Newsom pitches a federal billionaire tax as alternative to California wealth tax

California Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed a nationwide billionaire tax on individuals with net worth over $100 million and a $ national public equity fund to share wealth and fund worker transitions, childcare, higher education, healthcare and an AI-focused industrial strategy—calling it an “economic reset” that could curb wealth concentration and AI-driven disruption. He also said he would vote against California’s own billionaires’ tax, arguing the measure could drive business away, as Democrats tilt toward populist economic policy and Newsom weighs a possible 2028 bid.