Sergey Brin's invention saved my vision, analyst says as Sanders targets $82M tax push

A social media clash over California's proposed billionaire tax took a personal turn this week when policy analyst Patrick Hedger credited a Google co-founder's search engine with helping save his eyesight. The exchange started after Senator Bernie Sanders attacked Sergey Brin for pouring money into defeating Proposition 40, the November ballot measure that would levy a one-time 5% tax on California residents worth more than $1 billion.Sanders posted on July 18 that Brin, worth roughly $276 billion, could fund healthcare for three million people but instead was spending $82 million to sink the tax. Hedger fired back with a story of his own, saying Brin's search engine helped him find a doctor who fixed his vision after four others had given up. The back-and-forth captures the raw nerve this measure has hit across Silicon Valley and state politics.Why Sergey Brin is spending $82 million to kill California's Prop 40Brin has emerged as the single largest funder of the opposition, channelling around $82 million into a committee called Building a Better California. Rather than campaign directly against Prop 40, the group has pushed two rival measures onto the same ballot—Propositions 41 and 42—that could void the wealth tax if either passes with more "yes" votes. The coalition has also reserved close to $87 million in TV advertising, with commercials set to begin next month. Brin already moved his primary residence to Nevada ahead of a January deadline, so he has skin in this fight beyond the ad spend.How the California billionaire tax would work—and who paysProposition 40 is sponsored by SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West, which spent $31 million getting it on the ballot. The measure would require the state to spend 90% of the revenue on healthcare, pitched as an offset to health cuts in President Trump's spending law. California's nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office found the tax would likely raise tens of billions upfront, but warned some billionaires would leave, shrinking future income tax revenue by hundreds of millions a year. Governor Gavin Newsom, eyeing a 2028 presidential run, opposes it, arguing wealth is mobile and shops for low-tax states.Silicon Valley billionaires split over the 5% wealth taxBrin is not alone. John Doerr has given $10 million, with Michael Moritz, Patrick Collison, and Eric Schmidt among the tech names funding the pushback—over $120 million combined against roughly $31 million backing the tax. Yet the industry is not united. Nvidia's Jensen Huang, who could face a nearly $8 billion bill, said in January he is fine with the tax, and Tom Steyer campaigned on taxing "billionaires like me." When one user asked what Sanders had ever done for him, Hedger's reply was blunt: "Mostly headaches."Get the latest technology news and updates. Download the TOI App.