Sergey Brin is reportedly pulling back from California, joining Google co-founder Larry Page and other billionaires in paring ties to the state before voters decide later this year whether to impose a steep wealth tax.
Last month, an entity connected to Brin terminated or relocated 15 California limited liability companies that oversee some of his business interests and investments, according to documents reviewed by The New York Times.
Seven of those 15 entities, including those that appear to manage one of Brin’s super-yachts and his interest in a private air terminal at San Jose’s international airport, were converted into Nevada companies 10 days before Christmas, according to the Times.
Brin’s pullback follows similar steps by Page, whose California footprint has shrunk even more dramatically.
More than 45 California LLCs tied to Page have recently filed to become inactive or move out of state, and a trust connected to him purchased a $71.9 million mansion in Miami’s Coconut Grove neighborhood, according to state records and a deed reviewed by the Times.
The Post has sought comment from Google.
The moves come as California weighs a ballot initiative that would impose a one-time 5% tax on residents worth more than $1 billion, a proposal backed by a powerful health care union that would apply retroactively to anyone living in the state as of Jan. 1. It would give affected taxpayers five years to pay.
Google was founded in 1998 by Page and Brin — two Stanford University PhD candidates who developed a new approach to internet search.
Working out of a dorm room and later a friend’s garage in Menlo Park, Calif., the pair built a search engine that ranked web pages based on links pointing to them — an idea that became the backbone of Google’s PageRank algorithm.
The company, incorporated that September after securing an initial $100,000 check from Sun Microsystems co-founder Andy Bechtolsheim, quickly outperformed rivals and helped turn Google into one of the defining forces of Silicon Valley’s internet boom.
What began as an academic research project grew into a global tech giant now worth nearly $4 trillion, cementing Page and Brin as two of the most influential — and wealthiest — figures in modern business.
The duo rank among the richest people on the planet. Page sits at No. 2 on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index with an estimated net worth of $279 billion, while Brin ranks No. 4 at $259 billion, according to Bloomberg’s latest tally.
Their combined fortune — roughly $538 billion — places them in a league of their own and makes them two of the single biggest potential targets of California’s proposed billionaire wealth tax.
Other prominent billionaires have already relocated or openly weighed exits as the proposal has gained traction.
Peter Thiel, the PayPal co-founder, has expanded his presence in Florida, opening a Miami office for his investment firm. Billionaire venture capitalist David Sacks relocated from San Francisco to Austin, Texas, late last year.
Tech investor Chamath Palihapitiya has publicly said he is giving “serious consideration” to moving to Texas, and advisers to the ultra-rich say the list may keep growing.
Wealth manager Divesh Makan told Bloomberg News earlier this week that as many as 15 to 20 additional billionaire families could leave California if the tax is approved.
That would take a significant chunk out of the tax base for the Golden State, home to roughly 200 billionaires.
This story originally appeared on NYPost
