Mitt Romney, bir milyarder vergisinin 2 varlık talebini tetiklediği konusunda uyardı — şimdi buna Kaliforniya karar veriyor. Süper zenginlerden önce binin

Mitt Romney warned a billionaire tax triggers demand for 2 assets — now California decides. Get in before the super-rich

Jing Pan

Sat, September 19, 2026 at 3:25 PM GMT+3 9 min read

Photo by Win McNamee / Getty Images

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A warning Mitt Romney delivered five years ago is about to face a real-world test in America's biggest state economy.

On Nov. 3, California voters will decide the fate of Proposition 40 (1), a ballot measure that would impose a one-time tax equal to 5% of a billionaire's net worth.

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The levy would apply to billionaires who were California residents on Jan. 1, 2026, with payment due in 2027. Taxpayers could spread the bill over five years, although doing so would cost more.

For someone worth $10 billion, a 5% levy could translate into a staggering $500 million tax bill.

The proposal comes years after federal efforts to tax billionaire wealth repeatedly stalled in Washington amid political resistance and questions about their constitutionality. But California may now go where Congress could not — and potentially reshape how some of America's richest people hold their fortunes.

That is precisely the kind of reaction Romney warned about in 2021.

During a Fox News interview (2), the then-Utah senator criticized a federal proposal that would have taxed billionaires on unrealized investment gains. Under such a system, wealthy investors could owe tax as their assets appreciated, even if they had not sold them.

Romney argued that billionaires could respond by pulling money away from publicly traded companies.

"These multibillionaires are gonna look and say, 'I don't want to invest in the stock market, because as that goes up, I gotta get taxed," Romney said.

"So maybe I will instead invest in a ranch or in paintings or things that don't build jobs and create a stronger economy."

California's proposal is not identical to the federal plan Romney was discussing.

Proposition 40 would impose a one-time tax on covered wealth rather than an annual tax on unrealized gains.

But it raises the same fundamental question: What happens when the government changes the cost of owning certain assets?

The details make Romney's ranch prediction especially striking. Under Proposition 40, directly owned real estate would generally be excluded from the wealth calculation, while stocks, private businesses, intellectual property, art and collectibles would remain covered.

The state's Legislative Analyst's Office estimates that the measure could temporarily raise tens of billions of dollars. However, it also warns that billionaires might respond in ways that reduce their California income taxes — including leaving the state — potentially costing the government up to $1 billion annually.

And the outcome is far from settled. An August UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies (3) poll found that 48% of likely voters supported Proposition 40, while 41% opposed it and 11% remained undecided.

Most Americans will never personally face a billionaire tax. But if Romney is right that major tax changes can redirect vast pools of capital, ordinary investors could still feel the effects through changing demand and asset prices.

Here are a few ways to gain exposure to the kinds of tangible assets that could attract even more attention.

Own a piece of America's farmland

It's no secret that the ultra-wealthy love farms.

Bill Gates, for instance, owns 275,000 acres (4) of land across America — including 250,000 acres of highly productive farmland.

And Romney expects more deep-pocketed investors to plow into the space.

It's easy to see the appeal: Farmland is intrinsically valuable and has little correlation with the ups and downs of the stock market.

Come what may, people still need to eat.

Farmland can generate returns in two ways. Investors may receive income from leasing the property or selling crops, while also benefiting if the underlying land appreciates over time.

Farmland also serves as a natural inflation hedge. During inflationary periods, rising food prices often drive up farmland values, helping preserve investors' purchasing power.

And its supply is limited — and shrinking. Since the 1950s, the amount of agricultural land in the United States has declined (5), while farm real estate values have risen steadily (6).

These days, you don't need to buy an entire farm — or know how to grow crops — to gain exposure to the asset class.

FarmTogether gives accredited investors a way to invest in fractional ownership of U.S. farmland. That means investors can potentially earn income from crop production while also benefiting from the value of the land if it increases over time.

