George Zimmer urges voters to back California’s Proposition 40

Zimmer cites migration data and venture funding to rebut opponents

George Zimmer, a member of Patriotic Millionaires who says he is wealthy but not a billionaire, is urging California voters to approve Proposition 40 on Tuesday. The one-time measure would impose a 5% tax on the net worth of about 250 California billionaires. In the opinion article, Zimmer rejects opponents’ central argument that the tax would drive billionaires out of California.

Opponents say Proposition 40 could trigger a billionaire exodus, weaken California’s tax base and undermine the state’s innovation economy. Organizers estimate the measure would raise roughly $100bn, with most directed to health care to make up for federal cuts from the 2025 tax bill by Trump and Republicans. Zimmer disputed the opponents’ warnings and argued that people with the means to pay more have a civic duty to contribute. He also said taxes should be based on people’s ability to pay.

Zimmer wrote: “When 250 billionaires have the means to pay more, it is their civic duty – just as it is mine – to do so.” He said a 5% charge would not materially change the lives of multimillionaires such as himself and that billionaires could likewise absorb the levy. He also cited six Nobel Prize-winning economists who said Proposition 40 could spur taxes on ultra-high-net-worth individuals in other states, at the federal level and in other countries. Zimmer said the measure would enact the first tax on billionaires anywhere in the world.

Zimmer cited numerous studies that failed to find evidence of wealthy people leaving en masse after tax increases. He pointed to Massachusetts and Washington state, where taxes on high earners rose in 2022 and the number of millionaires subsequently increased rather than decreased. A 2023 study, he said, found that California had the second-lowest out-migration rate among households earning more than $200,000 since 2011.

Zimmer also described his own decision to remain in California. He said he could live wherever he wanted but chose the state because “I love it here.” He listed its beaches, forests, piers, cable cars and universities as reasons he was willing to pay more taxes to maintain and improve them.

He relied on the deadline for avoiding the levy in his argument against a mass departure. To avoid Proposition 40, billionaires would have had to move by 1 January 2026; Zimmer said that, from what he knew, only six had done so.

Zimmer said California billionaires’ wealth grew at an average 15% per year between 2019 and 2025, while they paid just 0.26% of it in state income taxes. Under his calculation, even if every billionaire left, it would take 25 years under current California law for the loss of their tax payments to exceed the $100bn Proposition 40 would raise.

On innovation, Zimmer said a one-time 5% levy would not deter people from pursuing livelihoods in entrepreneurial centers. He pointed to at least 80% of all new venture-capital funding going to California so far in 2026 while arguing that the state continues to attract entrepreneurs, top talent and intelligence.

Zimmer said the measure’s revenue could prevent hospitals from closing, millions from losing health-care coverage and thousands of health-care jobs from being cut. He also argued that lower inequality would leave his family better off, which he called a win for every Californian regardless of income.

His conclusion was that Proposition 40 would not trigger a billionaire exodus, drain California’s coffers or end the state’s innovation economy. Instead, he said, it would add progressivity to the state tax code, place a check on the richest residents and raise significant funds for health care. Zimmer identified himself as the chairperson, CEO and founder of Generation Tux, an online rental platform for tuxedos and suits, and as the founder, former CEO and chair of Men’s Wearhouse.