Snapshot · PBD Podcast
A billionaire with $1B in assets paying 5% wealth tax would need to sell ~$100M of assets, triggering capital gains, making the effective hit closer to 10% or more.
Where this was said
At 49:15 · chapter starts 42:15
Patrick Bet-David introduces the Zero Hedge report confirming California Secretary of State Shirley Weber's announcement that the billionaire wealth tax has qualified for the November 2026 ballot. The initiative targets the state's estimated 250 billionaires with a one-time 5% levy on assets including art, stocks, and bonds, earmarked for K-12 schools, Medi-Cal, and CalFresh. Tom Ellsworth draws an analogy to California's 1984 lottery, pointing out that 'for the children' is always the political packaging used to sell new tax mechanisms. [1] — Patrick Bet-David "Billionaires don't sit on cash — Tom Ellsworth says a typical billionaire holds under $50M liquid on a $1B net worth. To pay the 5% wealth …" 41:43 The panel then works through the economic math in detail: Tom Ellsworth says a typical billionaire holds less than $50 million in cash, so a $1B net worth billionaire facing a $50M tax bill must liquidate roughly $100M in assets. After paying 16% California capital gains and 23% federal capital gains taxes on those sales, the effective cost approaches 10% or more of their wealth. [2] — Patrick Bet-David "It's worse than a 5% tax. It's a 10% tax." 49:42 Jeff Snyder frames the broader danger: this is really about shifting the Overton window to make it socially acceptable to demonize the successful — and once it passes in California, similar measures will spread to other states, starting higher and then 'creeping down' to ever-lower wealth levels.
A total of 8 states have filed lawsuits against social media platforms, including an ongoing case in Tennessee, using product liability and public nuisance theories to seek accountability.
France built 56 nuclear plants in the 1970s and now has the cheapest energy in Europe, making it independent of Russian or Middle Eastern energy geopolitics.
Estonia has a single tax form, a law preventing the government from asking citizens for the same information twice, and a flat rate of tax — enabling competitive taxation.
Portugal's Lisbon, once a city with a major heroin problem, legalised drugs and redirected enforcement spending into rehabilitation and housing, dramatically reducing crime.
The first Boland Amendment banning CIA and Defense Department funds for the Contras passed the House unanimously — yet the Reagan administration ignored it.
Over just two years, Saudi Arabia alone donated $32 million to the Contra rebels, giving loosely affiliated factions millions they had no way to spend on arms.
The National Endowment for the Preservation of Liberty raised $6.3 million for the Contras but only $3.3 million reached them — a shockingly low 52% program expense rate.
Richard Secord and Albert Hakim marked up their arms shipments to the Contras by as much as 300%, making enormous personal profits from the covert operation.
Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North, tapped to run the entire covert Contra support operation, had no prior experience in covert operations whatsoever — he was learning as he went.
We use essential and analytics cookies to run Vuci. To understand how the site is used: Privacy Policy.
Install Vuci on your phone
Add it to your home screen for a faster, app-like experience.
Install Vuci on your phone
Tap the Share button, then “Add to Home Screen”.
A new version is available
Reload to get the latest Vuci.