{"id":2510,"date":"2026-08-17T20:39:36","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T20:39:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=2510"},"modified":"2026-08-17T20:39:36","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T20:39:36","slug":"only-idiot-startup-founders-stay-in-cali-mark-cuban-rips-ro-khanna-on-billionaire-tax","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=2510","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Only idiot startup founders stay in Cali\u2019: Mark Cuban rips Ro Khanna on billionaire tax"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban didn\u2019t hold back in a public squabble with Rep. Ro Khanna about the proposed wealth taxes in California\u2014cracking open a feud between one of the wealthiest Democratic Party supporters and the left wing of the party. The two sparred over a proposed wealth tax that would ask the state\u2019s richest residents to hand over billions of dollars to fund healthcare and other public programs.<\/p>\n

\n

Cuban, long a self-identified \u201clibertarian-at-heart,\u201d has been more closely affiliated with Democrats in recent years, as a high-profile surrogate for Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential race and endorsing Hillary Clinton in 2016. However, the born-and-raised Pittsburgh native turned adoptive Texan has always remained staunch on his stance on wealth taxes \u2014\u00a0against.<\/p>\n

Cuban has remained one of the wealthy\u2019s largest advocates against taxes on wealth, specifically on unrealized gains. For instance, in response to a 2021 ProPublica<\/em> investigation on the ultrawealthy avoiding or lowering their tax liability, Cuban said \u201cit makes for great headlines\u2026 but they\u2019re not being honest about the whole thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over the weekend, Cuban got into it with Khanna as the representative promoted his signature policy, Proposition 40, a ballot measure that would impose a one-time tax of up to 5% on the covered assets of people and trusts with more than $1 billion. The measure is scheduled to go before California voters in November.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe California Democratic Party and the California Labor Movement just stood with Bernie Sanders and me in supporting a five percent wealth tax on 250 California billionaires,\u201d Khanna said in a video posted on X. \u201cPassing this ballot initiative will ensure that millions of working-class and middle-class Californians don\u2019t lose their health care.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Khanna\u2019s post ignited a seven-part back-and-forth between Cuban and Khanna, turning into a debate over whether California\u2019s billionaire tax will drive entrepreneurs out of the state.<\/p>\n

Cuban argued that the proposal misunderstands how startup wealth works. Many entrepreneurs may look like billionaires on paper due to their company valuations, but have relatively little cash available to pay a tax based on their net worth. Cuban warned that imposing the tax would encourage founders and investors to leave California.<\/p>\n

\u201cA unique feature of these 10b startups is that even if they raise a billion, little, if any of that money goes to the founders, who are now worth billions of dollars overnight,\u201d wrote Cuban on X. \u201cThey are the definition of cash poor, stock rich.\u201d<\/p>\n

The issue is particularly relevant in California, which is home to hundreds of billionaires and the headquarters of the venture capital company, where many built their fortunes through technology companies. The state\u2019s Legislative Analyst\u2019s Office notes that billionaire wealth can consist of stocks, businesses and other investments rather than cash, making a wealth tax fundamentally different from an income tax.<\/p>\n

Cuban questioned how founders could really come up with potentially hundreds of millions of dollars to pay the tax without selling, taking money out of their growing companies, or even selling stakes.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow are you going to tax them?\u201d Cuban asked, seemingly hypothetically. \u201cMake them borrow money against their shares, if they can?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The prominent investor warned that if the measure passes, he himself would avoid investing in California startups completely unless they move out of state. \u201cIf this passes, only idiot startup founders stay in Cali,\u201d Cuban wrote. \u201cI\u2019ve done it before and will do it again. Dallas. Pittsburgh. Indiana. I will make NOT being in California a prerequisite for an investment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Khanna responded with a proposal under which founders could pledge their shares to the state and receive a government loan to pay the tax. The loan would be non-recourse, meaning the founder would not be liable if the company ultimately fails, and the loan could run for a limited period such as 10 years.<\/p>\n

At the end of the loan period, Khanna said, the founder would either repay the loan in cash or the government would assume the pledged shares.<\/p>\n

Cuban was unimpressed. \u201cRo, that\u2019s insane,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

This proposal would essentially mean California lending money to founders so the founders can immediately hand that money back to the state, he pointed out. If the founder can\u2019t repay in this scenario, he reasoned, the state could ultimately become a shareholder in a private company, \u201cand I\u2019m sure the investors in those companies will be thrilled about their new partners,\u201d he added sarcastically..<\/p>\n

Khanna argued that most billionaires would not face that problem. He said the private founders Cuban was describing represent a narrower category of \u201ctrue paper billionaires with illiquid assets.\u201d In those cases, he said, the government could benefit if the company succeeds.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe government would still collect from the vast majority of billionaires who are not illiquid,\u201d Khanna wrote, \u201c72 percent of their wealth is in public stock.\u201d<\/p>\n

California\u2019s Proposition 40 is expected to generate tens of billions of dollars over several years, according to the Legislative Analyst\u2019s Office. Ninety percent of the revenue would be dedicated to healthcare, with the remainder going toward food assistance and education-related programs. But this has already caused billionaires to threaten to leave and even fight the proposal. Six total billionaires have already uprooted their status as California residents ahead of the January 1st deadline.<\/p>\n

And this is not the first time Khanna had entered a public feud with a notable wealthy figure over the proposal. Palmer Luckey, co-founder of Anduril Industries, entered a similar grudge-match with the congressman on X surrounding the same proposed wealth tax.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Khanna challenged Cuban to consider the issue from the perspective of ordinary Californians, asking the billionaire personality to travel around California, Pennsylvania and other parts of the country with him and ask the Americans what they think about a billionaire tax.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost say, I promise you, why only 5 percent?\u201d Khanna wrote.<\/p>\n

But Cuban rejects the notion. In a profanity-induced post on X, he wrote \u201cthis is the biggest f*** you in the history of entrepreneurship. Ever.\u201d (Fortune<\/em> has edited his profanity for posterity.)<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a huge difference between someone with liquidity, running a huge public company, and someone who has dedicated every minute of who knows how many years, to building a company, to finally have a dream financing come true, only to be insulted by a politician,\u201d he continued. \u201c\u2018We will sell your shares for you.\u2019 GTFO.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

#idiot #startup #founders #stay #Cali #Mark #Cuban #rips #Khanna #billionaire #tax<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Billionaire entrepreneur Mark … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2511,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[274,479,4835,631,4655,2522,635,4834,4656,73,2552,4836,773,892,1898,227,649],"class_list":["post-2510","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-finance-news","tag-billionaire","tag-billionaires","tag-cali","tag-california","tag-cuban","tag-democratic-party","tag-founders","tag-idiot","tag-khanna","tag-mark","tag-mark-cuban","tag-rips","tag-start-ups","tag-startup","tag-stay","tag-tax","tag-taxes"],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018Only idiot startup founders stay in Cali\u2019: Mark Cuban rips Ro Khanna on billionaire tax - Finance News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=2510\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"zh_CN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018Only idiot startup founders stay in Cali\u2019: Mark Cuban rips Ro Khanna on billionaire tax - 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