Of the 100 wealthiest people in America, 26 live in California.

That’s more than any other state, and not simply a byproduct of California’s large population. If the country’s 100 top billionaires were evenly distributed, we would expect just 12 of them to reside here.

Yes, this is largely because of Silicon Valley. But it’s also a reflection of the fact that California has the fifth-largest economy in the world, said Richard Walker, an emeritus professor at UC Berkeley who studies economic geography.

“California has been the main engine for American growth for the last 50 years,” Walker told me. “This is not sufficiently acknowledged — how immense the California economy is.”

Before we dive in: I’m going off the official Forbes 2021 billionaire rankings, but they shift daily with the stock market. All of these figures should be viewed as estimates, as there is no system or requirement that Americans report their total wealth to the government.

Now on to the good stuff. There are 724 billionaires in the United States, and California is home to 189 — roughly a quarter of the total, according to Forbes.

The state’s “open, experimental culture” has long attracted entrepreneurs, Walker said. That’s contributed to the movie and aerospace industries flourishing here, and, of course, the tech industry.

Forty-four per cent of California’s billionaires made their fortunes in tech, followed by 23% in finance and 7% in real estate, according to Forbes.

The three richest Californians are tech titans: Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg and Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin.

Zuckerberg invented Facebook while a student at Harvard, but then “he moves to Silicon Valley because that’s where the action is,” Walker told me. “That’s been going on for two, three, four generations now — you come to Silicon Valley if you’re in tech.”

Silicon Valley’s tendency to mint billionaires has led to a startling trend: Of the 26 Californians who rank among America’s 100 richest people, 19 live in the Bay Area.

(The wealthiest person in Southern California is Donald Bren, America’s richest real estate baron.)

Perhaps you’re wondering about Elon Musk, who relocated Tesla headquarters to Texas, or Oracle’s Larry Ellison, who moved to Hawaii. But it turns out they’re outliers.

Thirty-five people made California’s billionaire list for the first time in 2021, Forbes reported, and more than half of them had the tech industry to thank. California still has more billionaires than any other state; New York is second with 126.

Adam Sterling, executive director for the Berkeley Center for Law and Business, said that people who’ve made their fortunes in California prefer to stay here, close to their professional and personal communities. The high cost of living and higher taxes probably aren’t much of a deterrent if you’re a billionaire, he said.

Plus, the cachet of a California billionaire — think a wealthy techie in a hoodie — may not translate in a place like New York, where the rich are more likely to have inherited their wealth.

“There’s a lot of stickiness in California,” Sterling told me. “This is where your billionaire community is.”

Of the 100 wealthiest people in America, 26 live in California. That’s more than any other state, and not simply a byproduct of California’s large population. If the country’s 100 top billionaires were evenly distributed, we would expect just 12 of them to reside here.

Of the 100 wealthiest people in America, 26 live in California. That’s more than any other state, and not simply a byproduct of California’s large population. If the country’s 100 top billionaires were evenly distributed, we would expect just 12 of them to reside here. Yes, this is largely because of Silicon Valley. But it’s also a reflection of the fact that California has the fifth-largest economy in the world, said Richard Walker, an emeritus professor at UC Berkeley who studies economic geography. “California has been the main engine for American growth for the last 50 years,” Walker told me. “This is not sufficiently acknowledged — how immense the California economy is.” Before we dive in: I’m going off the official Forbes 2021 billionaire rankings, but they shift daily with the stock market. All of these figures should be viewed as estimates, as there is no system or requirement that Americans report their total wealth to the government. Now on to the good stuff. There are 724 billionaires in the United States, and California is home to 189 — roughly a quarter of the total, according to Forbes. The state’s “open, experimental culture” has long attracted entrepreneurs, Walker said. That’s contributed to the movie and aerospace industries flourishing here, and, of course, the tech industry. Forty-four per cent of California’s billionaires made their fortunes in tech, followed by 23% in finance and 7% in real estate, according to Forbes. The three richest Californians are tech titans: Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg and Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Zuckerberg invented Facebook while a student at Harvard, but then “he moves to Silicon Valley because that’s where the action is,” Walker told me. “That’s been going on for two, three, four generations now — you come to Silicon Valley if you’re in tech.” Silicon Valley’s tendency to mint billionaires has led to a startling trend: Of the 26 Californians who rank among America’s 100 richest people, 19 live in the Bay Area. (The wealthiest person in Southern California is Donald Bren, America’s richest real estate baron.) Perhaps you’re wondering about Elon Musk, who relocated Tesla headquarters to Texas, or Oracle’s Larry Ellison, who moved to Hawaii. But it turns out they’re outliers. Thirty-five people made California’s billionaire list for the first time in 2021, Forbes reported, and more than half of them had the tech industry to thank. California still has more billionaires than any other state; New York is second with 126. Adam Sterling, executive director for the Berkeley Center for Law and Business, said that people who’ve made their fortunes in California prefer to stay here, close to their professional and personal communities. The high cost of living and higher taxes probably aren’t much of a deterrent if you’re a billionaire, he said. Plus, the cachet of a California billionaire — think a wealthy techie in a hoodie — may not translate in a place like New York, where the rich are more likely to have inherited their wealth. “There’s a lot of stickiness in California,” Sterling told me. “This is where your billionaire community is.”

Why so many billionaires live in California

A tech mogul in the United States has been indicted on charges of decades-long tax evasion, wire fraud, money laundering, and other offences in the country.

According to the indictment, Brockman -- Robert Brockman, Chief Executive Officer of Ohio-based software company Reynolds and Reynolds -- used a web of offshore entities based in Bermuda and Nevis to hide from the IRS income earned on his investments in private equity funds which were managed by a San Francisco-based investment firm.

