Eric Schmidt is growing frustrated with how the money he and Sergey Brin put into Building a Better California is being used in the fight over California’s Proposition 40. A report said the two billionaires, who helped build Google, are increasingly at odds over whether the more than $100 million campaign should focus only on defeating the wealth-tax measure.
The dispute surfaced after California Democrats endorsed Proposition 40 and rejected Propositions 41 and 42, even though the party barely cleared the endorsement threshold at 61.7%. Proposition 40 is California’s proposed billionaire wealth tax, backed by SEIU United Healthcare Workers West and championed by Bernie Sanders and Ro Khanna. It would impose a one-time 5% tax on the net worth of California residents whose wealth exceeds $1 billion on Jan. 1, 2026.
That means the fight is not abstract. The Legislative Analyst’s Office estimates the tax would affect a few hundred people and could produce tens of billions in revenue. Schmidt has contributed more than $3 million to Building a Better California, while Brin has put in more than $100 million. Other backers include John Doerr, who gave $7.5 million, Chris Larsen at $10 million and Patrick Collison at $7 million.
According to an advisor to Schmidt, he was not “irate” about the endorsement outcome, and his “only current involvement in politics is his contributions to defeating the billionaires tax.” But that line also highlights the strain inside the coalition: some of the money is going toward Proposition 45, an environmental policy, rather than being aimed solely at Proposition 40. Schmidt and Brin are still aligned in opposing the tax, yet they are no longer aligned on how broad the campaign should be.
Propositions 41 and 42 remain on the November ballot, with 41 calling for state audits of programs funded by new special taxes and 42 outlawing retroactive taxation. Proposition 42 directly counters Proposition 40, which is set to take effect on Jan. 1, 2026 if voters approve it. For Schmidt, the question now is not whether he is still in the fight. It is how much of his money should be aimed at one ballot measure, and how much is being pulled into the rest of the campaign around it.
