The progressive champion is injecting himself into a high-wattage fight over a proposed tax on billionaires.
LOS ANGELES — Blasting billionaires as “oligarchs” whose “greed and arrogance and moral turpitude” threaten American society, Bernie Sanders rallied support here Wednesday night for a proposed wealth tax roiling politics in California.
“Do you know what the most significant addiction crisis in America is today? It is the greed of the billionaire class,” the Vermont senator and progressive champion told a boisterous crowd in a blistering speech at the Wiltern Theatre in the city’s Koreatown section. “For these people, enough is never enough. They are dedicated to accumulating more and more wealth and power, and they do that no matter what harm they bring to working families, to our children and to our parents.”
Sanders has long been popular in this heavily Democratic city, drawing large crowds and a devoted following during his 2016 and 2020 presidential runs. Now, the independent senator is injecting himself into a high-wattage fight over a proposed ballot initiative that would impose a one-time, 5 percent tax on billionaires’ assets.
That places Sanders opposite Gov. Gavin Newsom, a likely presidential contender popular among Democrats who has come out forcefully against the prospective tax, arguing that it could drive billionaires from California, depriving the state of valuable income tax revenue.
The initiative from SEIU-UHW, the California Billionaire Tax Act, has yet to qualify for the November ballot, and Sanders’ presence at the 1,850-seat theater was a boon for the union, whose members waved signs that read “Stop The Healthcare Collapse,” and “Support Public Education.”
down to 100 billionaires now https://t.co/OZCdLweiN5
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) February 19, 2026
California has “about 200 billionaires,” but several are considering leaving because of a proposed one‑time 5% wealth tax.
https://billionairereporter.com/list-californias-15-wealthiest/
High‑profile figures like Peter Thiel and Larry Page have reportedly explored moving out of state.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/california-more-billionaires-other-state-212657687.html