California's richest, led by tech icons like Google co-founder Sergey Brin, just blocked a one-time 5% tax on billionaires, Proposition 40.
Brin alone contributed at least $132 million, and together Silicon Valley elites raised nearly $425 million to defeat it.
Campaign outspent supporters, Prop 42 passes
The anti-tax campaign outspent supporters by a huge margin and ran ads saying the tax would hurt everyday people.
Big names like Gov. Gavin Newsom also spoke out against it.
On top of that, voters passed Proposition 42, making it even harder to tax billionaires in California going forward.
Union leaders say they will keep pushing for fair taxation next time around.