Nobel Laureates and Ripple Chairman Clash Over California Billionaire Wealth Tax

Six Nobel Prize-winning economists endorsed California's Proposition 40 on September 19, supporting a proposed one-time 5% levy on the assets of the state's roughly 250 billionaires. The measure, scheduled for the November 3 ballot, seeks to raise approximately $100 billion to help offset federal cuts to Medicaid. The economists—Daron Acemoglu, Abhijit Banerjee, Peter Diamond, Esther Duflo, Paul Krugman, and Joseph Stiglitz—noted that California's top 0.001% increased their wealth from $700 billion to $2.3 trillion over the past decade while paying an effective state tax rate of 1.6% on their recent gains.

The ballot initiative has encountered substantial resistance from high-net-worth figures, including Ripple Labs executive chair Chris Larsen. Larsen, whose net worth is listed by Forbes at $8.4 billion, could face an estimated $420 million liability under the proposed tax.

According to Fortune, Larsen contributed $5 million to the opposition group Golden State Promise, which was matched by an additional $5 million from Ripple Labs. Larsen also directed $10 million to the Building a Better California political action committee. Other major donors opposing the measure include venture capitalist John Doerr, who contributed $7.5 million, and Sergey Brin, whose campaign spending against the tax reached $102 million.