An Ai Startup Founder Says He’s Planning A ‘march For Billionaires’ In Protest Of California’s Wealth Tax

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The warfare connected California’s proposed ‘Billionaire’s Tax’ is receiveting weird. This week, amid ongoing rancor from tech elites complete the overmuch maligned bill, it became evident that personification was readying a alleged “March for Billionaires” successful San Francisco. A website advertising the arena popped up online, providing compact successful the measurement of discourse different than a pithy tagline: “Vilifying billionaires is popular. Losing them is expensive.”

The contiguous guidance was incredulity, and about group assumed the tract was immoderate benignant of bizarre hoax. “this is simply a joke/satire right??” 1 societal media personification wrote not agelong aft the news circulated. Now, however, the evident organizer down the arena has revealed that the march is definitelynot a joke, and that it is scheduled to return spot this coming Saturday.

The San Francisco Examiner first reported that the event’s organizer had been revealed arsenic Derik Kaufmann, the laminitis of AI startup RunRL, which antecedently participated successful Y Combinator’s accelerator program. Kaufmann notified the Examiner that the arena was not being funded aliases organized by immoderate extracurricular group, nary large monied associations aliases companies—just him.

In a speech pinch TechCrunch, Kaufmann — who besides notified the Examiner that he was nary longer progressive pinch RunRL — confirmed that the impetus for the upcoming rally was California’s projected wealthiness tax, which the tech laminitis stated he believed would beryllium “quite damaging to the tech economy.”

The argumentation successful question, the Billionaire Tax Act, was introduced past year, and would require Californians worthy complete $1 cardinal to salary a one-time 5% taxation connected their full wealth. The legislation, which is backed by the state’s healthcare national SEIU (Service Employees International Union), could salary for important nationalist services and thief the authorities offset caller national backing cuts, according to immoderate experts. Nevertheless, the argumentation has led to large protestations from immoderate of the tech indusattempt’s about salient figures, galore of whom person either threatened to time off California aliases have already left. It has besides led to a monsoon of lobbying successful the California legislature, successful an effort to conclusion the bill.

When inquireed why he opposed the legislation, Kaufmann expressed interest for really the measure could effect the startup system successful Silicon Valley. “This taxation successful peculiar is fatally flawed,” he stated. “It hits startup founders whose wealthiness is only connected paper. They would beryllium forced to liquidate shares connected perchance unfavorable terms, incurring superior gains taxes and giving up control. Not to mention the trouble of valuing backstage companies.”

“Many founders would beryllium deed pinch wildly disproportionate taxation bills,” Kaufmann continued. “Additionally, there’s nary precedent for this benignant of broad wealthiness taxation successful the US. Sweden eliminated theirs 20 years agone to avert superior formation and beforehand entrepreneurship and now has 50% much billionaires per superior than the US.”

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June 23, 2026

Online speech about Kaufmann’s planned arena has continued to alternate betwixt incredulity and ridicule. “I can’t ideate billionaires marching successful the street,” 1 social media personification stated, of the event.

That personification would about apt beryllium right.

Kaufmann notified TC that, truthful far, he isn’t alert of immoderate existent billionaires readying to be the march that has been organized successful their honor. Kaufmann stated that the arena is apt to see “a fewer twelve attconcludeees,” though he stressed that he really isn’t clear connected really galore group would reveal up.

The ongoing outrage complete the projected taxation is simply a compact funny, repaired that it’s already been known for rather immoderate clip that the authorities has almost nary chance of being enacted. That’s becautilize California Governor Gavin Newsom has already stated that, should the measure someway pass, he would veto it.

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