Silicon Valley’s Ron Conway weighs in on California wealth tax proposal
Conway expresses his desire to put an end to California's proposed wealth tax immediately
Renowned Silicon Valley investor Ron Conway expresses his desire to put an end to California's proposed wealth tax immediately.
"Our mission is to prompt Gavin to mediate so that it never gets to a vote. Hopefully, they won't gather the required signatures," Conway shared with Jack Altman on Altman's "Untapped" podcast episode released on Wednesday.
Conway, who established SV Angel and has earned the nickname "The Godfather of Silicon Valley," hinted that if the wealth tax proposal makes it onto the ballot, there's a strong chance it "could" be approved.
A recent survey by the UC Berkeley Citrin Center for Public Opinion Research-Politico poll indicated that support was hovering near 50%, inside the margin of error for potential rejection, though it's still early in the discussions.
Prominent individuals like Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page have already taken steps to transfer assets outside California, a state hosting numerous billionaires.
If ratified, Californians with a net worth surpassing $1.1 billion would face a single 5% levy on their assets. Advocates of the proposal are still collecting signatures with a deadline in June.
Conway mentioned that Governor Gavin Newsom, who publicly opposes the wealth tax, supports these efforts.
Conway suggested supporting the three rival ballot initiatives could give Newsom enhanced leverage, thereby effectively halting the proposed wealth legislation.
Brin, Stripe cofounder Patrick Collison, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, and others have invested over $44 million into "Building a Better California," a political action group advocating the three alternative anti-wealth tax initiatives.
In November, Conway contributed $100,000 to "Stop the Squeeze," a group opposing the proposed tax.
Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen once dubbed Conway "the human router," a moniker he informed Altman he took as a praise.
Conway has been integral to the tech space for years, having placed early investments in Google, Facebook, amongst others. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Jack's sibling, credited Conway with rescuing OpenAI during his brief exit in 2023.
Conway additionally informed Jack Altman they couldn't extend their discussion because he had courtside tickets for the Golden State Warriors game that night beside House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi and her husband, Paul.