Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick said he moved to Texas in December, joining the list of billionaires who left California ahead of a proposed wealth tax.
In an interview on the technology talk show TBPN, Kalanick said he moved to Texas on December 18. He didn't explain the reason for the move, but suggested he was motivated to do so before this year began.
“I don't know what's specific about December 18, but let's say it's before January,” he said in Friday's interview. “So I'm a primary resident of Texas.”
He also outlined plans to change the name of City Storage Systems, the parent company of a Los Angeles-based ghost kitchen operator, to Atoms, which focuses on robots.
Kalanick is among billionaires who have been reducing their ties to California as debate over a proposed wealth tax intensifies. Late last year, some of California's mega-rich opened new offices and bought more real estate in other states, and said they are thinking about moving.
California's billionaire tax would apply to about 200 California billionaires who reside in the state starting Jan. 1.
Under the law, Californians with wealth over $1 billion would pay a flat 5% tax on their total wealth. The proposal would help fund health care, education and food assistance.
It still needs enough signatures to make it to the November ballot and win voter approval.
A website about the proposed tax says it would be difficult for billionaires to evade it.
“Their taxable wealth includes assets around the world; therefore, they cannot avoid the tax by moving their assets out of California,” the website says.
The Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West is the union behind the law.
Supporters of the estate tax face an uphill battle. Lawyers who work with billionaires have said they will challenge the law if it moves forward, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom opposes the idea.
In recent months, Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin have moved several of their companies out of California.
Mark Zuckerberg, co-founder and CEO of Page and Meta, have reportedly been purchasing multi-million dollar properties in Florida. Filmmaker Steven Spielberg, who owns homes on the West Coast and East Coast, also moved to New York to be closer to his family.
Kalanick's net worth is approximately $3.6 billion, according to Forbes. In 2020, he spent $43.3 million on a Bel Air mansion in Los Angeles, The Wall Street Journal reported.
In the TBPN interview, Kalanick said he has owned a place in Austin for five years. The property is right on Lake Austin. The businessman describes himself as an “avid” “almost professional water skier.”
Kalanick, who resigned as CEO of Uber in 2017 amid pressure from investors to step down, also unveiled his new startup, Atoms.
The company makes “specialized robots with productive jobs” and focuses on mining and transportation. Several companies, including ghost kitchen company CloudKitchens, are part of Atoms.
Atoms did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company is hiring and the work locations are in the United States.
