Brin Spends $100M+ Fighting A Billionaire Tax 90% Of It Would Pay For Healthcare
California's Proposition 40 would tax billionaires once and put 90% of the money into healthcare. Sergey Brin is the biggest funder of the campaign against it.
By the Rich vs Reality desk September 2026 11 sources

Could have saved
18,545
lives.
To Brin, it felt like $83.
California voters decide in November 2026 on Proposition 40, a one-time tax on the wealth of the state's billionaires. Under the measure, 90% of the money goes to a special fund for healthcare and the other 10% to schools and food assistance such as CalFresh, according to CalMatters.
The biggest funder of the campaign against it is Google co-founder Sergey Brin. Fortune and CNN reported $102 million from Brin by September; CalMatters counts more than $138 million once two rival ballot measures he backs are included. Fortune reported he could owe about $13 billion if the measure passes.
$102 million to fight a tax that would mostly fund healthcare.
Brin also bought a $51 million waterfront house on Miami's Allison Island in March 2026, as California billionaires looked for homes in Florida, which has no state income tax. The $102 million spent on the campaign alone could have saved an estimated 18,545 lives through malaria prevention.
Fortune and CNN reported $102 million given against Proposition 40. CalMatters puts Brin's total at more than $138 million including two rival ballot measures; we use the lower figure.
$102 million could have changed these lives
Instead, it went on this.
18,545
lives saved from malaria, most of them children under five
GiveWell estimates its top charities save a life for $3,000 to $5,500. We use the higher figure: $5,500, the cost through Against Malaria Foundation bed nets. Source
931,507
hungry kids fed three meals a day for a whole year
No Kid Hungry: $1 can help provide 10 meals for kids. Three meals a day for 365 days is 1,095 meals, about $110 per child per year. Source
5,716
years of rent for a homeless veteran
At the U.S. median rent of $1,487 a month (Census, 2024), about $17,844 a year. Source
Or: 2.5 million people given clean drinking water; 2,858 families escaping domestic violence given a safe home for two years. Every rate and source.
Sergey Brin
At least $102 million
For everyone else, that's
$83
That's what it felt like to Brin: the same share of a typical family's net worth.
Could have saved 18,545 lives.
Drag the seam between the two worlds.
Measured against a typical American household: $87,460 a year, $192,900 net worth.
The receipts
- CalMatters, Oct 2026: how the billionaire tax would work
- CNN via KVIA, Sept 2026
- Fortune, July 2026
- Net worth: Forbes, The World's Billionaires 2026
- U.S. Census Bureau, Income in the United States: 2025 (Sept 2026)
- Federal Reserve, Survey of Consumer Finances 2022
- No Kid Hungry, What your dollars can do
- GiveWell, How much does it cost to save a life?
- charity: water, How much clean water will my donation provide
- U.S. DOJ Office on Violence Against Women, Transitional housing
- U.S. Census Bureau median gross rent, via USAFacts
See something wrong? Send a source to hello@richvsreality.com and we will correct it.
More from Rich vs Reality

Could have paid a year of rent for
7,285
homeless veterans.
To Thiel, it felt like $725.
Thiel's $130M Mansion He Won't Even Live There
Felt like $725 to Thiel.
Could have paid a year of rent for 7,285 homeless veterans.

Could have given
10 million
people clean drinking water.
Storonsky's $400M Yacht Bought a Superyacht Worth an Estimated $400 Million, Then Was Sued Over the Broker Commiss
Could have given 10 million people clean drinking water.

Could have given
4.7 million
people clean drinking water.
To Sajwani, it felt like $18,985.
27-Year-Old Buys Seized $187M Yacht The Feds Took It From A Russian Oligarch ... Now It's His
Felt like $18,985 to Sajwani.
Could have given 4.7 million people clean drinking water.