Leave California

Official Home Of The Leave California Movement🇺🇸

It's time to leave. FA/FO

[Leave California @LeaveCali]

🚨California is breaking.

Years of policy failure, unchecked regulation, and zero accountability have consequences.

People and businesses are leaving. Not because they want to, but because they have to.

Leave California.

[Mike Netter @nettermike]

🚨 The company that literally invented Silicon Valley just packed up and LEFT California for good.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) — born in a tiny Palo Alto garage in 1939 with just $538 — has officially relocated its global headquarters to the Houston area in Texas.
This isn’t just any tech company. It’s the iconic firm that defined American innovation, created the blueprint for Silicon Valley, and powered the modern digital world. Now its top executives are gone from San Jose.
Governor Greg Abbott welcomed them with open arms, calling Texas the best place to do business. Meanwhile, Gavin Newsom’s office responded with a cold shrug: “Companies come and go.”
No press conference. No plan. Just three dismissive words.
Over 350 companies have fled California in recent years, citing sky-high taxes (13.3% top rate), crushing regulations, and insane costs. Texas has zero state income tax — saving top executives hundreds of thousands annually.
The symbolism is brutal: the birthplace of Silicon Valley just rejected its own home.
If even the company that started it all can’t justify staying, what does that say about the future of every business still in California?

[Leave California @LeaveCali]

Let's see something. Who has left or is planning to leave California?

[Auren Hoffman @auren]

am going to SF next week and reached out to 9 people that i had not seen in a while. 6 of the 9 have recently moved out of CA due to tax implications
had heard the rumors that people were leaving but now it really sinking in

[Leave California @LeaveCali]

@kelcey_tweets @Codie_Sanchez Exactly. At this point, geography becomes consequential for founders

[Leave California @LeaveCali]

@JulieKennis @Codie_Sanchez What states should companies move to?

[Leave California @LeaveCali]

@kentlind @Codie_Sanchez This

[Leave California @LeaveCali]

@dominikmartinX @Codie_Sanchez They should, but sadly won't. The only option is to leave

[Leave California @LeaveCali]

@KenSchnetz @Codie_Sanchez Don't wait. Make the right move for your family

[Leave California @LeaveCali]

The exodus is real...

[Codie Sanchez @Codie_Sanchez]

I'm in California this week, and sadly, almost every serious founder I've talked has come to the conclusion that they'll have to leave California as their primary residence eventually.

[Leave California @LeaveCali]

@Codie_Sanchez The exodus is real. Founders and Californians alike should leave for states that allow you to thrive

[Chamath Palihapitiya @chamath]

Don’t forget about the unfunded pension liabilities.

California is on the hook for $1T in pension liabilities. It’s totally unclear how it pays these obligations.

We need a hard reset on our approach to government in California. What we’ve been doing ISN’T WORKING!

[Leave California @LeaveCali]

@chamath Cali has been broken for years now.

When do you think you’ll leave? @chamath

[Leave California @LeaveCali]

@friedberg This is the start of CAxit. Businesses, founders, and residents will thrive in other states.

As a result, California will change its ways or reap what they sow.

[david friedberg @friedberg]

California started with the Gold Rush and might end with the Golden Exit.

it has been underreported how much wealth has left CA because of the asset seizure tax being proposed.

a private poll was conducted amongst affected individuals a few days ago and 80-90% surveyed said they have already left CA in 2025 or will leave in 2026 if the ballot measure looks likely to pass.

$2-2.5T of assets gone, representing about $20B of annual revenue for the state government. and likely hundreds of thousands of jobs now at risk.

less reported is the bigger exodus underway from folks who are NOT directly affected but worry (as they should) that this law will quickly transition from billionaires to everyone else...

the initiative actually gives CA legislators the right to take anyone's post-tax assets anytime in the future based on a majority vote. this isn't about billionaires. it's a new "tax system" that simply destroys private property rights in America.

all private property is now public property.
even after paying your taxes, it's not legally your property anymore. it's the government's, you're just borrowing it.
legislators will decide what you get to keep and temporarily use each year.

countless founders, CEOs, and other business leaders are actively looking to move their companies out of state. not just tech, not just AI, not just billionaires, but the core engine of California's prosperity since 1847 is unraveling.

