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A proposed wealth tax aimed at billionaires hasn’t yet qualified for California’s ballot, but it’s already sparked intense pushback from tech founders in the state.

It started when the New York Times reported that venture capitalist Peter Thiel and Google cofounder Larry Page were looking into leaving California in case the tax becomes law.  

Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna, who represents part of Silicon Valley, flagged the story on X and echoed President Franklin Roosevelt by adding “I will miss them very much.”

The proposal calls for California residents worth more than $1 billion to pay a one-time tax equivalent to 5% of their assets that can be paid over five years.

The wealth tax’s backers, who want to use the revenue to help offset federal funding cuts for healthcare, must still gather enough signatures before it can get on the ballot in November 2026.

While Khanna is a member of Congress and not a California state lawmaker, his support for the wealth tax unleashed a flood of negative reactions.

Palmer Luckey, cofounder of defense tech startup Anduril, warned the tax would force founders to sell big pieces of their companies to pay for “fraud, waste, and political favors for the organizations pushing this ballot initiative.”

If he and his wealthy peers can’t come up with billions of dollars in cash to pay the tax, he said the state could seize his home and garnish his wages.

“One market correction, nationalization event, or prohibition of divestiture (not at all uncommon during wartime) and I am screwed for life,” Luckey posted on X.

Of particular concern is how the potential wealth tax might treat paper profits from stock gains and stakes in companies that haven’t gone public, a key form of compensation among startups that have yet to turn profitable.

Figma cofounder and CEO Dylan Field pointed out that founders and potentially early employees could get caught up in the wealth tax but wouldn’t be able to use company stock to pay it. Some founders may also have to pay capital gains taxes, meaning they would face a “double tax event.”

And in the event a startup has an unsuccessful year, founders still on the hook for the wealth tax may be forced to lower their startup’s valuation via a “down round” that would make it harder to draw talent and investors; take out a loan that they may have trouble repaying; or leave California.

“Silicon Valley startups (ironically) follow the herd. Once enough respected companies/founders establish a pattern, other startups will follow, even if the wealth tax does not apply to them yet,” Field posted on X.

For his part, Khanna said he opposes capital gains taxes on unrealized income and supports workarounds for founders with illiquid assets and unprofitable companies.

He also said tax dollars helped build the AI industry and dismissed the idea that tech entrepreneurs wouldn’t start companies in the state due to a 1% per-year tax, adding that innovators are drawn to the area’s talent.

“We cannot have a nation with extreme concentration of wealth in a few places but where 70 percent of Americans believe the American dream is dead and healthcare, childcare, housing, education is unaffordable,” he said on X. “What will stifle American innovation, what will make us fall behind China, is if we see further political dysfunction and social unrest, if we fail to cultivate the talent in every American and in every city and town.”

But Dave Friedberg, cofounder and CEO of Ohalo Genetics, said the wealth tax still amounts to an “organized government seizure of private property from citizens” who have already paid other taxes that can total 53% in California.

He said the tax flirts with socialism and represents “a slippery slope that has never gone anywhere good (see economic effects in USSR, Cuba, Venezuela, France and Norway wealth tax etc.)”

Garry Tan, CEO of tech startup accelerator Y Combinator, told the New York Post that the wealth tax would  drive capital out of the state, hurt innovation, and eventually weaken support for healthcare services.

“This measure would cause a stampede of unicorns out of California to other states, which would reap the benefits of entrepreneurs, technology and jobs that California enjoys now,” he added.



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Don’t fixate so much on Fed rates, but the loss of its independence will be punished, BofA CEO says

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Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan pointed out the U.S. economy is much bigger than the Federal Reserve, which shouldn’t merit so much attention.

In an interview with CBS News’ Face the Nation that aired Sunday, he was asked about President Donald Trump’s upcoming nomination of a new Fed chair to replace Jerome Powell and what it means for consumers.

“There’s too much fascination with the Fed,” Moynihan said.

The economy is driven by the private sector, which includes small, medium, and large companies as well as entrepreneurs, he added.

“The idea that we are, like, hanging on the thread by the Fed moving rates 25 basis points, it seems to me we’ve gotten out of whack,” he said.

The interview was recorded on Dec. 17, a week after the central bank lowered rates by a quarter point for a third consecutive meeting amid mounting signs of weakness in the labor market.

While the bank chief doesn’t think most Americans should fixate so much on the Fed’s rate moves, Wall Street has been counting on more easing to keep the stock market rally going.

Moynihan also acknowledged the Fed is the lender of last resort and plays a key role in stabilizing the economy, markets, and prices in times of extreme stress, such as during the financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic.