The platform has $217 million in assets under management across 51 funded deals, covering eight states and 15 crop types. FarmTogether says each offering goes through a 105-point due diligence process, and less than 1% of deals in its pipeline make it onto the platform.

Farmland has also historically held up differently than other assets during downturns. According to FarmTogether's own data comparing NCREIF indices from 1992 to 2025, returns from farmland have shown a lower correlation to inflation than stocks, bonds or REITs.

Take a page from Warren Buffett's real estate playbook

Farmland is only one corner of the real estate market. Rental homes, apartment buildings and commercial properties offer many of the same attractions: limited supply, potential appreciation and recurring income.

That combination has made real estate a favorite among the ultrawealthy.

Warren Buffett, for instance, often points to property when explaining what a productive, income-generating asset looks like. In 2022, Buffett stated (7) that if you offered him "1% of all the apartment houses in the country" for $25 billion, he would "write you a check."

Why? Because regardless of what's happening in the broader economy, people still need a place to live and apartments can consistently produce rent money.

Real estate also offers a built-in hedge against inflation. When inflation rises, property values often increase as well, reflecting the higher costs of materials, labor and land. At the same time, rental income tends to go up, providing landlords with a revenue stream that adjusts with inflation.

Of course, you don't need $25 billion — or even to buy a single property outright — to invest in real estate. Crowdfunding platforms like Arrived offer an easier way to get exposure to this income-generating asset class.

Backed by world-class investors like Jeff Bezos, Arrived allows you to invest in shares of rental homes with as little as $100, all without the hassle of mowing lawns, fixing leaky faucets or handling difficult tenants.

The process is simple: Browse a curated selection of homes that have been vetted for their appreciation and income potential. Once you find a property you like, select the number of shares you'd like to purchase and then sit back as you start receiving any positive rental income distributions from your investment.

Another option is Lightstone DIRECT, which gives accredited investors access to single-asset multifamily and industrial deals.

Lightstone DIRECT's direct-to-investor model ensures a high degree of alignment between individual investors and a vertically-integrated, institutional owner-operator — a sophisticated and streamlined option for individual investors looking to diversify into private-market real estate.

With Lightstone DIRECT, accredited individuals can access the same multifamily and industrial assets Lightstone pursues with its own capital, with minimum investments starting at $100,000.

Own a tangible store of wealth

Romney's other example was paintings.

Fine art has long appealed to wealthy collectors because it is tangible, scarce and capable of holding enormous value in a compact form. But it can also be difficult to price, expensive to insure and highly dependent on changing tastes.

Gold offers some of that same appeal in a more standardized and liquid form.

Like a rare painting, gold is a physical asset that cannot be created at the push of a button. Its scarcity has helped it serve as a store of wealth across countries and civilizations for thousands of years.

And with inflation remaining a pressing issue in America, that appeal is especially relevant: Unlike fiat currencies, gold cannot be printed at will by central banks.

Gold is also considered the ultimate safe haven. It's not tied to any one country, currency or economy, and in times of economic turmoil or geopolitical uncertainty, investors often flock to it — driving prices higher.

Ray Dalio, founder of the world's largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates, has repeatedly highlighted gold's role in a resilient portfolio.

"People don't have, typically, an adequate amount of gold in their portfolio," Dalio told CNBC last year. "When bad times come, gold is a very effective diversifier."

Over the past five years, as inflation continued to chip away at the purchasing power of the dollar, gold has climbed 148%.

Other prominent voices see further potential. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has said that in this environment, gold can "easily" rise to $10,000 an ounce.

One way to invest in gold that also provides significant tax advantages is to open a gold IRA with the help of Priority Gold.

Gold IRAs allow investors to hold physical gold or gold-related assets within a retirement account, which combines the tax advantages of an IRA with the protective benefits of investing in gold, making it an attractive option for those looking to potentially hedge their retirement funds against economic uncertainty.

To learn more, you can get a free information guide that includes details on how to get up to $10,000 in free silver on qualifying purchases.

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