Lawmaker Says He Will "Miss Thiel, Other Billionaires" if They Leave California

A proposed California ballot measure that would raise taxes on the state’s wealthiest residents has prompted billionaire investor and Trump supporter Peter Thiel to consider cutting ties with the state, drawing a sarcastic response from Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), Alexander Willis reported for Raw Story.

While it remains unclear whether the measure will qualify, some of California’s wealthiest residents—including Thiel—are already considering relocating. (Photo: Gage Skidmore Flickr) 

“Peter Thiel is leaving California if we pass a 1% tax on billionaires for five years to pay for health care for the working class facing steep Medicaid cuts,” Khanna wrote Friday night in a post on X.

“I echo what [former President Franklin D. Roosevelt] said, with sarcasm, of economic royalists when they threatened to leave: ‘I will miss them very much.’”

The proposal, known as the California Billionaire Tax Act, would impose a one-time 5% tax on the net worth of residents and part-time residents worth more than $1 billion.

To qualify for next year’s ballot, it must collect more than 870,000 signatures and is currently in the signature-gathering phase.

While it remains unclear whether the measure will qualify, some of California’s wealthiest residents—including Thiel—are already considering relocating, The New York Times reported.

Thiel, a co-founder of PayPal and Palantir, has been an outspoken supporter of former President Donald Trump, and Palantir has secured lucrative government contracts.