California Gov. Gavin Newsom called for a federal minimum tax on billionaires and those with a net worth above $100 million on Friday, laying out a populist economic agenda aimed at addressing wealth inequality as he considers a 2028 presidential bid.
Newsom’s proposal, outlined in an essay published on Substack, includes what he calls a “true minimum tax on billionaires — a modern Buffett rule — that ensures the people at the very top pay at least the tax rate their own workers pay,” according to CBS News. The governor argued that under the current system, office workers can shoulder higher tax rates than heirs, construction workers can pay more than developers, and delivery drivers can end up paying higher rates than company founders.
The announcement came one day after a union-backed California state billionaire tax measure qualified for the November ballot. That state-level proposal would impose a one-time 5% tax on residents with net worth exceeding $1 billion. Despite the timing, Newsom said he will vote against the California measure, arguing the fight over taxing the ultra-wealthy belongs at the federal level, not the state level, according to Politico.
Newsom’s federal tax plan targets what he calls the “tax-free lifestyle loan” — the practice where billionaires borrow against stock holdings, report no taxable income, then pass appreciated assets to heirs untaxed, according to CBS News. He also proposes rewriting inheritance rules ahead of what he warns could be a $124 trillion generational wealth transfer over the next two decades.
The proposal includes a federal public equity fund that would take a major stake in the artificial intelligence economy, with revenues helping fund worker transitions displaced by AI, severance, portable benefits, and enhanced unemployment insurance. The broader program would fund universal child care, tuition-free higher education, career training, and health care, according to Business Insider.
Newsom’s focus on wealth inequality reflects broader economic disparities. The top 10% of Americans currently own just over 68% of the country’s wealth, according to Statista data from February 2026. The World Inequality Report 2026 found that the richest 10% of the world own 75% of all personal wealth, highlighting extreme global inequality.
The governor also called for returning corporate tax rates to levels before the 2017 Trump tax cuts and closing offshore loopholes that let multinationals shift profits on paper. He characterized “trickle-down economics” as a 50-year “failed” experiment that funneled record profits into buybacks and executive pay while workers’ wages stagnated, according to the CBS News article.
Sources
- CBS News — Newsom’s federal billionaire tax proposal, minimum tax details, AI public equity fund, and quotes on the Buffett rule
- Politico — Newsom’s plan to address the country’s wealth gap and opposition to California state measure
- The Guardian — Details on minimum tax on those with net worth above $100 million and borrowing against stock holdings
- Business Insider — Federal AI public equity fund details and worker transition funding
- Statista — Top 10% wealth ownership at 68% of country’s wealth (February 2026)
- World Inequality Report 2026 — Global wealth inequality data showing top 10% own 75% of personal wealth
