a billionaire said to me once? He said, ‘You know what the difference is between 100 million and a billion?
Nothing.’ They’ll be fine.
It’s people that need them that are not, and we’re running them out of California.”