Tech bros are getting what they deserve — after backing left for years
California's tech billionaires, once seen as progressive allies, are now facing backlash as they are targeted by the same left-wing movements they long supported. Despite their wealth and influence, the state's tech sector is shedding jobs while economic inequality and housing costs soar. The article suggests tech leaders are reaping consequences for funding politicians and causes that now advocate for taxing their wealth.
- ▪California's tech workforce has declined from 19 to 16 percent of high-tech jobs since 2022.
- ▪The state has the highest cost-of-living adjusted poverty rate and worst housing affordability in the continental U.S.
- ▪Tech companies like Google, Apple, and Meta have primarily donated to progressive Democrats, including Kamala Harris’s top contributors.
- ▪Some of these donations went to politicians now advocating for a wealth tax on the very donors.
- ▪Tech oligarchs have funded progressive groups such as the Tides Foundation and Black Lives Matter through their foundations.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Opinion Tech bros are getting what they deserve — after backing left for years By Joel Kotkin Published May 16, 2026, 10:04 p.m. ET California’s tech oligarchs are portraying themselves as victims, as the left clamors to tax their wealth away. Perhaps they should take some responsibility. Once widely admired as feisty disrupters, these super-rich moguls now define the establishment in California, a state with more billionaires than any other. 5 California’s tech oligarchs are portraying themselves as victims, as the left clamors to tax their wealth away. CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images And it is an establishment under threat. The tech oligarchs used to create hundreds of thousands of jobs in the state.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at California Post.
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