Meta filing: Zuckerberg weighed leaving California over wealth tax; share deal ties him to state

Right · 1Meta disclosed in an SEC filing that CEO Mark Zuckerberg told the company's special committee he was evaluating relocating his primary residence outside California, ahead of a November ballot vote on a billionaire wealth tax. 1 Right · 2The filing said any steps toward a move, including listing his California real estate, would be public and would raise questions for management; Hot Air, citing the filing's chronology, reports he said at a 9 September board dinner that he would list his Palo Alto home on 13 September, and that both sides agreed terms on 14 September. 1 2 Right · 1The committee concluded that his continued leadership matters as Meta spends heavily on AI; the filing says the goal is to keep him leading the company from California and close to Meta Superintelligence Labs. 1

Right · 1Under the agreement, restrictions on his ability to sell certain shares would be lifted gradually over eight years, on condition that he stays in a leadership role and based near the Silicon Valley headquarters. Meta would create a new share class so he can sell stock without losing voting control. 1 Right · 1Hot Air gives more detail: the new Class C stock carries no vote, every shareholder gets one Class C share per share held from 19 January 2027 (like a two-for-one split), and Zuckerberg can sell 20% of his Class C shares at once, equal to 10% of his economic stake, with the rest released at 2.5% a quarter while he remains in charge. 2 Right · 1Hot Air says he must live in California, or wherever Meta is based, for eight years while leading the company, with 'material unforeseen circumstances' the only exception. 2

Right · 1The control issue: Hot Air reports Zuckerberg owns about 13.4% of Meta but controls 60.6% of votes through Class B shares worth ten votes each, and that selling enough ordinary stock to pay the tax could cut his voting power to about 53%, according to the filing. Forbes estimated his net worth at about $220 billion and his tax bill at about $11 billion. 2 Right · 1Meta acknowledged financial risk from the ballot measure, warning of a 'significant, multi-billion dollar tax payment'. 1 Right · 2The measure, called Proposition 40 by Hot Air, is a one-time 5% tax on billionaires' assets, said to primarily fund health care. Opponents include Sergey Brin, Ron Conway, DoorDash CEO Tony Xu (who sits on Meta's special committee) and Chris Larsen, who have spent millions against it; Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has said he would not mind paying it. 1 2

Right · 2A California Post poll by McLaughlin & Associates cited by Hot Air found 52.6% opposed and 34.5% in favour, with 11.5% undecided. Breitbart also cites Figma CEO Dylan Field's concern that the tax could hit paper gains in private-company stock, creating a 'double tax event'. 2 1