California voters have rejected Proposition 40, the one-time billionaire tax, with 52.8% voting No against 47.2% Yes, the Associated Press called the result on Monday 9 November. The measure would have imposed a one-time 5% tax on the net worth of California residents worth more than $1 billion, and its defeat ends one of the most expensive ballot fights in the state’s history.
The AP called the race at 6:28pm Pacific on Monday, with about 83% of the expected vote counted, according to KQED. At that point the No side led by about 621,000 votes — 5,909,778 against and 5,288,379 in favour. These are unofficial figures at roughly 83% counted, not final certified results; the California Secretary of State certifies the result on 11 December.
Proposition 40 targeted anyone living in California on 1 January 2026 whose net worth topped $1 billion — about 200 people, according to the BBC. Supporters, led by the healthcare workers’ union SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West, said it would raise about $100 billion over five years, mostly to backfill federal healthcare funding cuts, with 10% directed to education and food-assistance programmes. The measure was designed by economists Gabriel Zucman and Emmanuel Saez.
A $378 million opposition campaign
Opponents spent about $378.4 million against the measure, more than ten times the roughly $33.5 million raised by the Yes campaign, according to CalMatters’ tally. Google co-founder Sergey Brin alone contributed more than $100 million to the opposition. Governor Gavin Newsom opposed the tax, as did both the Democratic and Republican candidates for governor, despite the California Democratic Party endorsing it.
Union leaders appeared to concede minutes before the AP call and vowed to try again in 2028 if the legislature “fails to deliver a real solution” to fund healthcare, according to CalMatters. Backers told the AP they could put a similar tax back on the ballot in 2028.
Companion measure still uncalled
The companion measure, Proposition 42, which would ban new wealth taxes in California, was leading 51.6% to 48.3% at a similar point in the count but had not been called. If it passes, it would close the door on a repeat of the Proposition 40 approach.
The result is a setback for progressive efforts to tax accumulated wealth rather than income alone, and a win for the tech billionaires who bankrolled the opposition. It also leaves California’s healthcare funding gap unresolved, with the federal cuts the tax was meant to replace still due to bite over the next five years.
Sources: TechCrunch via stocks99.in (10 Nov 2026); Reason via vantagepredictions.com (10 Nov 2026); AP via vantagepredictions.com (10 Nov 2026).
