What the Yes on 40 campaign says Prop 40 could mean for California

This is paid political content. The committee Tax the Ultra-Rich Now, Yes on 3 & 40, No on 41 & 42 paid Juice Unlocked for a six-slide post on Proposition 40, the billionaire tax on California's Nov. 3, 2026, ballot. The campaign describes the measure as "a one-time 5% tax on the wealth of California's billionaires, to pay for health care, schools, and food aid."

The ad lists Alan Davis as the committee's top funder.

What the campaign says

According to the campaign, about 200 billionaires would keep $100 billion if Prop 40 fails. The campaign also says California's 10 richest people got $338 billion richer in one year.

If the measure fails, the campaign says, 3.4 million Californians are at risk of losing Medi-Cal, $30 billion a year in federal funding is gone, 570,000 Californians could lose food aid, and more than 3,000 hospital jobs have already been cut. It credits these figures to ITEP, the California Budget & Policy Center, state officials and the California Hospital Association via CalMatters, and the Legislative Analyst's Office.

If it passes, the campaign says California gets $100 billion: $90 billion for health care and $10 billion for schools and food. It splits that into $18 billion a year for health care and $2 billion a year for schools and food over five years.

The campaign calls the rest of its numbers one possible split, with lawmakers setting the details. Those numbers are 1.75 million Californians staying on Medi-Cal, 5.3 million patients keeping their community clinics open and 14,500 nurses' salaries covered. On the schools and food side, it lists a year of groceries for 441,000 Californians, free community college for 181,000 students, 4,800 teachers' salaries, 600,000 student laptops and 4.1 million new library books.

About the measure

Independent reporting describes Prop 40 as a one-time 5% tax on the net worth of California residents worth more than $1 billion as of Dec. 31, 2026. It could be paid in installments over five years, according to NBC Los Angeles and CalMatters. The $100 billion figure comes from supporters. The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office estimated "tens of billions of dollars" over several years, CalMatters reported.

Props 41 and 42 are countermeasures placed on the same ballot by opponents. If either gets more votes than Prop 40, it would block the billionaire tax, according to CalMatters. Gov. Gavin Newsom opposed Prop 40 and endorsed Prop 42, CalMatters reported.

What’s next

Voters decided Prop 40 on Nov. 3. CalMatters reported it appeared headed for defeat on election night, when Prop 42 led with 55%. As of Nov. 4, the Associated Press said the race was too early to call, with almost 6 million votes still to be counted; the AP said "No" held sizable leads in the San Diego and Orange County area.