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# Meta offers Zuckerberg tax help to keep him in California
- URL: https://www.bushletter.com/meta-creates-non-voting-shares-for-zuckerberg-s-california-tax/
- Published: 2026-10-23T03:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T02:59:59.000Z
- Description: New non-voting shares would let him fund a possible billionaire tax without losing control. The deal binds him to California for eight years.
- Author: Bushletter Newsroom
- Tags: Technology, Business

TLDR

Meta has agreed to give Mark Zuckerberg a way to pay a possible California billionaire tax without losing control of the company. In return he must stay a California resident for eight years. Voters decide the one-off 5 per cent tax early next month.

## A deal to keep Zuckerberg in California

Meta has struck a deal with chief executive Mark Zuckerberg to help him pay a possible California tax on billionaires.[\[1\]](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/oct/22/meta-mark-zuckerberg-california-wealth-tax?ref=bushletter.com) The company disclosed the arrangement on Wednesday, US time.[\[1\]](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/oct/22/meta-mark-zuckerberg-california-wealth-tax?ref=bushletter.com)

Meta calls it a "Founder Alignment Agreement". It said keeping Zuckerberg leading the company from California was "critically important".[\[2\]](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cky83vwnyglno?ref=bushletter.com)

## How it works

Meta is creating a new class of non-voting shares through a two-for-one stock split for all existing shareholders.[\[1\]](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/oct/22/meta-mark-zuckerberg-california-wealth-tax?ref=bushletter.com) Zuckerberg can sell some of the new class C shares to pay a potential tax bill without diluting his control of the company.[\[1\]](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/oct/22/meta-mark-zuckerberg-california-wealth-tax?ref=bushletter.com)

He will receive more stock and can sell it each quarter. The deal applies even if the tax does not pass, the BBC reported.[\[2\]](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cky83vwnyglno?ref=bushletter.com)

In return, he commits to remain a resident of California, or wherever Meta is based, for eight years.[\[1\]](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/oct/22/meta-mark-zuckerberg-california-wealth-tax?ref=bushletter.com)

## The tax

Californians vote early next month on Proposition 40, a one-off 5 per cent tax on billionaires who live in the state.[\[1\]](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/oct/22/meta-mark-zuckerberg-california-wealth-tax?ref=bushletter.com) It would likely cost Zuckerberg about US$10 billion, the BBC reported.[\[2\]](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cky83vwnyglno?ref=bushletter.com)

Zuckerberg is worth US$239 billion, according to Forbes.[\[1\]](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/oct/22/meta-mark-zuckerberg-california-wealth-tax?ref=bushletter.com) He told Meta's board last month he was thinking of moving his main residence out of California.[\[2\]](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cky83vwnyglno?ref=bushletter.com)

Such a move "would be public and inevitably noted and commented upon by company employees", he told the board.[\[2\]](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cky83vwnyglno?ref=bushletter.com)

The deal followed "robust" and "at several points, contentious" negotiations with a special committee of Meta's board, a financial disclosure said.[\[2\]](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cky83vwnyglno?ref=bushletter.com)

The Guardian puts the number of billionaires living in California at about 250\. The Americans for Tax Fairness campaign group says about 225.[\[1\]](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/oct/22/meta-mark-zuckerberg-california-wealth-tax?ref=bushletter.com)[\[2\]](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cky83vwnyglno?ref=bushletter.com) Recent polling shows Proposition 40 short of majority support, the Guardian reported.[\[1\]](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/oct/22/meta-mark-zuckerberg-california-wealth-tax?ref=bushletter.com)

KEY TAKEAWAYS

01Meta's 'Founder Alignment Agreement' creates new non-voting shares through a stock split.

02Zuckerberg can sell the new shares to pay a tax bill without diluting his control.

03He must stay a California resident for eight years.

04Proposition 40 is a proposed one-off 5 per cent tax on California billionaires.

05The tax would likely cost Zuckerberg about US$10 billion, the BBC reported.

SOURCES & CITATIONS

1. [Meta strikes deal with Mark Zuckerberg to help him foot billionaire tax bill, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/oct/22/meta-mark-zuckerberg-california-wealth-tax?ref=bushletter.com)
2. [Meta strikes deal to stop Zuckerberg leaving California over billionaire tax, BBC News](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cky83vwnyglno?ref=bushletter.com)

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What is the deal?

Meta is creating a new class of non-voting shares through a stock split. Zuckerberg can sell them to pay a possible tax bill without diluting his control, in return for staying a California resident for eight years.

What is Proposition 40?

A proposed one-off 5 per cent tax on billionaires who live in California. Voters decide it early next month.

Does the deal depend on the tax passing?

No. The BBC reported the deal applies even if the tax does not pass.