Actor Mark Ruffalo branded Gov. Gavin Newsom’s opposition to a California billionaire wealth tax “disqualifying” for higher office as voters prepare to weigh competing ballot measures.
Ruffalo unloaded on the Democratic governor Friday on X, reposting criticism from Rep. Ro Khanna and framing Newsom’s stance as a betrayal of working families ahead of the Nov. 3 vote.
The clash centers on Proposition 40, a one-time 5% net-worth tax aimed at billionaire residents, and Proposition 42, which would block new state taxes on financial assets and certain retroactive levies. Newsom opposes the wealth tax and has backed a “yes” push on Prop 42. FOX Business reported the actor’s broadside and the competing plans now before California voters.
Ruffalo did not say much about what he sees as Newsom’s priorities.
"It’s beyond sad. It’s beyond disappointing; at this point, it’s disqualifying for anyone with ambitions for higher office as a Democrat, or a Republican, for that matter, to be fighting to keep billionaires from being taxed while kids don’t have health insurance and the cost of living goes sky-high."
He posted that line while amplifying Khanna’s objection to a Newsom-backed ad urging a yes vote on Proposition 42. The California Democratic Party has endorsed the billionaire tax measure, even as Newsom and some other prominent Democrats have broken ranks.
The actor cast the fight in moral terms and aimed a direct jab at Newsom’s political brand.
"Gavin, we aren't looking for the Democratic version of Trump. That was a good goof. Please try something else. It's tired."
Ruffalo kept going, insisting California needs someone willing to pick a harder fight with concentrated wealth.
"The people need a champion, man. A real, bona fide champion who isn't just tough in tweets or press conferences, but tough when it comes to the real imbalances people are struggling with every day: billionaires vs. people and the planet."
He accused the governor of a pattern: siding with corporate interests even when lawmakers move the other way.
"Time and time again, he goes with corporate interests over the well-being of the people, even after his own bipartisan legislature votes for something."
And he closed with a hope that Newsom would reverse course before the vote.
"Let's hope Gavin gets some sense and walks this back. It's crazy that this is what he chooses to spend his political capital, and part of his legacy, doing."
Newsom’s office did not provide a quoted response when FOX Business sought comment. The governor is widely discussed as a possible 2028 Democratic presidential contender, which is why Ruffalo framed the tax fight as a test of fitness for higher office.
Proposition 40 would impose a one-time tax equal to 5% of net worth on billionaires who were California residents on Jan. 1, 2026. The tax would come due in 2027. Filers could spread payments over five years at an added cost. Real estate, pensions, and retirement accounts generally would be excluded.
Proposition 42 would prohibit California from creating new state taxes on the ownership of financial assets and other personal property, along with certain retroactive taxes. If voters approve it, Prop 42 could stop Proposition 40 from taking effect. That is the mechanical heart of the fight Ruffalo and Khanna are waging against Newsom’s position.
Billionaire Mark Cuban has spoken out against the proposed wealth tax. California entrepreneur Eric Schiffer, chairman of the family office Patriarch and CEO of Reputation Management Consultants, previously warned FOX Business about the business exodus risk.
"I think the impact of this passing in California is a giant sucking sound of all of these entrepreneurs being sucked out of California because they're just not going to want to stay."
That warning sits against the state’s already high cost of living, the same pressure Ruffalo cited while demanding higher taxes on the rich. Progressive activists want the levy. Business voices say the people who build companies will simply leave. Newsom has chosen the side that tries to wall off new wealth taxes on financial assets.
Ruffalo’s attack is not a Republican critique. It is an intra-Democratic demand that Newsom abandon resistance and embrace the soak-the-rich model. Khanna, a California Democrat and wealth-tax supporter, supplied the post Ruffalo boosted, complete with the image of the Newsom-backed “yes on 42” advertisement.
The sequence is plain. Party activists and a Hollywood star want a one-time 5% net-worth tax on billionaire residents. The governor opposes that measure and backs the proposition that could kill it. The California Democratic Party endorsed the tax. Newsom did not. Ruffalo answered by calling the choice disqualifying for anyone with presidential ambitions.
Voters will sort the competing plans on Nov. 3. Residency as of Jan. 1, 2026, would set who pays if Prop 40 survives. Payment would hit in 2027. Prop 42 stands as the direct counterweight. No official ballot text beyond those described terms appears in the reporting, and no revenue score or headcount of affected billionaires was provided.
Ruffalo’s message treats opposition to the wealth tax as moral failure. Schiffer’s message treats passage as a business departure order. Cuban has already rejected the idea. Newsom has spent political capital to stop the tax rather than champion it. That is the record the actor now calls disqualifying.
When Hollywood and the activist left punish a Democratic governor for refusing to chase billionaires harder, California voters see the real priority list, more extraction first, consequences later.