Woke Hollywood Actor Mark Ruffalo Slams Newsom for Opposing California Billionaire Tax: 'It's Disqualifying'
Left-wing Hollywood actor Mark Ruffalo lashed out harshly at Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom last week on social media for coming out against a proposed wealth tax for his state.
In a lengthy post published to the social media site X Friday, Ruffalo called the governor’s decision to oppose a wealth tax “disqualifying for anyone with ambitions for higher office as a Democrat, or a Republican, for that matter.”
“Let’s hope Gavin gets some sense and walks this back,” Ruffalo wrote in apparent despair. “It’s crazy that this is what he chooses to spend his political capital, and part of his legacy, doing.”
“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,” the enraged Hollywood actor added.
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…
— Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) October 16, 2026
Continuing his post, the far-left, anti-capitalist actor compared Newsom to Republican President Donald Trump.
“Gavin, we aren’t looking for the Democratic version of Trump,” he wrote. “That was a good goof. Please try something else. It’s tired. 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 concluded.
Ruffalo’s anger centers around California Proposition 40, a deeply unwanted constitutional amendment up for a vote next month that would impose a one-time 5 percent tax on the net worth of state residents whose assets are valued at $1 billion or more.
Newsom has made it clear for months now that he opposes the amendment. In fact, he even penned a whole Substack column about it over the summer, in which he explained that he’d rather a wealth tax be passed on the national level instead of on just the state level.
It’s time for a national billionaires tax and a new social contract.
10% of Americans own two-thirds of the wealth. Wages have stagnated. The cost of living has skyrocketed.
The system is fundamentally broken…
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) June 26, 2026
But the column wasn’t what sparked Ruffalo’s backlash — it’s what Newsom did earlier, near the beginning of this month.
According to CalMatters, a nonprofit news organization based out of California, the governor came out in support of Proposition 42, a countermeasure that would cancel out Proposition 40 and henceforth “prohibit retroactive taxes.”
“We all agree that Californians deserve to have their retirement and life savings protected from new state taxes so those savings are there when they need them,” Newsom reportedly said in a statement.
According to Democratic California Rep. Ro Khanna, who in unrelated news was threatened with a lawsuit after he smeared Elon Musk this past summer, lobbyists for Proposition 42 are now using the governor’s statements on the matter to lobby against Proposition 40.
“It is so sad to see Gavin Newsom be the poster child to ban any new wealth tax on billionaires,” Khanna wrote in an X post.
Newsom has also faced backlash from Debru Carthan, the vice president of the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West.
“By voting yes on Prop 42, he’s showing California his true colors,” she said in a statement. “He’d rather millions of children and families lose their healthcare than ask a couple hundred billionaires to finally pay their fair share.”
It’s not clear whether Newsom’s critics are aware that he does desire a wealth tax — just one imposed federally, not by the states. In fact, he’s been calling for a “redistribution” of wealth from the haves to the have-nots for years:
WATCH: if we don’t democratize our economy and allow for the distribution of wealth, our democracy will die. https://t.co/slAdQrUalN
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) December 3, 2025
According to Fox Business Network, if California voters do approve a wealth tax, the tax “would be due in 2027, although payments could be spread over five years at an additional cost.”
“Real estate, pensions and retirement accounts generally would be excluded from the tax,” Fox Business added.
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