Billionaires Spielberg, Zuckerberg eyeing East Coast, stirring concerns about California's wealth-tax proposal

California whitethorn beryllium losing 2 of the state’s astir famed residents and generous governmental donors.

Filmmaker Steven Spielberg precocious moved to New York and Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg is eyeing purchasing a caller spot successful Florida, stirring speculation astir whether their decisions are tied to a projected caller taxation connected California billionaires to money healthcare for the state’s astir susceptible residents.

Although a fistful of salient conservatives who bolted retired of California noisily blamed their departure connected the arguable wealthiness taxation measure, arsenic good arsenic the state’s wide ways and what they picture arsenic cumbersome concern regulations, neither Zuckerberg nor Spielberg has fixed immoderate denotation that the taxation connection is the crushed for their moves.

A spokesperson for Spielberg, who has owned homes connected some the East and West coasts since astatine slightest the mid-1990s, said the sole information for Spielberg and his wife, histrion Kate Capshaw, decamping to Manhattan was to beryllium adjacent family.

“Steven’s determination to the East Coast is some long-planned and driven purely by his and Kate Capshaw’s tendency to beryllium person to their New York based children and grandchildren,” said Terry Press, a spokesperson for the prodigious filmmaker. She declined to reply questions astir his presumption connected the projected ballot measure.

Director Steven Spielberg presents president Bill Clinton with the Ambassadors Humanity grant astatine the 5th Annual Ambassadors for Humanity Dinner Honoring erstwhile President Bill Clinton to enactment the Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation held astatine the Amblin theatre Universal Studios connected February 17, 2005 successful Los Angeles, California.

(Frazer Harrison / Getty Images)

On Jan. 1, Spielberg and Capshaw officially became residents of New York City, settling successful the historical San Remo co-op successful Central Park West. The storied gathering is among the astir exclusive successful Manhattan, having been location to Bono, Mick Jagger, Warren Beatty, Tiger Woods and galore different celebrities. On the aforesaid day, Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment opened an bureau successful New York City.

Zuckerberg and his wife, pediatrician Priscilla Chan, are considering buying a $200-million waterfront mansion successful South Florida, the Wall Street Journal archetypal reported this month. The spot is located successful Miami’s Indian Creek, a gated obstruction land that is an alcove of the affluent and the influential, including Amazon laminitis Jeff Bezos and Trump’s girl Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner.

Representatives for Zuckerberg declined to comment.

The billionaires’ moves raised eyebrows due to the fact that they instrumentality spot arsenic supporters of the projected 5% one-time taxation connected the assets of California billionaires and trusts are gathering signatures to suffice the inaugural for the November ballot. Led by the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West, they indispensable stitchery the signatures of astir 875,000 registered voters and taxable them to region elections officials by June 24.

If approved, the taxation would rise astir $100 cardinal that would mostly wage for healthcare services, arsenic good arsenic immoderate acquisition programs. Critics accidental it would thrust the affluent and their companies retired of the state. On Dec. 31, task capitalist David Sacks announced that helium was opening an bureau successful Austin, Texas, the aforesaid time PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel publicized that his steadfast had opened a caller bureau successful Miami.

The projected ballot measure, if it qualifies for the ballot and is approved by voters, would use to Californians who are residents of the authorities arsenic of 2026. But residency requirements are murky. Among the factors considered by the state’s Franchise Tax Board are wherever idiosyncratic is registered to vote, the determination of their rule residence, however overmuch clip they walk successful California, wherever their driver’s licence was issued and their cars registered, wherever their spouse and children live, the determination of their doctors, dentists, accountants and attorneys, and their “social ties,” specified arsenic the tract of their location of worship oregon region club.

It’s unclear whether the connection volition suffice for the November ballot, and if it does, whether voters volition o.k. it. However, a wide exodus of a fig of the state’s billionaires — much than 200 radical — would person a notable effect connected authorities revenue, regardless. The state’s fund volatility is caused by its dense reliance connected taxes paid by the state’s wealthiest residents, including from levies connected superior gains and stock-based compensation.

“The highest-income Californians wage the largest stock of the state’s idiosyncratic income tax,” according to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 2026-27 fund summary that was published successful January. “The important stock of idiosyncratic income taxes — by acold the state’s largest General Fund gross root — paid by a tiny percent of taxpayers increases the trouble of forecasting idiosyncratic income taxation revenue.”

This reliance connected affluent Californians is among the reasons the projected billionaires taxation has created a schism among Democrats and is simply a root of discord successful the 2026 governor’s contention to regenerate Newsom, who cannot question different word and is weighing a statesmanlike bid. He opposes the proposal; Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT.) campaigned for it Wednesday evening astatine the Wiltern successful Los Angeles.

“I americium not lone supportive of what they’re trying to bash successful California, but we’re going to present a wealthiness taxation for the full country. We person got to woody with the greed, the bonzer greed, of the billionaire class,” Sanders told reporters Feb. 11.

Zuckerberg and Spielberg are some prolific governmental donors, though it is hard to afloat relationship for their contributions to candidates, campaigns and different entities due to the fact that of however they oregon their affiliates donate to them arsenic good arsenic the intricacies of run concern reporting.

Spielberg, 79, a Hollywood legend, is worthy much than $7 billion, according to Forbes. He and his woman person donated astir universally to Democratic candidates and causes, according to Open Secrets, a nonprofit, nonpartisan tracker of national run contributions, and the California caput of state’s office.

The prolific filmmaker, who won acclaim for movies specified arsenic “Schindler’s List,” “Jaws,” “Jurassic Park” and the “Indiana Jones” trilogy, was calved successful Ohio and lived with his household successful respective states earlier moving to California. He attended Cal State Long Beach but dropped retired aft Universal Studios gave him a declaration to nonstop tv shows.

Zuckerberg, 41, launched Facebook portion successful assemblage and is worthy much than $219 billion, making him among the world’s richest people, according to Forbes.

His largest idiosyncratic national governmental donation appears to beryllium $1 cardinal to FWD.us, a radical focused connected transgression justness and migration betterment nationwide, according to Open Secrets.

Zuckerberg, who is presently a registered Democrat successful Santa Clara County, has donated to politicians crossed the partisan spectrum, including Democrats specified arsenic erstwhile House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and existent Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to Republicans specified arsenic President Trump’s Secretary of State Marco Rubio erstwhile helium ran for the White House and Chris Christie during his New Jersey gubernatorial campaign.

Both men’s idiosyncratic donations don’t see their different effects connected run finances — Spielberg has helped countless Democratic politicians rise wealth successful Hollywood; Zuckerberg’s institution has made different contributions. Meta — the genitor institution of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp — donated $1 cardinal to Trump’s inauguration committee successful December 2024. Zuckerberg aboriginal attended the president’s swearing successful astatine the U.S. Capitol Rotunda.

Zuckerberg, calved successful White Plains, N.Y., created an aboriginal prototype of Facebook portion astatine Harvard University and dropped retired to determination to Silicon Valley to implicit the societal media platform, arsenic depicted successful the award-winning movie “The Social Network.”

He inactive owns aggregate properties successful California and elsewhere, including a controversial, monolithic compound connected Kauai that includes 2 mansions, dozens of bedrooms, aggregate different buildings and recreational spaces — and an underground bunker that features a metallic doorway filled with concrete, according to a 2023 probe by Wired. The outgo of onshore acquisition and operation reportedly has topped $300 million.

Meta is based successful Menlo Park, Calif., though it has been incorporated successful Delaware since Facebook’s founding successful 2004.

Times unit writer Queenie Wong contributed to this report.