Mark Zuckerberg Agrees to Stay in California Despite Billionaire Tax Ballot Measure
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has agreed with a special board committee to remain in California for eight years in order to sell new shares. Voters will decide next month on a one-time 5% tax on billionaires' assets.
Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive of social media and technology company Meta, has agreed to keep living in Silicon Valley, California, for eight years. He could therefore face one-time taxes worth billions of dollars if state voters approve a contentious ballot measure, Proposition 40, next month. The commitment is described in a 109-page regulatory filing the company made public on Wednesday.
Why the deal was made
According to the filing, Zuckerberg told board members at a September 9 dinner that he was considering leaving California and planned to list his Palo Alto home for sale four days later. The proposal would impose a one-time 5 percent tax on stock and other assets held by billionaires in the state as of January 2026. It could face lawsuits even if voters pass it.
Many wealthy people, Zuckerberg among them, currently avoid large tax bills by borrowing against their shares and drawing low salaries; his is $1 a year. The Wall Street Journal reported that he bought a home in Florida this past February.
A special board committee, including attorney Robert Kimmitt, venture capitalist Charlie Songhurst and DoorDash CEO Tony Xu, was concerned about a possible move. It pointed to the Covid-19 pandemic, when Zuckerberg could not be physically present with the management team.
Terms of the agreement
Meta will create a new class of shares without voting power, distributed automatically to all existing shareholders in proportion to their holdings. Selling them could help fund the company's costly AI data center investments without diluting Zuckerberg's voting control. Under a "Founder Alignment Agreement," he may sell 20 percent of the new shares to help cover any taxes. The other 80 percent can be sold in portions over eight years as long as he stays in California. Selling early would require offloading some voting shares, unless unforeseen circumstances make living elsewhere prudent.
The agreement only requires him to live where Meta has its headquarters, so the company and its CEO could in theory relocate together. The filing says the goal is to keep him leading the company from California, close to Meta Superintelligence Labs, the unit behind its recent Muse AI models.
Recent polling suggests the measure, which opponents have fought with about $129 million in campaign spending, will probably not gain enough votes.
