Meta gives Zuckerberg share flexibility to stay in California amid wealth-tax threat

Proposed tax could force a multibillion-dollar share sale

Meta has struck an agreement intended to keep CEO Mark Zuckerberg living in California, where the company is headquartered, despite a proposed one-time billionaire wealth tax. Under the arrangement, Zuckerberg would commit to remain a resident of California—or wherever Meta maintains its base—for eight years.

The company plans a two-for-one stock split that would create a new class of non-voting Class C shares for existing holders. Zuckerberg could sell some of those shares to meet a potential tax bill without selling voting stock or diluting his control of Meta. He had considered moving his primary residence because Proposition 40 would apply a one-time 5% levy to the wealth of Californians who were billionaires on Jan. 1, 2026.

California voters are scheduled to decide the measure early next month. Recent polling cited by the Guardian showed the proposal below majority support, while several technology billionaires are funding opposition. The arrangement is therefore both a tax-planning mechanism and a governance measure: it seeks to preserve Zuckerberg’s voting influence while reducing the risk that a tax payment would require a large sale of control-bearing shares. The deal does not guarantee that Proposition 40 will pass or establish the final tax liability.

Image: U.S. Department of State. Mark Zuckerberg gives Secretary of State John Kerry a tour of Facebook’s Menlo Park headquarters on June 23, 2016; archival file photo, not a depiction of the current share or tax arrangement. Image usage terms.

Sources

• The Guardian
• voterguide.sos.ca.gov