Nvidia cofounder says he will pay $8 billion in California tax and urges other billionaires to stay
Jensen Huang said he is willing to pay the proposed $8 billion California tax over five years and encouraged other wealthy residents to remain in the state despite opposition from several tech billionaires.
Nvidia cofounder Jensen Huang told CBS Sunday Morning that he does not mind paying taxes, noting that his ability to contribute $8 billion over five years is a "privilege" and that he is "not afraid of paying taxes. I'm just afraid of being poor." Huang, whose net worth is estimated at about $180 billion, said his success was made possible by opportunities in the United States and that he wants to give back to the system that supported him.
California’s Proposition 40, a one-time 5 percent tax on residents with assets over $1 billion, is slated for a Jan. 1, 2026 residency cutoff. The measure is intended to raise tens of billions of dollars for health-care and education. Some tech billionaires, including Sergey Brin, Eric Schmidt, Peter Thiel and Mark Zuckerberg, have publicly opposed the tax and some have relocated to lower-tax jurisdictions.
Huang, however, said he has not reconsidered his residence. Speaking at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, he urged others to "move to California, don’t leave," acknowledging the state’s high tax rates but emphasizing its climate and concentration of talent. He highlighted that Nvidia’s headquarters in Santa Clara benefits from proximity to the Silicon Valley talent pool.
While supportive of Proposition 40, Huang expressed skepticism about taxing emerging technologies such as AI-related tools and robots, suggesting his approach to such issues would differ from proposals advocated by other tech leaders.
Fortune contacted Nvidia for comment but did not receive a response.