Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman has blasted California’s proposed wealth tax as a potential government seizure of private property, arguing such taxes have failed everywhere they have been tried.
Ackman, who is not a California resident, took to X earlier this week to criticize the proposal which, if approved by voters, would impose a one-time 5% tax on the assets of California residents worth more than $1 billion.
"I am opposed to wealth taxes because they effectively represent an expropriation of private property and have many unintended and negative consequences that have occurred in every country that has launched such a tax," Ackman said in the post.
The proposal comes as California faces a projected $18 billion deficit for fiscal year 2026-27, according to the state’s Legislative Analyst’s Office.
"With respect to California’s budget problem, the issue is not a lack of tax revenues. The problem is how the money is being spent," Ackman wrote.
Days earlier, Ackman said that "California is on a path to self-destruction" amid news that some tech billionaires were considering leaving the state if the proposal were to move forward.