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Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has long been the poster child for the billionaire class, a hyper-capitalist and unnervingly out-of-touch group whose spineless obsession with hoarding more money than they could ever spend has earned them a reputation as a corrupted blight on modern society.
Despite his virtually infinite wealth, Zuckerberg’s lack of basic empathy has led to widespread mockery and facetious accusations of secretly being a robot. Now, his latest move is sure to kick the allegations into overdrive.
And no, we’re not talking about his coldhearted choice to cut funding for a private Bay Area school that previously provided tuition-free education for low-income students, forcing it to lay off nearly 150 employees and permanently close.
We’re talking about something arguably even more craven: a pathological unwillingness to use his vast wealth to contribute to society, as evidenced by his his decision to relocate to Florida as a California bill proposing a billionaire tax continues to gain considerable momentum in the Golden State.
The tax would implement a one-time, five percent tax on assets of Californians whose net worth is over $1.1 billion — a pitifully tiny slap on the wrist that could result in meaningful change for millions of residents who are struggling in the brutal economy that Silicon’s profiteering has created. (The bill would spend the resulting revenue almost entirely on healthcare.)
Zuckerberg is one of numerous billionaires who are fleeing the state to avoid paying their fair share, funds that supporters of the bill say could compensate for federal healthcare funding cuts. In fact, many of these cuts are being driven by an administration that has strong support among billionaires. (Remember how Zuckerberg was caught by a hot mic groveling to president Donald Trump in perhaps the most flagrant manner imaginable?)
Other billionaires fleeing California include Palantir cofounder and Jeffrey Epstein confidante Peter Thiel, former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, and Oracle founder Larry Ellison.
Zuckerberg is reportedly spending nearly $200 million on an almost two-acre property. It joins an already extensive real estate portfolio, including a staggering, 1,400-acre private compound on Kauai, Hawaii, which includes a sprawling underground bunker — just in case America were to melt down in spectacular fashion, presumably.
Meanwhile, the billionaire tax bill is proving extremely popular in California, blowing past its goal by collecting more than 1.5 million signatures — almost twice the required number.
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