Peter Thiel Donates $3M to Fight California Wealth Tax
16th January 2026
Peter Thiel, PayPal co-founder and Palantir chairman, has emerged as the first major donor in what is expected to be a high-dollar campaign to block a proposed California wealth tax, The New York Times reports.
Thiel gave $3 million to a political committee aligned with the California Business Roundtable late last year, marking the first publicly disclosed seven-figure contribution to oppose the proposed 5% tax aimed squarely at billionaires.
The donation signals that Silicon Valley’s ultra-wealthy are shifting from private planning to public resistance as supporters of the tax work to qualify it for the November ballot.