California Bleeds BILLIONS: Zuckerberg Joins Billionaires Fleeing, Refineries Shut Down, and the Tax Base Collapses

Billionaire Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, are the latest California billionaires to buy a home in South Florida.

California is experiencing a historic capital flight, with billions of dollars and some of its most powerful economic actors heading for the exits. Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan are the latest to decamp to South Florida, joining Larry Page, Sergey Brin, and Peter Thiel—moves widely attributed to California’s proposed billionaire wealth tax and a hostile regulatory climate. The fallout has been immediate: California’s billionaire taxable base has reportedly collapsed from over $2 trillion to well under $1 trillion in a matter of weeks. At the same time, major employers are fleeing outright—Valero Energy is paying a staggering $1.1 billion just to exit the state, shutting its Benicia refinery and taking jobs, tax revenue, and nearly 9% of in-state gasoline capacity with it, as Phillips 66 follows suit. With California already leading the nation in outmigration per the U-Haul Growth Index, economists now warn of surging gas prices, supply instability, and a shrinking tax base—costs that will ultimately be shifted onto the middle class as the state’s wealthy individuals and industries vote with their feet.

The Meta CEO’s purchase makes him the latest—and arguably the biggest—name in a wave of Silicon Valley billionaires putting down roots in South Florida. Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin have both made purchases in the Miami area in recent weeks. Page picked up multiple properties in Coconut Grove for roughly $188 million, while Brin is reportedly in talks for a $50 million home on Biscayne Bay. Venture capitalist Peter Thiel opened a Miami office for his investment firm on New Year’s Eve, making his Florida move official. (Times of India)

For the sixth consecutive year, California had the largest outmigration of any state in the country, according to the annual U-Haul Growth Index for 2025 (1).

According to the Public Policy Institute of California, the state is home to 22% of the nation’s foreign-born population

And now, the new California billionaire tax idea backfired in the most spectacular fashion

With Zuck’s move to Florida, California’s total taxable wealth from billionaires has plummeted to well under $1T from over $2T just a few weeks ago.

The loss of this tax revenue was totally avoidable but is now forever. All because Gavin Newsom stood motionless as this stupidly written bill, from a fringe union and a handful of socialist academics with an axe to grind, meandered its way into the public conversation without any action from him and freaked everyone out.

These were all people that were paying 13%+ in state income tax every year WITH NO COMPLAINTS UNTIL A FEW WEEKS AGO.

And now, for the rest of time, the lost tax revenues from these folks will have to be paid for by the middle class because they are the only group left in California large enough that you can tax to fill the hole.

He’s forsaken the middle class instead of managing the budget, managing the deficit, eliminating even a portion of California’s gargantuan waste and abuse. He could have done any of these things at any point over the past 7+ years.

But he was silent.

And now California’s budget will implode and he wants to run for President.

Insane.

With Zuck’s move to Florida, California’s total taxable wealth from billionaires has plummeted to well under $1T from over $2T just a few weeks ago.

The loss of this tax revenue was totally avoidable but is now forever. All because Gavin Newsom stood motionless as this stupidly… https://t.co/lJpzhTkMH6

— Chamath Palihapitiya (@chamath) February 10, 2026

Valero just paid a $1.1 billion breakup fee to leave California.

When a company is willing to absorb a billion-dollar write-down just to exit a market, that’s not a routine business decision. It’s a signal that the operating environment no longer works.

Valero is shutting down… pic.twitter.com/omIEscUZy6

— Mike Netter (@nettermike) February 9, 2026

Valero just paid a $1.1 billion breakup fee to leave California.

When a company is willing to absorb a billion-dollar write-down just to exit a market, that’s not a routine business decision. It’s a signal that the operating environment no longer works.

Valero is shutting down its Benicia refinery by April 2026 rather than continue operating under California’s current regulatory and economic framework.

That facility processes roughly 145,000 barrels per day, about 8.6% of California’s gasoline supply. Around 400 jobs are lost. Local tax revenue takes a direct hit.

With Phillips 66 also exiting, nearly 10% of California’s in-state refining capacity is coming offline in a short window.

The analysts are already modeling the consequences.

Economists at University of California, Davis estimate a $1.20 per gallon increase by summer 2026. Translation: your usual 15 gallon fill up goes from $70 to $95+.

Fun.

Stanford Energy also warns that removing this much capacity materially increases the risk of severe supply disruptions and extreme price spikes.

Here’s the core issue:

We are taking essential energy infrastructure offline while demand is still growing.

AI data centers, electrification, and industrial reshoring are increasing energy intensity, not reducing it. The idea that demand is about to disappear is a fantasy.

When supply is forced offline in a high-demand system, the outcome is not transition. It is volatility.

And consumers ultimately pay the difference.

California gas prices expected to soar as Valero shutdown worsens oil crisis

By Anna Young, NY Post, Feb. 4, 2026:

California’s already sky-high gas prices are expected to surge after Valero abruptly shuttered its Benicia refinery amid a spiraling “oil crisis,” a new report claims.

The Benicia refinery began shutting down on Saturday, four months earlier than planned, a former Valero manager told the California Globe Tuesday.

Map of US gas prices showing a national average of $2.883 with California’s average at $4.368, and a legend for retail prices ranging from $2.370 to $4.404.
“We are in an unprecedented oil crisis,” oil expert Mike Ariza told the publication.

Valero Energy Corp. announced its plans last spring to pull the plug on its 145,000-barrel-per-day refinery by April, a move that is expected to send fuel prices skyrocketing and hobble the state’s refining capacity.

Ariza warned that as refineries go dark, more Californians will also skip town, noting that the oil and gas industry supports 536,770 jobs and pumps $338 billion into the state’s economy, the outlet reported.

He said Valero’s accelerated shutdown comes after the company scrapped its crude oil contracts back in October.

“Now, Valero is not even seeking to try and sell the refinery,” Ariza told the outlet in December.

“Even after the state tried to convince Valero to remain open, they elected to shut down. And instead of shutting down in April, they shutdown in January. All due to the state’s egregious regulations and unprecedented unjustified fines.”
The sudden closure comes as the state Assembly handily passed a controversial “road charge” bill that would launch a study on a new tax last week despite pushback from critics suspicious of another pinch on their wallets.

The Democrat-backed proposed mileage tax would replace the gas tax with a per-mile fee, potentially costing California drivers an extra $228 to $1,026 a year. The charge could run two to nine cents per mile, based on an average of 11,400 miles driven annually.

The legislation — dubbed Assembly Bill 1421 — does not impose the tax but will fund research on rates and collection methods by the California Transportation Commission and state Transportation Agency.

The proposed tax comes as California faces a nearly $3 billion budget deficit, with lawmakers seeking to recoup lost revenue as more drivers switch to electric and hybrid vehicles.