Note: To learn more about the unprecedented sums that billionaires are spending on the election, join Standard reporters Hannah Wiley and Emily Shugerman at Manny’s this Wednesday from 6 to 7 p.m. for “Show Me The Money: The Hidden Finance Behind California’s Elections.” Purchase tickets here (opens in new tab). 

Google co-founder Sergey Brin never showed much interest in politics, spending his first few decades as a billionaire living the company credo, “Don’t be evil.” 

But over the last year, a switch flipped in Brin — and in many Silicon Valley barons. Outrage over a proposed union-backed billionaire tax has spurred Brin into a nearly $70 million spending spree to block that effort. He’s also opened his wallet to put an end to what he has described as California’s sharp left turn (opens in new tab).

Brin, who moved to Nevada at the end of last year to avoid the tax, did not respond to an interview request. But the money speaks for itself: Since the start of the year, he has dumped $66 million into a political action committee working to block the wealth tax, spent more than $1 million backing a moderate Democrat for governor (opens in new tab), and funneled $500,000 into defeating San Francisco’s CEO tax. (opens in new tab) 

He’s not the only billionaire shelling out millions for the cause. 

Silicon Valley chieftains are dropping unprecedented sums on June 2 primary races, hoping to reshape all levels of government and put an end to what they perceive as California’s blind obedience to labor unions — while protecting their vast fortunes.

“They were hit over the head with a proposal for a wealth tax,” said Steve Maviglio, a veteran Democratic strategist based in Sacramento. “So they responded like the alarm went off in the morning and they jumped in all the way.”

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The billionaire tax ignited a new battle in the long war between Big Tech and Big Labor. 

The tax initiative is sponsored by the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West, one of many unions Silicon Valley’s elite see as a roadblock to their agenda. In the weeks following the announcement of the tax, billionaires in the state sprang into action, starting political organizations, mounting initiative campaigns, and even propping up business-friendly candidates.

Rob Lapsley, president of the California Business Roundtable, said he’s never seen political participation like this from tech magnates.

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“They have [previously] been engaged on the myriad of their issues, including privacy and AI,” he said. “But now that it’s clear that the unions are targeting them directly, they perceive California completely differently. They perceive California as a direct threat.”

Tech billionaires such as Peter Thiel have donated millions to the business roundtable, while others have started their own political organizations with the aim of shaping California politics for the long run. Brin put $66 million behind an effort called Building a Better California to defeat the billionaire tax; Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen put $10 million behind a group called Golden State Promise for many of the same reasons; and a group calling itself California Renewal is hoping to build a $1 billion fund to counter union power for decades into the future.

Tech leaders like Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan and DoorDash co-founder Stanley Tang have also hosted fundraisers for Ethan Agarwal — a fellow tech founder who threw his hat into the ring to challenge U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna after the congressman came out in favor of the billionaire tax. Agarwal is outspokenly opposed to the tax, but his pandering to the tech elite hasn’t exactly paid off: Records show he has a little over $300,000 cash on hand compared to Khanna’s whopping $16 million.

Tech billionaires and companies are flooding the zone this cycle via a handful of political action committees set on getting more business-friendly candidates into office. 

Larsen and Bitcoin enthusiast Tim Draper started a PAC called Grow California to fund more moderate candidates in the state, while Google and Meta chipped in $10 million to a similar effort called California Leads. While both groups resist being labeled “anti-labor,” they have consistently spent to prop up business-friendly candidates in Senate and Assembly races across the state. 

The groups have spent more than $14 million combined on races from the South Bay to downtown Los Angeles, sparking outcry from some of the candidates they’re running against.

“They’re definitely scared of this proud immigrant and labor leader,” one candidate, Ada Briceño, told the L.A. Times (opens in new tab). “They want to figure out how to try to buy this district. That’s just not going to happen.”

Meanwhile, Bay Area AI companies have been coming out swinging in national races. OpenAI President Greg Brockman and venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz are among the donors who’ve  poured more than $75 million into Leading the Future, a PAC that opposes stringent AI regulation, while Anthropic has put $20 million into Public First Action, a more pro-regulatory group.

Public First Action has pledged at least $500,000 to Scott Wiener in his bid to replace outgoing Rep. Nancy Pelosi. While Wiener is no suck-up to AI interests — he’s spent years drafting state-level restrictions on the technology — he’s clearly seen as the more tech-friendly candidate. Other Wiener donors include Larsen, Tan, and Yelp co-founder Jeremy Stoppelman.

The big spending is also playing out on a smaller stage. 

In San Francisco, where dueling tax measures have pitted business and unions against each other, tech titans see another opportunity for influence. 

Industry leaders have funneled more than $6 million into Proposition C, a pro-business tax measure intended to block Proposition D, a labor-backed effort to raise taxes on large corporations. 

Proposition C donors include former Sequoia partner (and current Standard Chairman) Michael Moritz, who contributed $625,000; Larsen and Brin, who have donated $500,000 each; and DoorDash CEO Tony Xu, who gave $250,000. Another $850,000 arrived from Neighbors for a Better SF Advocacy, an independent committee fueled by tech money.

“They are throwing more at races than what most Americans will see in their entire lives,” said Scott Mann, spokesperson for the Proposition D campaign, which has raised roughly $2 million from labor groups. “All eyes are on San Francisco, or they should be. This is where the Silicon Valley billionaires are really testing their playbook.”

Some of the same players behind Proposition C have also spent tens of thousands on two local supervisor races largely seen as critical to maintaining moderate control of City Hall. The two incumbents, Supervisors Alan Wong and Stephen Sherrill, are key allies of Mayor Daniel Lurie, who has appealed to Silicon Valley with his business-friendly policies and his focus on public safety. 

As Gov. Gavin Newsom terms out after eight years in office and Silicon Valley loses an ally in Sacramento, tech figures have put millions behind moderate San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan’s bid to replace him. The mayor has raised tens of millions from big-name donors, including Moritz, GreenOaks Capital partner Neil Mehta, Stripe co-founder Patrick Collison, and Reddit CEO Steven Huffman.

Even with their millions, Mahan has failed to break through with voters. In the latest California Democratic Party poll, Mahan was trailing with 4% of the vote (opens in new tab) against fellow Democrats like Xavier Becerra, the former Health and Human Services Secretary and current party front-runner, as well as billionaire climate activist Tom Steyer and former Orange County Rep. Katie Porter. 

His implosion has delighted labor groups. “Our work in this election is done,” Lorena Gonzalez, president of the California Federation of Labor Unions, wrote Friday on social media (opens in new tab). “But, for good measure, we will keep reminding the good folks in Santa Clara County how  Trump-loving AI billionaires attempted to run their tech bro for Governor. Until at least June 2.”

With roughly a week left in the race, there’s evidence that the tech world has chosen its rebound candidate: Meta recently dumped $950,000 behind a committee backing Becerra.

And just for good measure, multiple tech billionaires, including Larsen, Brin, and Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale, have also donated to Republican Steve Hilton, who is so far polling higher than any Democrat in the field.