Sergey Brin Donates $20 Million to California Political Effort After Leaving the State

Nearly three weeks ago we leared that Google co-founder Sergey Brin was cutting ties with California in response to the effort to pass a wealth tax that would apply to him and about 200 other billionaires in California.

In the 10 days before Christmas, an entity connected to Mr. Brin, 52, terminated or moved 15 California limited liability companies that oversee some of his business interests and investments out of the state, according to documents seen by The New York Times. Seven of the companies — including those that appear to manage one of Mr. Brin’s superyachts and his interest in a private air terminal at San Jose’s international airport — were converted into Nevada entities.

Mr. Brin is joining Mr. Page, 52, in reducing his California presence. More than 45 California limited liability companies associated with Mr. Page filed documents last month to either become inactive or move out of the state, according to state records. A trust with ties to Mr. Page also purchased a $71.9 million mansion in Miami’s Coconut Grove neighborhood this week, according to a deed seen by The Times.

Another entity jointly managed by Mr. Brin and Mr. Page moved out of California and to Nevada on Christmas Eve, according to a filing seen by The Times.

Today the NY Times reports that Brin moved to the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe before the deadline. But despite having moved out of the state, Brin is donating $20 million to a new political effort back in California.

Sergey Brin, a Google co-founder and one of the wealthiest people in the world, is donating $20 million to a new California political drive weeks after he took steps to leave the state to avoid a possible billionaire tax.

It is Mr. Brin’s largest and most visible political move ever, and it is the primary contribution to seed a $35 million effort by billionaires to fund ballot measure campaigns in California…

The first checks from the new coalition, Building a Better California, are not directed against the billionaire tax proposal, but rather toward two initiatives that aim to make housing more affordable in a state where the median home price has surpassed $850,000. Organizers said Mr. Brin and other wealthy donors had been discussing ways to address the high cost of housing for several months, but they accelerated their effort after the wealth tax was introduced.

So this isn’t directly about stopping the wealth tax but it does show an interest in getting involved in California politics, one that was given a nudge by the tax proposal. Politico reported Monday that the wealth tax itself has a “surplus” of foes.

Foes are moving on at least five different fronts to neutralize SEIU-UHW’s ballot initiative — and that’s not counting Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is poised to rally allies and donors against it…

You have the Stop the Squeeze committee, run by Newsom loyalist Dan Newman and Brian Brokaw and seeded by venture capitalist and longtime Democratic benefactor Ron Conway…

The California Business Roundtable has collected a $3 million check from libertarian mega-funder Peter Thiel to fight the measure.

So will Brin’s new group, Building a Better California, become one of the ones fighting the wealth tax? The law firm that handled the paperwork to set up Brin’s group also was involved in five ballot initiatives aimed at stopping the tax.

The firm, Nielsen Merksamer, also filed five initiative proposals last month that could undermine the billionaire tax in different ways if they were to qualify for the November ballot and receive more votes. The measures range from a prohibition on retroactive taxes, which the wealth tax includes, to a narrower definition of residency in California. It is not clear who is behind those measures, and they are not expected to be ready for signature gathering until next month. Nielsen Merksamer declined to comment on the proposals.

Building a Better California did not draft those measures, a person involved in the effort said, but may spend money to support them if backers begin to collect signatures for them.

In other words, this group could become a vehicle for opposition to the tax but that’s not confirmed yet.

The NY Times story about the donation ends by noting that Brin is known for being pretty quiet about his politics but was generally seen as left-of-center. He did join a protest during Trump’s first week in office back in 2016, but recently he’s been dating an influencer named Gerelyn Gilbert-Soto who is a big Trump fan. In fact, she made news a few months ago when she visited the White House with Brin and was described Trump as Brin’s “MAGA girlfriend.” I have this cued up to that moment.

Between the girlfriend and the wealth tax, Brin might be moving a bit more to the right these days.

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