Yet another tech mogul from Silicon Valley has bid farewell to California, fueling concerns that the state’s affluent individuals are relocating their fortunes to dodge a proposed levy on the ultra-wealthy.

Sergey Brin, one of the co-founders of Google, aged 52, made headlines by transferring a substantial part of his business portfolio out of California just before the Christmas holidays.

This shift involved 15 limited liability companies previously based in the state, all tied to Brin’s various business ventures and investments, as noted by The New York Times.

Among these, seven companies found a new home in Nevada, including those associated with managing a luxury yacht and a private terminal at San Jose International Airport.

Additionally, another company connected to Brin opted to re-register in Nevada on the eve of Christmas.

Brin is the fourth richest person in the world today and is valued at $248.2billion, according to Forbes.

He still owns multiple homes in California, according to the Times, but how much time he will spend in the state this year is unknown.

Seven of Brin’s limited liability companies previously based in California were recently re-registered in Nevada

Pictured: Menlo Park suburb looking out to Palo Alto in Silicon Valley

Brin’s move away from California comes after his Google co-founder Larry Page also cut ties with the state late last year.

Page transferred most of his business holdings to Delaware, according to Business Insider. He also incorporated some of his ventures in Florida.

Brin is thinking about buying a home in Miami, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Both men founded Google – based in Mountain View, about 45 miles south of San Francisco – in 1998 after meeting at Stanford while studying computer science.

They stepped down from Alphabet Inc, Google’s parent company, in 2019.

The cofounders’ decision to flee the west coast comes as a proposed billionaires’ tax that would target California residents worth more than $1billion looms on the horizon.

The proposal would hit billionaires in the state with a one-time tax worth five percent of their net worth.

It would apply to assets such as stocks, bonds, artwork and intellectual property – not income.

Brin (right) started Google with Larry Page (left) in 1998. They both stepped down from their roles at Alphabet, Google’s parent company, in 2019

Page transferred most of his business holdings to Delaware and Florida late last year over California’s proposed billionaires’ tax

Billionaires in California would have five years to pay, but the proposal has not been signed into law yet.

The measure, which was proposed by the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West union, first has to gain enough signatures to land on the November ballot.

After that, it has to win voter approval. If that happens, the new tax would retroactively apply as of January 1, 2026. California currently has about 200 billionaires.

It remains uncertain if the ballot measure will actually be enacted, but others besides Brin and Page have already made moves in relation to the tax proposal.

Peter Thiel, who is worth about $25.9billion, announced on December 31 that his private investment firm had opened a Miami office to ‘complement [its] existing operations’ in Los Angeles.

Tech investor David Sacks also relocated his office to Austin, Texas, in a move announced that same day.

Sacks predicted on social media that Silicon Valley would soon be on its way out.

‘As a response to socialism, Miami will replace NYC as the finance capital and Austin will replace SF as the tech capital,’ he wrote on X.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, has voiced his opposition to the proposed billionaires’ tax

Silicon Valley venture capital investor Chamath Palihapitiya, valued at about $1.2billion, called Brin’s departure a ‘complete and total unforced error.’

‘I would not be surprised if 2026 ended with less than $1T of billionaire wealth in California and decades and hundreds of lawsuits,’ he said on X.

Palihapitiya added: ‘If they don’t kill this ballot initiative and entice those folks to come back, the California budget will be massively upside down.’

He said the only place to ‘get the money’ was to either ‘cut waste, fraud and abuse’ or to increase taxes on the middle class.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has voiced his opposition to the proposed billionaires’ tax.

‘You can’t isolate yourself from the 49 others,’ he said in December. ‘We’re in a competitive environment. People have this simple luxury, particularly people of that status. They already have two or three homes outside the state.’

Newsom added: ‘It’s a simple issue. You’ve got to be pragmatic about it.’