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Zuckerberg strikes deal with Meta over California billionaire tax

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 22 Oct, 21:02 · Archive

Mark Zuckerberg has agreed with Meta's board to help him pay a proposed one-time 5% California wealth tax on billionaires if voters approve it.

Mark Zuckerberg has made a deal with Meta's board to help him pay a proposed California wealth tax without losing his ownership stake in the company he founded. The one-time 5% tax would apply to Californians with a net worth exceeding $1 billion and is before voters in the election concluding 3 November. Zuckerberg, the sixth-richest person in the world with an estimated net worth of more than $220 billion, would face a tax liability of more than $11 billion if the measure passes.

Under the deal announced on Wednesday, Zuckerberg can sell a new class of non-voting Meta shares 'for any reason', including to pay potential bills from the wealth tax. The compromise came after Zuckerberg told the board he was considering selling his Palo Alto home in anticipation of the proposed tax. He has now committed to staying in California for eight years, unless 'material unforeseen circumstances' arise that make it 'prudent or advisable for him to reside elsewhere'.

The tax would apply to anyone with a primary residence in California as of 1 January 2026. Most revenue would be used to backfill federal funding cuts to healthcare, with 10% going toward education and food-assistance programmes. A few hundred billionaires live in California.

Zuckerberg strikes deal with Meta over California billionaire tax
Image: News4Jax

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In this story: Mark Zuckerberg · Meta · California · Palo Alto

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