“But other than that, you shouldn’t know they exist, quite frankly,” he said.

However, when pressed about political interference worries at the Fed when a new chair takes over, he replied: “The market will punish people if we don’t have an independent Fed.”

That’s as Trump has continued to demand steeper rate cuts since he returned to the White House this year while applying extreme pressure on policymakers. He has relentlessly insulted Powell for not easing more, considered firing him, threatened to sue over cost overruns on the Fed’s headquarters renovation, and is still attempting to oust Fed Gov. Lisa Cook.

More recently, administration officials have suggested new conditions ought to be placed on the Fed’s regional presidents, raising fears of a purge. 

But earlier this month, the Fed reappointed those bank presidents a bit earlier than usual, surprising Wall Street and reducing concerns about threats to its independence.

That likely sets up Powell to step down from the Fed with more reassurance when his term as chair expires in May.

But Trump may still clash with his hand-picked replacement because the economy may prevent the central bank from lowering rates as much as he would like, according to Capital Economics.

The investment surge led by artificial intelligence is just the start of a multiyear boom in capital spending. As a result, GDP will grow at a robust rate of 2.5% in both 2026 and 2027, even after accounting for a weaker job market that will slow consumption, according to a recent note.

“With core inflation remaining above the 2% target for some considerable time, we think the Fed will cut its policy rate by only 25 [basis points] in 2026, putting the new Fed chair and President Trump at loggerheads almost immediately,” Capital Economics predicted.



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Gen Z might avoid the résumé as most firms do skills-based recruitment

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Trying to summarize every job you’ve ever had and then distill that onto a two-page résumé has been the bane of job hunter’s existence since around the 1950s. Fortunately, for Gen Z, it’s something they might never have to bore themselves with. 

That’s because research shows many companies are moving away from relying on the traditional job application requirement.

In fact, almost three-quarters of companies now use skills-based assessments throughout their hiring process, according to TestGorilla’s The State of Skills-Based Hiring 2023 report which surveyed 3,000 employees and employers around the world. This is up from 56% in the previous year.

Although many of those employers are still also using CVs, it might not be long until they’re a thing of the past because most bosses are already favoring the new hiring practice and reporting big results. 

Skills-based hiring is more effective, the data shows

The employers surveyed who use skills-based hiring—which includes role-specific skills assessments, instead of simply scanning someone’s listed career experience—reported massive gains.

According to TestGorilla’s research, it reduced the number of mis-hires by 88%, total time spent searching for the perfect candidate by 82%, and hiring-related costs by 74%.

Overall, 92% of the employers surveyed reported that skills-based hiring is more effective at identifying talented candidates than a traditional CV. Meanwhile, over 80% said it’s more predictive of on-job success and leads to new hires staying longer in their roles.

By testing candidates on how they would handle the actual day-to-day responsibilities of a role, employers are more likely to hire the best person for the job instead of being drawn by big names and snazzy titles.

As Khyati Sundaram, CEO of the skill-based recruitment platform Applied, previously told Fortune, just because someone has listed on their résumé that they’ve worked with the SEO team at somewhere alluring like Google, it doesn’t actually mean they know the ins and outs of search engine optimization to the extent that’s required for a role. 

“We are trying to make sure the test or the question is as relevant to the job as possible,” Sundaram said, adding, “That’s the reason that candidates love it too.”

Intuitively people may assume that taking multiple skills-based tests would feel like more of a nuisance for job seekers than simply blasting their CV at hundreds of roles—but the data shows otherwise. 

Most of the workers that TestGorilla surveyed think that skills-based hiring levels the playing field and improves their chances of bagging their dream jobs. 

This is especially true for candidates who are often overlooked. In fact, around three-quarters of the Black, Asian, and Arab employees that TestGorilla surveyed have already reportedly gained access to new employment opportunities through skills-based assessments.

Move to scrap CVs comes as firms drop degree requirements

The uptick in skills-based hiring comes as degrees have slidden down the priority list for employers.

Google, Microsoft, IBM, and Apple previously eliminated their long-held degree requirements to remove barriers to entry and recruit more diverse talent. Meanwhile, recruiters globally are five times more likely to search for new hires by skills over higher education.

A former Cisco top executive in the U.K. also said young aspiring workers would be better off skipping out on college to join the world of work straight away.

“In university, you come out with whatever degree you may get, but it’s almost certainly saddled with debt,” David Meads, former Cisco’s U.K. and Ireland CEO, told Fortune. “Is that better than on-the-job experience where you’re rotating through different parts of our organization, and living the reality and not just the theory?”

