Uber co-founder joins growing billionaire exodus from California
What's the story
Travis Kalanick, the billionaire co-founder of Uber, has announced his move from California to Texas. The decision comes as part of a growing trend among billionaires leaving the Golden State amid proposed tax legislation. Kalanick revealed he relocated to Austin on December 18, during an interview with TPBN while discussing his robotics start-up Atoms.
Tax legislation
Proposed California tax on billionaires sparks mass exodus
California lawmakers and activists are pushing the proposed 2026 Billionaire Tax Act, which could be on the state's November ballot. The measure would impose a one-time 5% tax on fortunes over $1 billion for those who were California residents as of January 1, 2026. Kalanick joked about feeling FOMO (fear of missing out) when hearing about other wealthy Americans moving to Florida.
Relocation trend
Other tech billionaires who have left California
Kalanick isn't the only tech billionaire to leave California for Florida. Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, PayPal and Palantir investor Peter Thiel, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg have all made similar moves. Despite still having the highest number of billionaires in the US, California is witnessing a growing number of its super-rich residents moving to places like Reno, Austin, and Miami.
Career transition
Kalanick's controversial exit from Uber and new venture
Kalanick's exit from Uber in 2017 was marred by scandals, workplace culture issues, and investor pressure. He was also dealing with the aftermath of a boating accident that killed his mother and left his father severely injured. However, he has since moved on to Atoms (formerly City Storage Systems), an industrial robotics company automating tasks in food service, mining, and transportation with physical AI robots.