Rick Caruso nearly left California over Proposition 40 wealth tax
Billionaire real estate mogul Rick Caruso admitted he nearly moved out of California because of a proposed 5% wealth tax on billionaires (Proposition 40).
He considered relocating to Texas or Florida for the financial perks, but in the end, staying close to family mattered more to him.
California rejects Proposition 40, billionaires depart
Proposition 40 was meant to boost funding for health care and education, but voters turned it down: 53.7% said no.
The debate sparked worries about wealthy people leaving the state; seven billionaires have already left, taking $540 billion with them.
Caruso warned that if high earners keep leaving, California could lose not just money, but also jobs and charitable donations: Rick Caruso said, "The problem is when a couple hundred billionaires leave, what also leaves is businesses, their teams, their management, their staff, their employees, but most of all their philanthropy," followed by "All of a sudden their philanthropy goes to a different city where now they're living."