politics
Eric Schmidt is reportedly at odds with Google cofounder Sergey Brin over how a $100 million campaign against California's billionaire tax is spent
Eric Schmidt and Sergey Brin helped build Google into one of the world’s most valuable technology companies. Now, the former Google chief executive and the company’s co-founder find themselves on the same side of a California political fight—but a new report finds they are increasingly at odds over how to use their combined contributions. The disagreement centers on the ultra-rich coalition that has spent more than $100 million trying to bring down Proposition 40.
TL;DR
- Eric Schmidt and Sergey Brin, former Google executives, are reportedly disagreeing on the strategy for a $100 million campaign against California's Proposition 40, a proposed billionaire wealth tax.
- Schmidt is reportedly frustrated with the anti-tax coalition's leadership and its failure to prevent California Democrats from endorsing the wealth-tax measure.
- The disagreement also involves how their financial contributions are being utilized, with Schmidt's funds allegedly being used to oppose other measures beyond Proposition 40.
- Proposition 40 proposes a one-time 5% tax on the net worth of California residents exceeding $1 billion.
- Other notable figures like John Doerr, Chris Larsen, and Patrick Collison have also contributed significantly to the opposition campaign through the organization Building a Better California.
- Notable billionaires Mark Cuban and Palmer Luckey have also publicly opposed Proposition 40.