and here is how this initiative risks unraveling America:
- ~10 states have explicit or implicit prohibitions against an asset seizure tax...
- individuals affected in CA (and other states trying to do the same) will move to these states that endow private property rights.
- CA already has a $20-30B annual budget deficit, an unfunded ~$1T pension liability for public employees/unions, and $500B of debt outstanding. the state can not afford to borrow much more and will launch more asset seizures to meet its obligations.
- asset seizures will first transition to "millionaires" and eventually to the entire middle class as more asset seizures drive more people to leave the state.
- the deficit, debt, and job loss will spiral. the Golden Exit.
- no US state has ever declared bankruptcy. in addition to CA, dozens of other states face similar fiscal crises - legislators promised future benefits that can't be paid or theft and waste have been allowed to run rampant and unabated for years.
- struggling states will eventually request federal government assistance, as they always have in times of fiscal crisis, effectively "federalizing state debt".
- states not in crisis will declare "enough is enough", individuals in those states will refuse to pay their federal taxes (why pay for other people's mistakes?), some states may try to secede from the Union, and a constitutional and civil crisis will erupt.

this may seem far-fetched but it is the obvious domino effect of selectively deleting private property rights for some people in some states.

i am not a billionaire and this CA bill does not affect me, but i care about the country and the state of CA. i want both to thrive. it's obvious that there are people in CA in desperate need of support and assistance, and inequities may exist that need to be rectified, but eliminating private property rights is the wrong path for everyone.

a few alternatives to consider first:
1) with a $350B annual budget, CA can cut programs that result in theft and little-to-no benefit for citizens. $50B per year is likely recoverable.
2) if more taxes are needed, tax loans against unrealized capital gains (very few objections will arise), eliminate tax-free rollover of certain appreciated assets (real estate industry will fight), create a step up in basis on inheritance (some will fight but most will support). likely $10Bs of incremental revenue can be realized.
3) restructure all public retirement programs from Defined Benefit to Defined Contribution. eliminating the unfunded retirement liabilities ($1T+) will be the release valve on the future the state so desperately needs.

we must address what ails us without dividing and destroying our state, our nation, our home.

ignore the rhetoric, these are the facts.

[Leave California @LeaveCali]

TechXodus(Tech-xodus)

🔊tek-zuh-dus
noun

Definition: The ongoing relocation of Silicon Valley–based technology companies, founders, talent, and investment capital out of California to other U.S. states, driven by cost, tax policy, regulation, and operational considerations.

"As the TechXodus accelerates, Silicon Valley’s companies, founders, and capital are increasingly relocating outside California."

[Leave California @LeaveCali]

@MM967449 @nypost Smart move

[Pirate Wires @PirateWires]

NEW FROM PIRATE WIRES: The “Billionaire Wealth Tax” being floated in California is not just a tax — it’s a kill switch that would destroy the tech industry as we know it in the state.

Late last year, the architects of this ballot proposition quietly amended language in their proposal which, if successful, would permanently end the concept of founder-controlled startups in the state by redefining net worth in such a way that founders are considered owners of anything they control — assessing a founder with 10x voting rights per share in his own company, for example, as being “worth” 10x the dollar value of his equity.

So let’s say you own 10% of a company worth $10 billion, but you have 10x voting rights:

• This ballot prop indicates you will be assessed as having a net worth of 100% of your company’s valuation

• Thus, you will be taxed at 5% of $10 billion, rather than 5% of the $1 billion you are only theoretically worth — congratulations, you now owe $500 million

• If you’re bringing in an actual salary of a few hundred thousand dollars a year… how exactly are you going to pay this?

• The only solution is to try to sell half your stake in the company you built. Fail, and you go bankrupt. This is why the ballot prop is designed to kill startup founders — and maybe that’s the point.

All of this isn’t being done just so billionaires pay their “fair share,” as outlets like the LA Times have claimed. It’s being done because California is currently anticipating a budget shortfall in its healthcare system upwards of $100 billion thanks to… generous programs like free healthcare for all illegal immigrants.

Following conversations with 15 prominent billionaires in tech who would be impacted directly by the policy, @micsolana puts this new “wealth tax” into perspective, explaining exactly how disastrous it will be for the state. Full story 👇

[Leave California @LeaveCali]

@PirateWires This is a pivotal moment in U.S. history.

The techxodus will be a reminder for future generations to support businesses and founders pushing America forward.

[Leave California @LeaveCali]

@DerylR56 @travisk @chamath You're not alone. Might as well get out while you can.

[Leave California @LeaveCali]

@doctordill3 @travisk Well said☝️