Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang seems like he’s not losing sleep over California’s proposed wealth tax.
When Bloomberg TV’s Ed Ludlow asked Huang about California’s proposed 5% billionaire wealth tax in an interview that aired on Tuesday, Huang said that the potential levy hasn’t crossed his mind once and that he is “trying to build the future of AI.”
“I’ve got to tell you, I have not even thought about it once,” Huang told Ludlow. “We chose to live in Silicon Valley, and whatever taxes they would like to apply, so be it. I’m perfectly fine with it.”
“We work in Silicon Valley because that’s where the talent pool is,” Huang added.
Huang is the eighth-wealthiest person in the world according to Forbes, which estimated his net worth at approximately $162.6 billion as of January 6. Most of Huang’s wealth comes from his around 3% stake in Nvidia, which just showed off its new Vera Rubin chips at the Consumer Electronics Show.
Based on his net worth as reported by Forbes, a 5% tax on his total wealth would amount to more than $8 billion, to be paid over five years, according to the proposed plan.
The California wealth tax was proposed by the SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West in order to offset anticipated budget cuts to healthcare, education, and food assistance.
A wealth tax is different from an income tax and is a levy on an individual’s entire net worth instead of annual income. The union estimates that the one-time tax will bring in $100 billion over five years for the state and apply to the around 200 billionaires who are residents of California.
The proposal is still very far from reality and would need 870,000 signatures to even make it to the ballot in November 2026, where it would then be voted on or rejected by California voters.
Billionaires from Palmer Luckey to David Sacks have already voiced their full-throated disapproval.
According to filings viewed by Business Insider, Larry Page, the Google cofounder, converted many of his assets from California to Delaware in December to derisk them from the potential wealth tax. His departure meets an end-of-2025 deadline, since the tax, if passed, would only apply to billionaires who are still residents of California on January 1, 2026.
Celebrity attorney Alex Spiro wrote a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom on behalf of his wealthy clients and warned that they would “permanently relocate” if the California billionaire tax comes to pass.
Nvidia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
