Billionaire Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said he is “perfectly fine” with California’s proposed tax on millionaires, distancing himself from other Silicon Valley tech executives who have criticized the proposal and threatened to leave the state.
Key facts:
In an interview with Bloomberg Television on Tuesday, Huang said he “hadn’t even thought about it once,” noting that, although his company has offices in several countries, “we work in Silicon Valley because that’s where the talent is.”
Huang’s calm contrasts with the response of other billionaires; Palantir’s Peter Thiel and Google co-founder Larry Page have considered leaving the state, the New York Times reported in December.
Thiel Capital opened a new office in Miami before the end of 2025, according to a press release.
Other tech leaders, including Donald Trump’s AI czar David Sacks and venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya, have reacted with outrage on social media, and Sacks has opened an office in Austin, Texas.
Huang is one of the richest people in the world and could face a potential 10-figure tax bill in his home state if the ballot measure is successful.
key quote
“We choose to live in Silicon Valley, and if they want to impose any taxes, let them do so,” Huang told Bloomberg Television on Tuesday. “I’m perfectly fine with that. It never crossed my mind.” When the interviewer pointed out that many tech executives were talking about the proposed tax, Huang responded, “Not really, not this person,” referring to himself. “This person is trying to build the future of AI.”
Forbes Rating
We estimate Huang’s net worth to be $162.9 billion, making him the eighth richest person in the world, driven primarily by his 3% stake in Nvidia. Huang co-founded the graphics card company in 1993, which has since become the world’s largest company by market capitalization by pivoting to meet the AI industry’s demand for high-performance GPUs.
You may find it interesting: The possible wealth tax in California causes panic among billionaires: Page and Thiel threaten to leaveForbes Rating
How much could Huang pay in taxes?
The California Millionaires Tax Act of 2026 would impose a flat 5% tax on people with net worth greater than $1 billion. If the tax were based on his net worth as of Tuesday, Huang could face a tax bill of more than $8 billion.
Key context
A union in California introduced the millionaires’ tax bill as a way to support the state’s health care, food assistance and public education, which are at risk of losing federal funding due to the Trump administration’s cuts. The bill requires 874,641 signatures to appear on the 2026 ballot, where it would then need the approval of a majority of California voters. It is unclear how many signatures the bill has received. If approved, the tax bill would only apply to millionaires who have lived in the state since January 1.
This article was originally published on Forbes US
