Latest / Best of: Features / Mark Zuckerberg Will Stay in California Even If Billionaire Tax Passes-After Spending $112 Million on Palo Alto Megacompound

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Mark Zuckerberg Will Stay in California Even If Billionaire Tax Passes-After Spending $112 Million on Palo Alto Megacompound · Best of: Features

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  Mark Zuckerberg will stay in California, even if billionaire tax passes, after
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  spending one hundred and twelve dollars million on Palo Alto megacompound. Written
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  by Anna D'Amico. This article is being read by an automated voice
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  generated by Everlet. Meta and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg have reached an
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  agreement that will keep the social media mogul in California.
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  After he raised concerns over a proposed billionaire wealth tax Proposition forty.
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  A ballot initiative that would establish a one time tax of up
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  to five percent of a billionaire's net worth, so long as they
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  were a California resident on january first, twenty twenty six, caused Zuckerberg
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  to tell Meta he was considering moving his primary residence outside California.
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  If the measure passes in November, Zuckerberg could see a tax bill
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  of twelve point five billion dollars, due to his nearly two hundred
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  fifty billion dollars net worth. Under the agreement, Zuckerberg will receive non
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  voting Class C Meta shares that he can sell to cover the
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  potential wealth tax bill. In return, he must commit to remaining a
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  resident of California, where Meta is headquartered for eight years, according to
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  a company filing. The CEO will be able to immediately sell up
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  to twenty percent of his Class C shares, representing ten percent of
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  his overall economic stake in the company, which would allow him to
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  pay the proposed tax without impacting his majority voting control. META planned
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  to issue the new Class C common stock in january twenty twenty
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  seven as a means to fund acquisitions and create employee equity while
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  maintaining the existing voting structure. We created this new class of shares
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  with the purpose of creating a publicly traded nonvoting stock usable for
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  capital raising, employee compensation, acquisitions, other general corporate purposes while preserving the
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  voting power of existing Class A and B shareholders, Susan Lee, Meta's
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  CFO, said during the Company third quarter earnings call. A special committee
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  described in the company filing determined that Zuckerberg's relocation out of California,
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  which could result in him publicly listing his residential real estate on
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  the market, would cause questions of management throughout the company. It also
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  highlighted the importance of Zuckerberg's proximity to the Meta headquarters and its
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  superintelligence labs. The Special Committee further believed it is critically important to
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  keep mister Zuckerberg in a leadership position with our company, and that
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  he continue to reside in and manage the company from our headquarters
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  in California to ensure his continued ability to effectively drive our performance
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  during this era of unprecedented challenge and competition in our industry, the
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  filing reads. Critics of Proposition forty have argued that imposing a major
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  wealth tax on billionaires could lead to an exodus of California's wealthiest
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  residents and entrepreneurs. For Zuckerberg, leaving California would mean stepping away from
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  his ever expanding Palo Alto compound, which now consists of eleven properties
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  totalling one hundred twelve million dollars. Zuckerberg purchased his first dwelling in
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  the Palo Alto neighborhood of Crescent Park in 2011 for 7 million.
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  At the time the social media tycoon was worth thirteen point five
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  billion dollars. In the decade and a half since, his fortune and
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  property holdings have ballooned, now earning him the ranking of sixth wealthiest
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  person in the world. He continued acquiring homes in the neighborhood, next
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  purchasing the property behind his primary dwelling for four point eight million
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  dollars in twenty twelve. He bought three properties in twenty thirteen for
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  ten point five million dollars, fourteen million dollars, and fourteen point five
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  million dollars, respectively. The most recent purchase, taking place in mid twenty
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  twenty five, brought the property count to eleven. Constant construction has turned
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  the once peaceful neighborhood into a luxurious estate for Zuckerberg, his wife,
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  Priscilla Chan, and their children. Adjacent homes have been turned into guest
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  houses, and pickleball courts and a large swimming pool with a hydro
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  floor have been installed. The Times also reports that one property has
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  been turned into a private school for fourteen children, which would potentially
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  be a violation of a city code. Several of the remaining neighbors
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  have raised concerns about the ongoing construction and extensive security presence around
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  the makeshift compound. In another attempt to clamp down on California billionaires,
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  Palo Alto Vice Mayor Greerstone and Councilman Keith Rechdahl proposed a motion
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  that would restrict the creation of multiparapoly compounds. The initiative specifically targeted
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  residents purchasing three or more homes within a five hundred foot radius,
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  in apparent shot at Zuckerberg's bulging estate. The proposal was rejected by
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  the Palo Alto City Council, with council members arguing it would impinge
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  on private property rights. In addition to his Palo Alto compound, Zuckerberg
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  purchased two properties in Lake Tahoe, CA, in twenty eighteen and twenty
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  nineteen for a combined fifty nine million dollars. He also owns over
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  one thousand acres in Kauai, I, which is being used for ranching,
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  farming, and conservation, in addition to the two mansions the Tek Mogul
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  has built on the property so far.