{"id":2571764,"date":"2026-02-20T07:35:02","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T12:35:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hollywood-legend-becomes-latest-billionaire-to-flee-california\/"},"modified":"2026-02-20T07:36:39","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T12:36:39","slug":"hollywood-legend-becomes-latest-billionaire-to-flee-california","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hollywood-legend-becomes-latest-billionaire-to-flee-california\/","title":{"rendered":"Hollywood Legend Becomes Latest Billionaire to Flee California"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhollywood-legend-becomes-latest-billionaire-to-flee-california%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2571764&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Steven Spielberg has moved from California to Manhattan, joining a broader exodus of billionaires leaving the state as California debates a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fmr-white-house-economic-adviser-kudlow-slams-sen-warrens-wealth-tax\/\" title=\"Fmr. White House economic adviser Kudlow slams Sen. Warren\u2019s ...\">proposed wealth tax<\/a>.The article explains that california is considering a one-time 5% tax on billionaires,retroactive to the current year,which could yield about $100 billion for healthcare and education but has split the Democratic Party. It notes other <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/report-kamala-harris-senior-adviser-symone-sanders-to-leave-white-house\/\" title=\"Report: Kamala Harris Senior Adviser Symone Sanders to Leave White House\">high-profile departures<\/a> or relocations, including Mark Zuckerberg eyeing Florida and Elon Musk moving operations out of California, along with In-N-Out heiress Lynsi Snyder, Peter Thiel, and David Sacks. Spielberg\u2019s representatives say his move is driven by family reasons\u2014being closer to his New york-based children and grandchildren\u2014rather then the wealth tax, though the piece suggests the tax debate is a backdrop to his decision. the story portrays Spielberg\u2019s relocation as part of a wider trend of wealthy Californians reconsidering their ties to the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >state amid tax proposals<\/a>.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Few figures are as synonymous with Hollywood quite like director Steven Spielberg.<\/p>\n<p>From &ldquo;Jaws&rdquo; to &ldquo;E.T.&rdquo; to countless others, the 79-year-old Spielberg&rsquo;s penchant for movie-making has helped the longtime director carve out a legendary career in Hollywood &mdash; and a small fortune.<\/p>\n<p>Given Spielberg&rsquo;s association with Tinseltown, it should be little surprise that he&rsquo;s also quite connected with the state that Hollywood is located in &mdash; California.<\/p>\n<p>Well, that connection appears to have been severed.<\/p>\n<p>Spielberg has officially taken his talents to New York (or Manhattan, to be more specific) amid a broader &ldquo;billionaire exodus&rdquo; happening in the Golden State, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/02\/19\/us-news\/legendary-director-steven-spielberg-is-the-latest-billionaire-to-flee-california-in-another-blow-to-state\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">New York Post<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadAnyclip() { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst container=document.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!container) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=\"https:\/\/player.anyclip.com\/anyclip-widget\/lre-widget\/prod\/v1\/src\/lre.js\"; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"pubname\", \"westernjournalcom\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"widgetname\", \"001w000001jULVcAAO_M12924\");  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ append inside the container so player shows in correct spot \t\t\t\t\t\tcontainer.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadAnyclip(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #anyclipvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#anyclipvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>The outlet reported that Spielberg&rsquo;s departure comes amid other prominent billionaires eyeing greener pastures.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/california\/story\/2026-02-19\/billionaires-spielberg-zuckerberg-look-outside-of-california-amid-wealth-tax-proposal\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Los Angeles Times<\/a>, for instance, noted that Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg is looking to move to Florida. Billionaire Elon Musk, meanwhile, has been systematically moving all of his businesses out of California.<\/p>\n<p>Other notable billionaire departures from California include In n Out Burger heiress Lynsi Snyder, tech mogul Peter Thiel, and White House advisor David Sacks, per the <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/01\/12\/us-news\/what-to-know-about-californias-proposed-billionaire-tax-and-the-moguls-fleeing-to-dodge-it\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">New York Post<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The reason they&rsquo;re fleeing the Golden State, including its sunny weather and impeccable beaches?<\/p>\n<p>Many are presuming that they&rsquo;re all leaving ahead of a November vote that could hit California billionaires with a controversial &ldquo;wealth tax.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>If approved, this tax would be a one-time 5 percent tax on billionaires, which would apply retroactively to this year.<\/p>\n<p>Should this come to pass, California expects a $100 billion windfall, which it would apply to healthcare issues and some education programs in the state.<\/p>\n<p>Interestingly enough, the LA Times noted that the issue has split the Democratic Party.<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Bernie Sanders &mdash; technically an independent, but is for all intents and purposes a Democrat &mdash; unsurprisingly loves this proposal, and is pushing hard for it.<\/p>\n<p>California Gov. Gavin Newsom, meanwhile, opposes this tax for fear of the exact problem outlined above: Billionaires leaving in droves &mdash; along with the taxes they already pay.<\/p>\n<p>However, Spielberg &mdash; who is a true, blue Democrat &mdash; claims this&nbsp;<em>isn&rsquo;t&nbsp;<\/em>why he&rsquo;s leaving.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Steven&rsquo;s move to the East Coast is both long-planned and driven purely by his and Kate Capshaw&rsquo;s desire to be closer to their New York based children and grandchildren,&rdquo; Spielberg representative Terry Press said.<\/p>\n<p>Press did not, however, answer any questions about Spielberg&rsquo;s thoughts on this wealth tax that&rsquo;s scaring away his fellow billionaires.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Steven Spielberg, long a defining figure in Hollywood, reportedly moved his base to Manhattan as part of a broader \u201cbillionaire exodus\u201d from California, according to the New York Post. The Los Angeles Times also cites other high-profile departures, including Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg moving to Florida and Elon Musk shifting his operations out of the state, along with In-N-Out heiress Lynsi Snyder, Peter Thiel, and White House adviser David Sacks. The move is generally tied to California\u2019s proposed wealth tax\u2014a one-time 5% levy on billionaires retroactive to this year\u2014which proponents say could raise about $100 billion for healthcare and education if enacted. The proposal has split the Democratic Party: Bernie Sanders supports it, while Governor Gavin Newsom opposes it for fear that it will drive more wealth away. Spielberg, a staunch Democrat, says his relocation is motivated by family reasons and was planned well in advance, to be closer to his children and grandchildren in New York; his representative did not address the wealth-tax issue<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2571765,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2026-02-19T222824.080.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[5684,4045,4361],"class_list":["post-2571764","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-billionaire","tag-california","tag-hollywood"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2026-02-19T222824.080.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2571764","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2571764"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2571764\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2571768,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2571764\/revisions\/2571768"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2571765"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2571764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2571764"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2571764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}