It seems that there are two Americas now. In one, we still believe in building things. We value hard work, celebrate innovation, and understand that prosperity is the engine of a free society. It’s the America of entrepreneurs and families, people who risk their own capital not just for profit, but to create something lasting for the next generation.

Then there is the other America, an increasingly loud and bitter place that runs on the fumes of envy. In this version, success is suspicious, wealth is a crime, and government is the weapon you use to punish your enemies. For years, this has been an ideological debate. Not anymore. One state decided to put this toxic theory into practice, and the results are in. It’s a catastrophe.

From ‘The Post Millennial’:

“Collectively, a mount of billionaire wealth that has left California in the last month is now in excess of $700B,” wrote venture capitalist and former Facebook executive Chamath Palihapitiya in a post on X Friday.

“That means the $2T of California wealth they expected to tax is now down to $1.3T and falling quickly. I would not be surprised if 2026 ended with less than $1T of billionaire wealth in California and decades and hundreds of lawsuits,” Palihapitiya said, describing a staggering financial drain — one large enough to purchase the entire NFL multiple times or fund NASA’s current annual budget for four decades. A complete and total unforced error. Where was the Governor? Where are our leaders??”

Collectively, the amount of Billionaire wealth that has left California in the last month (!) is now in excess of $700B.

That means the $2T of California wealth they expected to tax is now down to $1.3T and falling quickly. I would not be surprised if 2026 ended with less than… https://t.co/J0qIYrKJXB

— Chamath Palihapitiya (@chamath) January 9, 2026

Socialist California overplayed its hand, and now it has vaporized nearly $1 trillion of its own wealth. In their infinite wisdom, progressive lawmakers cooked up a “Billionaire Tax,” a scheme to confiscate a chunk of a person’s entire net worth. It’s a lesson you’d think they’d have learned by now, but ideological blindness is a powerful thing.

California’s Trillion-Dollar Mistake

Let’s call this what it is. This wasn’t a tax; it was a brazen cash grab dressed up in the language of ‘fairness.’ Forcing citizens to sell off parts of their businesses, their homes, or their investments just to pay the state for the privilege of owning them is economic warfare. It is the kind of policy you see in collapsing socialist regimes, not the golden beacon of the American West.

They ignored the most basic rule of economics: money flows to where it is treated best. The architects of this disaster genuinely believed they could trap the state’s most successful citizens and bleed them dry. Instead, they just triggered a financial stampede for the exits.

The Great Unraveling

This isn’t just numbers on a balance sheet. We are watching the deconstruction of an economic powerhouse in real time. Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin are pulling dozens of their companies and investment funds out of the state. The In-N-Out Burger heiress, Lynsi Snyder, has already decamped for Tennessee. Apparently, even a Double-Double can’t convince you to stay when the taxman is coming for everything you own.

These people are not just taxpayers; they are the anchors of an entire economic ecosystem. Their businesses create jobs, their investments fund new ventures, and their philanthropy supports countless communities. When they leave, they take that entire ecosystem with them, leaving a crater that no government program can ever hope to fill.

Who Will Be Left Holding the Bag?

Here is the cruelest joke of all: the people who will suffer most are not the ones who left. The billionaires can afford to move to Florida or Texas. The real victims will be the small business owners, the working families, and the retirees who are trapped in a state with a collapsing tax base and an insatiable government.

As Palihapitiya bluntly warned, Sacramento now has a choice: drastically cut its own bloated bureaucracy or raise taxes on the middle class. Don’t expect the politicians to give up their perks. Instead, they’ll turn their sights on the only people left: you. This scheme is so fundamentally destructive that even California’s own Democrat Governor, Gavin Newsom, publicly opposes it. When you’ve gone too far for Gavin Newsom, you’ve entered a whole new dimension of insanity.

Key Takeaways

• California’s proposed “Billionaire Tax” triggered a massive exodus of capital.
• Nearly $1 trillion in wealth is now fleeing the Golden State.
• When the state’s wealthiest citizens leave, the middle class pays the price.
• California serves as a stark warning against socialist economic experiments.

Sources: The Post Millennial