You’ve probably heard the rumors that everyone with a ten-figure bank account is fleeing for the hills of Austin or the beaches of Miami. It makes for a great headline. But if you actually look at the data for 2026, the "exodus" narrative hits a bit of a snag.
California is still home to more billionaires than any other state in the country.
Not just by a little bit, either. Despite the very public departures of folks like Elon Musk, the Golden State is currently hosting a record-breaking 246 billionaires.
That’s a huge jump from just a year ago. Honestly, it’s a bit staggering when you realize that this one state has more billionaires than most countries. To put that in perspective, if California were its own nation, it would rank fourth in the world for billionaire count, trailing only the U.S. as a whole, China, and maybe India depending on which week you check the Bloomberg tickers.
The Real Numbers Behind the Golden State Wealth
So, why the sudden spike? You’d think with the 13.3% top income tax rate and the looming 2026 Billionaire Tax Act—a ballot initiative that’s currently scaring the living daylights out of wealth managers—people would be sprinting for the border.
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But the AI boom changed the math.
While some old-school manufacturing and energy moguls might be looking at Texas, the Silicon Valley "wealth engine" is minting new billionaires faster than the state can lose them. Most of these individuals are clustered in the Bay Area, which alone accounts for over 80 of these ultra-high-net-worth individuals.
Here is a quick look at how California stacks up against the other "Big Four" billionaire hubs as of January 2026:
- California: 246 billionaires (Total wealth: $2.1 trillion)
- New York: 157 billionaires
- Florida: 130 billionaires
- Texas: 85 billionaires
It’s not even a close race. Florida has been growing fast—tripling its count over the last decade—but California’s lead is still massive. Basically, the state has more billionaires than the bottom 30 states combined.
The 2026 Billionaire Tax: The Elephant in the Room
The big question everyone is asking right now is whether this number will hold. There is a massive fight brewing over a proposed one-time 5% wealth tax on billionaires living in California.
If this ballot measure passes in November 2026, the state wants to take a "snapshot" of global net worth on December 31, 2026, and tax it. We're talking about huge numbers here. For someone like Mark Zuckerberg or Larry Page, we’re looking at potential tax bills in the tens of billions of dollars.
Governor Gavin Newsom has already come out saying the tax will be defeated, calling it a "non-starter," but the mere threat of it is making people nervous. Wealth managers like Michael Ashley Schulman have been vocal about the "brain drain" risk. If you're a founder and you know that staying in Palo Alto could cost you $5 billion in a single year just for existing there, you’re going to look at your options.
Who Are These People, Anyway?
It’s easy to think of "billionaires" as a monolith, but California's wealthy are actually split into a few very distinct camps.
- The Tech Titans: This is the obvious one. You’ve got Larry Ellison (Oracle) at the top, followed by the Google duo, Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Then there’s Mark Zuckerberg and Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, whose wealth has absolutely exploded thanks to the demand for AI chips.
- The Hollywood Elite: Down in Los Angeles, the wealth looks different. It’s media moguls, studio owners, and A-list celebrities who have turned their brands into empires.
- The Real Estate & Ag Kings: People often forget about the Central Valley and Southern California real estate. Donald Bren, who owns the Irvine Company, has been a fixture on these lists for decades.
- The New AI Guard: This is the group driving the 2026 numbers up. Founders of companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, and various defense-tech startups are hitting billionaire status earlier in their careers than the previous generation did.
Why Do They Stay?
If the taxes are so high, why are there still 246 of them? Honestly, it’s about the "ecosystem."
You can move your legal residence to a ranch in Wyoming to save on taxes, but you can’t move the talent density of Stanford, Berkeley, and the venture capital firms on Sand Hill Road. For a lot of these people, being three miles away from the person who is going to fund your next $100 million round is worth the tax hit. Sorta.
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Also, let’s be real: the lifestyle is hard to beat. If you’re worth $10 billion, a 13% tax rate sucks, but it doesn't change your ability to buy a house in Montecito or a vineyard in Napa.
The "Ghost" Billionaires
There’s a weird phenomenon happening right now where some billionaires are "Californian" in every way except on their tax returns. They might spend 180 days a year elsewhere to avoid being classified as a resident, but their businesses, families, and social lives are still anchored in Malibu or Woodside.
This makes counting them tricky. Forbes might list them in one place, while Bloomberg or the CA Department of Justice lists them in another based on where they "primarily" reside. That's why you'll see some reports saying there are "around 200" while the most recent 2026 analysis puts the number closer to 250.
Looking Ahead: The Tipping Point?
We are approaching a weird crossroads. The collective wealth of California billionaires has surged from $300 billion in 2011 to over **$2.2 trillion** today. That is a 700% increase in 15 years.
While the number of billionaires is at an all-time high, the concentration of wealth is what’s really changing. The top 1% of earners in California provide nearly half of the state's personal income tax revenue. If even ten of the biggest players—the "Whales" like Zuckerberg or Ellison—actually leave, it would create a massive hole in the state budget.
Actionable Insights for the Rest of Us
Even if you aren't a billionaire (yet), this data matters for a few reasons:
- Real Estate Trends: Billionaire clusters drive luxury real estate, which eventually trickles down to affect local property values and rent in surrounding "commuter" suburbs.
- Job Markets: The AI-driven wealth surge in 2026 means the job market for high-level tech, legal, and personal service roles in CA is still incredibly hot, despite the high cost of living.
- Policy Watch: If you live in California, keep an eye on the November 2026 ballot. The outcome of the Billionaire Tax Act will likely determine the state's fiscal health—and its population of ultra-wealthy residents—for the next decade.
If you’re tracking this for investment purposes or just curious about where the money is flowing, watch the "AI corridor" between San Francisco and San Jose. That is where the 2027 newcomers are currently being minted.
The "death of California" has been predicted for decades. But as of 2026, the scoreboard says the billionaires aren't done with the Golden State just yet.