California is home to dozens of entrepreneurs who have made billions from their businesses. Today, some are packing up and leaving as the coastal state weighs tax hikes against the wealthy, but Nvidia CEO and longtime California resident Jensen Huang is happy to pay his fair share.
“I don’t mind paying taxes. The more you earn, the more taxes you pay. That’s fine with me,” Huang said in a recent interview with CBS Sunday morning. “I am the ultimate American dream.”
Billionaires like Google co-founder Sergey Brin and former CEO Eric Schmidt are waging war against Proposition 40 in California: a one-time 5% tax on residents with assets over $1 billion. The state hopes this will temporarily increase revenues by tens of billions spread over several years to finance health care and education. And some of California’s ultra-rich are fighting back. Tech billionaires have raised more than $340 million and spent more than $1 million a day in a campaign to defeat Prop 40, according to the Tutor. Others, like Palantir’s Peter Thiel and Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, have already left the state for more tax-friendly areas.
But Huang, the world’s ninth richest person with an impressive net worth of $180 billion, isn’t afraid to pay up. The leader of the world’s largest chip company believed his success would not have been possible without the opportunities America offered him. He was able to pursue a high-level education, start a new company, pursue his dreams, and meet the people who “made Nvidia possible.” Huang has experienced the success that millions dream of and is happy to contribute to the same system that fueled his ambitions.
“The fact that I can afford to pay $8 billion in taxes over five years is a privilege,” Huang continued. “I’m not afraid of paying taxes. I’m just afraid of being poor.”
Fortune has contacted Nvidia for comment.
Huang urges people to ‘move to California and not leave’ as billionaires flee
The Making Billionaires Pay Their Fair Share Act was introduced in March by Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.). Ahead of Prop 40’s January 1, 2026 residency deadline, a large number of billionaires left the state. Google co-founders Larry Page and Brin moved their business entities to Florida and Nevada, and Travis Kalanick, the former CEO of Uber, also changed his address to Austin.
While some billionaires balk at the tax hike, Huang said, “I haven’t thought about it once.” Instead, he continued to speak openly about the benefits of living in the Golden State and called on others to make California their permanent home.
“I tell everyone, ‘Move to California, don’t leave.’ These are the highest taxes in the world, but that’s OK,” Huang said at the Stanford Graduate School of Business earlier this year.
In addition to having a beautiful climate, California is also a hotbed of innovation, Huang said. Nvidia’s office is located in Santa Clara, right in the heart of Silicon Valley, where “the talent pool” is, Huang said. He argues that it’s a choice to locate in the tech hub – and whatever taxes come with doing business there, “so be it.”
However, Huang isn’t convinced he’ll be taxed for everything. While he has no problem with Proposition 40, he is skeptical about taxing corporate bots and AI tokens. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates championed the idea; The tech mogul argued that by not taxing these tools, but still paying payroll taxes on employee income, employers are incentivized to replace humans with machines. In response, Huang said his “remedies will be a little different.”
“I’m pro-tax,” Huang said in an interview with Fox Business. Claman’s countdown earlier this year. “And I think… for anyone who’s productive, it’s a great way to contribute to society and the economy. But the thing is, there are probably a lot of different ways to approach this.”
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