“For me, attitude and aptitude are more important than whatever letters you have after your name, or whatever qualifications you’ve got on a sheet,” he added.

But research has shown that skeptical Gen Z remain unconvinced: They’re shunning apprenticeship schemes in favor of going down the traditional route of college. So perhaps they will still go through the bore of writing a résumé—even if, like a college degree, it’s no longer needed.

A version of this story originally published on Fortune.com on November 23, 2023.

More on Gen Z careers:

Join us at the Fortune Workplace Innovation Summit May 19–20, 2026, in Atlanta. The next era of workplace innovation is here—and the old playbook is being rewritten. At this exclusive, high-energy event, the world’s most innovative leaders will convene to explore how AI, humanity, and strategy converge to redefine, again, the future of work. Register now.



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Every year, a billionaire CEO doles out $1,000 checks to local college grads—with a catch: They have to give half the money to charity

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One of the best gifts you can give a recent college grad is cold, hard cash. It can serve as a launching pad for establishing themselves as an adult, equipping them to get their first apartment, start paying off those sky-high student loans, and maybe enough to get them some well-earned drinks at their favorite local watering hole. 

And one billionaire makes that wish come true each year: Rob Hale, founder and CEO of telecommunications company Granite Communications, annually doles out $1,000 checks to local recent college graduates in Massachusetts. He’s worth about $6 billion and helms the $1.8 billion company that provides voice, data, internet, mobile, and video services for businesses and government clients. 

But these college graduates don’t just get to take the money and run. They have to pledge they’ll give at least half of it away to charity. 

“The turmoil in our country has increased the need for caring, sharing and compassion,” Hale said during a commencement address at Bridgewater State University in May. “Our community needs—needs—your help, your leadership and your empathy more than ever.”

Hale started this annual tradition in 2021, so he’s been able to see how some of his beneficiaries used their gift. His ritual began at Quincy College in 2021, and he’s also donated to students at Roxbury Community College, UMass Boston, and UMass Dartmouth. 

“These are students who are busting their butts to earn a diploma, and I am so proud to be able to support them,” Hale told Leaders Magazine in October.

One beneficiary, now 24, donated half of her cash to Northeast Arc, an organization helping individuals with disabilities.

“There were some pretty significant federal funding cuts right around the time of my graduation,” Gene Symonds told local news publication WBUR. “A lot of the people they serve, they rely on that federal funding. I really wanted to contribute to that.” Others gave back to local schools and youth organizations.

And while students can spend their remaining $500 how they choose, many use it toward paying off student loans. The cost of higher education is rapidly increasing and the average student loan balance amounts to $28,775 (public school) and $42,449 (private school), according to the Education Data Initiative. So being able to make a dent in those can be beneficial for recent grads. 

Why Hale is instilling a philanthropic habit

Hale’s motive isn’t just to get these students to donate to charities once and forget about it. Instead, he told Leaders Magazine he hopes to pass on the spirit of philanthropy.

“When you look at the backdrop of who these kids are, many of them have most likely not had the chance to do this before,” he said. 

And there’s evidence that starting to donate to charity early in one’s career can be habit-forming. A 2013 study by Jonathan Meer at Texas A&M University shows how people who give small, frequent gifts when they’re young make them more likely to keep giving—and giving more—later in life, regardless of gift size.

Connie Collingsworth, former COO and chief legal officer of the Gates Foundation, also said during Fortune’s Most Powerful Women conference in Washington, D.C. this fall role-modeling is important in instilling habits of charitable giving and financial planning.

“[If] we show [our daughters], and we talk to them about these issues, I think they will have a sea change,” Collingsworth said. “They want to listen. They want to be like the women that have independence and the power that comes from knowing what your plans are. The key to all of this really is intentional.”

Storied billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott—who donated billions to charity this year alone—also said she was inspired by her college years to donate the vast majority of her wealth. Her college roommate loaned her $1,000 so she wouldn’t have to drop out, which she says inspired her pattern of philanthropic giving.

“It is these ripple effects that make imagining the power of any of our own acts of kindness impossible,” Scott wrote of giving in an Oct. 15 essay published to her Yield Giving site. “Whose generosity did I think of every time I made every one of the thousands of gifts I’ve been able to give?

“It was the local dentist who offered me free dental work when he saw me securing a broken tooth with denture glue in college. It was the college roommate who found me crying, and acted on her urge to loan me a thousand dollars to keep me from having to drop out in my sophomore year.”



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