Khanna and Swisher’s Wealth-Grabbing Tantrum: California’s Billionaire Shakedown Hits Peak Entitlement 

SACRAMENTO – In the latest episode of “How to Alienate Every Job Creator in Silicon Valley,” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) sat down with tech journalist Kara Swisher to defend California’s controversial billionaire tax proposal – a move that’s drawing fire from the very innovators who built the Golden State’s economic engine.

The podcast therapy session revealed not only an obvious entitlement complex, but Khanna and Swisher have yet to read Atlas Shrugged.

Swisher unleashed a profanity-laced rant against wealthy Californians threatening to flee the state, calling them “ungrateful” parasites who owe their success to California’s “ecosystem.” 

WATCH: 

🚨 Kara Swisher on California’s Wealth Tax

“You made all your money in California, you ungrateful piece of sh*t. You could figure out a way to pay more taxes, and we deserve the taxes from you.” pic.twitter.com/v3v8JoyClU

— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) January 17, 2026

The interview, which aired recently on Swisher’s podcast, comes amid growing outrage (and a line of U Haul trucks) over the proposed “2026 Billionaire Tax Act,” a ballot measure backed by unions like the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West. The initiative would slap a one-time 5 percent tax on the assets of Californians worth $1 billion or more – think stocks, art, businesses, real estate, intellectual property, unrealized gains– to plug a $90 billion hole in Medi-Cal funding left by federal cuts and Governor Gavin Newsom signing legislation to pay for illegal aliens’ healthcare. 

Khanna, who represents Silicon Valley and has positioned himself as a “progressive capitalist,” doubled down on his support for the tax during the chat. He argued it’s a “modest” levy to address “staggering inequality” and ensure healthcare for working-class families, even floating workarounds for startup founders with illiquid assets.

Swisher stole the show with her unfiltered envy: “You made all your money in California, you ungrateful piece of sh*t. You could figure out a way to pay more taxes, and we deserve the taxes from you given you made your wealth here.” She dismissed billionaire gripes about government waste, admitting some inefficiencies but insisting the state’s “real crisis” in healthcare justifies their theft.

A few questions for Kara: Who’s we? Why do you deserve anything? What business have you created that has revolutionized the world and created jobs?

Yet, this isn’t Khanna’s first rodeo with wealth taxes. Back in 2022, he praised President Biden’s proposed “billionaire minimum tax” as a “first step” toward fairness, arguing ultra-rich folks in his district should pay more to help the rest of the country. Fast-forward to today, and his endorsement of the state measure has sparked a full-blown revolt in tech circles. 

Venture capitalists like David Sacks and Vinod Khosla have lambasted Khanna, with Khosla mocking him as a “commie comrade” whose policies are already chasing billions in wealth out of California.  

The threat of commie comrade @RoKhanna supporting the tax has already caused half of the $2 trillion of the top wealth to leave already and will permanently reduce tax collections they would have paid on their annual income! All for a very dumb "one time" use of the tax they will… https://t.co/MbEzcGOn91

— Vinod Khosla (@vkhosla) January 17, 2026

Even Gov. Gavin Newsom, no stranger to big-government schemes, opposes the tax, fearing it will accelerate the exodus of high-earners and businesses to low-tax havens like Texas and Florida. His fears have been proven correct. Last week, Chamath Palihapitiya noted half the billionaire wealth vanished in weeks.

The backlash isn’t just from the boardrooms – it’s exploding on social media. Filmmaker and conservative firebrand Mike Cernovich weighed in on X, noting that while he doesn’t support the tax, he won’t fight for billionaires who “funded the destruction of my country and persecuted me and all of my friends.” He added that Khanna’s push signals a “national wealth tax will be on the menu for 2028,” predicting it could wake up small businesses already hammered by California’s regulations.

Scott McNealy, the outspoken co-founder and former CEO of Sun Microsystems, fired back at Swisher’s claims that billionaires owe their success to the state. 

Quoting the podcast clip on X, McNealy sarcastically pondered: “I am trying unsuccessfully to remember exactly what Sacramento did to make Sun Microsystems a success. Perhaps it was the high taxes, high energy costs, bad roads, bad schools, horrible governance and high cost of living. Or maybe it was the high-speed train, or the mandates to do business with Enron. The state government is a hindrance and is parasitic. The success of the Valley is in spite of Sacramento not because of it.”

I am trying unsuccessfully to remember exactly what Sacramento did to make Sun successful. Certainly Kara never did anything that i can remember so why should she deserve anything from anybody? Who pays her to say stuff like this? https://t.co/qBRqlntePK

— Scott McNealy (@scottmcnealy) January 17, 2026

Palmer Luckey, founder of Oculus and Anduril, quipped, “Why does Kara want California to be funded by Nazis?” – a jab at Swisher’s past insults toward him.  

To understand the furor, let’s rewind on the billionaire tax. The idea traces roots to progressive dreams of soaking the rich to fund social programs. 

Nationally, proposals like Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s wealth tax and Biden’s 20 percent minimum on households over $100 million aimed to close the “tax gap” where billionaires pay lower effective rates than average Joes.  

But history shows these schemes flop: Most European countries that tried wealth taxes ditched them due to capital flight and declining revenue. In California, the measure is a desperate bid to offset Medicaid cuts, but opponents argue it’s unconstitutional, unworkable, and sets a precedent for taxing unrealized gains – forcing sales of assets just to pay Uncle Sam (or in this case, Uncle Gavin).

Khanna calls it “shared prosperity.” Productive people call it theft with extra steps.

Sad to see @RoKhanna become another politician who has no economic literacy. Now hold my 🥃

Your case for a billionaire wealth tax falls apart on every key point.

You say founders like Jensen Huang would not be deterred by a 1 to 2 percent annual tax on unrealized gains because… https://t.co/ttHip4Xukg

— NicholasGibbs (@NickGibbsIAG) December 27, 2025

But as tech moguls like Peter Thiel and Larry Page exit, the real question is: Who’s left to foot the bill when the golden geese fly south?  

California already leads the nation in out-migration, losing companies like Tesla and Oracle to friendlier, red states. If this tax passes, expect more U-Hauls headed towards Texas, Nevada, or Florida – and fewer jobs, less innovation, and even bigger budget holes for the rest of us.

As Nicholas Gibbs put it to Khanna: “A billionaire tax would not save innovation or democracy. It would cripple both. Your position is not just wrong; it is upside down.” California already has an upside-down, $18 billion budget shortfall and eight high risk agencies due to fraud, waste and abuse.

As California Globe has reported time and again, the state’s problems stem from decades of Democrat-dominated policies that prioritize unions and green fantasies over fiscal sanity. Khanna and Swisher’s tax crusade might play well in their elite echo chambers, but it’s a recipe for economic suicide. The only thing California “deserves” from its billionaires is a thank-you note for not leaving sooner.