Even your wealth is subject to tax! But, the strategy of this Uber co-founder when hit with an $180 million tax to pay? To walk away! Here’s the scoop.
Kalanick escapes
One of the co-founders of Uber, Travis Kalanick, has been included to the list of those who need to pay taxes from his wealth, according to the proposed Proposition 40, which Californians will vote on next Tuesday.
Proposition 40 imposes a one-time five-percent tax on the Golden State’s billionaires. It’s only five-percent, but since these are billionaires, the amount is relatively high.
“Imposes 5% tax on certain taxpayers with assets over $1 billion; revenue primarily for health care. Exempts revenues from constitutional requirements for school funding and spending limit. Fiscal Impact: Temporary revenue increase of tens of billions of dollars spread over several years from wealth tax on billionaires. Possible ongoing decrease of less than $1 billion per year in income tax revenue from billionaires. Supporters: US Senator Bernie Sanders; SEIU United Healthcare Workers West,” says the summary on the official website of the proposition.
This applies to people whose primary residence was in California as of the beginning of this year, 2026, so several of California’s richest residents are affected.
Reasoning out
Clearly, Kalanick isn’t ready to pay the taxes he is due, as he has been reasoning out he has moved to Texas as of December 18th, 2025, earlier than the required stay in California under the proposition.
If Californians vote “Yes!” to implementing the proposition, Kalanick has no other option, but to pay. With an estimated net worth of $3.6 billion, Kalanick could have faced a $180 million tax bill.
“To be clear, on December 18, I moved to Texas. I don’t know what’s so specific about December 18, but let’s just say it’s prior to January. Yeah, so I’m a primary resident of Texas. I get a little bit [of] FOMO on like, these people going to Florida. I’m like, dude! Why so much Florida action? Come on, homies.” Kalanick was telling ridesharing media.
Who is Travis Kalanick? Known by his full name, Travis Cordell Kalanick, he is an American billionaire businessman and Internet entrepreneur best-known for co-founding Uber.
But, before Uber, he co-founded the peer-to-peer search engine Scour in 1998, and Red Swoosh, a content delivery network, in 2001.
In 2009, he co-founded Uber with Garrett Camp, serving as its CEO until 2017. He stepped down as CEO amid corporate scandals and investor pressure, and left the board of directors in 2019 after selling off his shares.
Right now, he is the CEO of Atoms, a global robotics, food-tech, and virtual kitchen venture, re-locating from California to Austin, Texas in late 2025. That’s precisely his argument to evade the paying of his taxes! Taxes, Texas, whatsoever.
Get ready to vote!
He is telling the media he had owned a home on Lake Austin, around 20 minutes outside the city for roughly five years, drawn by the lake and his love for waterskiing.
He is saying he loves the lake life, even showing pictures online of his life in Texas, such as his five-minute jetski commute across Lake Austin to his Atoms office.
But, whether he likes it or not, people will be voting on Proposition 40.
“A YES vote on this measure means: The state would collect a one-time tax from billionaires equal to 5 percent of their wealth,” says the official website. “A NO vote on this measure means: The state would not collect a one-time tax from billionaires equal to 5 percent of their wealth.”
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