Silicon Valley investor Ron Conway says California's proposed wealth tax 'could' pass if it's up to voters

• Tech investor Ron Conway is worried that California's proposed wealth tax could pass.
• He and several other big names in tech are funding campaigns to stop the proposed ballot initiative.
• Conway said it's imperative that the proposed tax never reach the ballot.

Famed Silicon Valley investor Ron Conway says he wants to kill California's proposed wealth tax now.

"Our job is to get Gavin to negotiate this so that it doesn't get to the ballot. So, maybe they don't get the signatures," Conway told Jack Altman during an episode of Altman's "Untapped" podcast that was posted on Wednesday.

Conway, the founder of SV Angel and known as "The Godfather of Silicon Valley," said that if the proposed wealth tax reaches the ballot, it "could" pass.

A recent UC Berkeley Citrin Center for Public Opinion Research-Politico poll found that support was hovering around 50%, within the margin of error of potential failure, though it is still very early in the process.

Major names like Google cofounders Sergey Brin and Larry Page have already rushed to move assets out of California, the state home to the most billionaires. If passed, California residents with a net worth of over $1.1 billion would face a one-time tax totalling 5% of their assets. Supporters of the initiative are still gathering signatures ahead of a June deadline.

Conway said Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is publicly opposed to the wealth tax initiative, is aligned with the efforts. Conway said one way to give Newsom bargaining power is by supporting the three competing ballot initiatives, which would effectively neuter the proposed wealth tax.

Brin, Stripe cofounder Patrick Collison, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, and others have poured over $44 million into "Building a Better California," a political action committee that is pushing the three competing anti-wealth tax ballot measures. In November, Conway donated $100,000 to "Stop the Squeeze," another group that is opposed to the proposed tax.

Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen once called Conway "the human router," a nickname he told Altman that he considers a compliment. Conway has been a fixture in tech for decades, making early bets on Google, Facebook, and other companies. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Jack's brother, credited Conway with helping him hold OpenAI together during his brief ouster in 2023.

Conway also told Jack Altman that their interview could not run late, because that night he had courtside seats at the Golden State Warriors game next to House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi and her husband Paul.

"We must keep this off the ballot," Conway said. "So a whole bunch of work has to happen for that."