The charges stem from an alleged decades-long scheme to conceal approximately $2 billion in income from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as well as a scheme to defraud investors in the software company's debt securities, the US Department of Justice said on Thursday.

If convicted, Brockman potentially faces a substantial period of incarceration, as well as restitution and criminal forfeiture.

As part of the alleged scheme, Brockman directed untaxed capital gains income to secret bank accounts in Bermuda and Switzerland.

The indictment further alleges that to execute the fraud, between 1999 and 2019, Brockman took measures such as backdating records and using encrypted communications and code words to communicate with a co-conspirator, among other alleged actions.

In addition to the tax offences, the indictment alleges that, between 2008 and 2010, Brockman engaged in a fraudulent scheme to obtain approximately $67.8 million in the software company's debt securities.

As CEO, Brockman was contractually restricted from purchasing any of the software company's debt securities without prior notice, full disclosure, and amending the associated credit agreements.

The indictment alleges that Brockman used a third-party to circumvent those requirements, to acquire the debt securities, and to conceal from the sellers valuable economic information.

The indictment further alleges that Brockman used material, non-public information about the software company to make decisions about purchasing the debt.

In addition, Brockman allegedly persuaded another individual to alter, destroy, and mutilate documents and computer evidence with the intent to impair the use of such evidence in a grand jury investigation.

In total, Brockman is charged with conspiracy; seven counts of tax evasion; six counts of failing to file foreign bank account reports; 20 counts of wire fraud affecting a financial institution; two counts of concealment money laundering, and tax evasion money laundering; and one count each of international concealment money laundering; evidence tampering, and destruction of evidence.

A tech mogul in the United States has been indicted on charges of decades-long tax evasion, wire fraud, money laundering, and other offences in the country. According to the indictment, Brockman -- Robert Brockman, Chief Executive Officer of Ohio-based software company Reynolds and Reynolds -- used a web of offshore entities based in Bermuda and Nevis to hide from the IRS income earned on his investments in private equity funds which were managed by a San Francisco-based investment firm.

A tech mogul in the United States has been indicted on charges of decades-long tax evasion, wire fraud, money laundering, and other offences in the country. According to the indictment, Brockman -- Robert Brockman, Chief Executive Officer of Ohio-based software company Reynolds and Reynolds -- used a web of offshore entities based in Bermuda and Nevis to hide from the IRS income earned on his investments in private equity funds which were managed by a San Francisco-based investment firm. The charges stem from an alleged decades-long scheme to conceal approximately $2 billion in income from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as well as a scheme to defraud investors in the software company's debt securities, the US Department of Justice said on Thursday. If convicted, Brockman potentially faces a substantial period of incarceration, as well as restitution and criminal forfeiture. As part of the alleged scheme, Brockman directed untaxed capital gains income to secret bank accounts in Bermuda and Switzerland. The indictment further alleges that to execute the fraud, between 1999 and 2019, Brockman took measures such as backdating records and using encrypted communications and code words to communicate with a co-conspirator, among other alleged actions. In addition to the tax offences, the indictment alleges that, between 2008 and 2010, Brockman engaged in a fraudulent scheme to obtain approximately $67.8 million in the software company's debt securities. As CEO, Brockman was contractually restricted from purchasing any of the software company's debt securities without prior notice, full disclosure, and amending the associated credit agreements. The indictment alleges that Brockman used a third-party to circumvent those requirements, to acquire the debt securities, and to conceal from the sellers valuable economic information. The indictment further alleges that Brockman used material, non-public information about the software company to make decisions about purchasing the debt. In addition, Brockman allegedly persuaded another individual to alter, destroy, and mutilate documents and computer evidence with the intent to impair the use of such evidence in a grand jury investigation. In total, Brockman is charged with conspiracy; seven counts of tax evasion; six counts of failing to file foreign bank account reports; 20 counts of wire fraud affecting a financial institution; two counts of concealment money laundering, and tax evasion money laundering; and one count each of international concealment money laundering; evidence tampering, and destruction of evidence.

Tech mogul faces largest-ever US tax evasion charge - $2 billion

The US stock market saw a bloodbath on Wednesday after&nbsp;tech-heavy Nasdaq saw the worst decline since 2011 with a series of selloffs erasing all gains of 2018. Nasdaq&nbsp;plunged to 4.4 per cent to close at 7,108.4.

Most of the panic selling happened in the last hour of the trading day as things went from bad to worse pretty quickly with technology shares hitting the hardest.

Amazon lost 4.1 per cent, Facebook 4.9 per cent, Google-parent Alphabet 4.1 per cent and Netflix 8.7 per cent, AFP reported.

According to a report by Bloomberg, world's richest person, Jeff Bezos&nbsp;lost $8.2 billion reducing his net worth to $138 billion while Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's fortune went down by $3.2 billion. Over $33 billion was wiped from the fortunes of the technology sector's 61 richest people in one day.

Google co-founder Larry Page and Sergey Brin's fortune went down by a combined $4.5 billion.

Investors have been unnerved by a myriad of issues including some disappointing earnings reports, uncertainty over Brexit, Italy's budget spat with the European Commission, upcoming US&nbsp;midterm congressional elections and pressure on Saudi Arabia over the killing of a prominent journalist, Reuters reported.

The US stock market saw a bloodbath on Wednesday after tech-heavy Nasdaq saw the worst decline since 2011 with a series of selloffs erasing all gains of 2018. Nasdaq plunged to 4.

The US stock market saw a bloodbath on Wednesday after tech-heavy Nasdaq saw the worst decline since 2011 with a series of selloffs erasing all gains of 2018. Nasdaq plunged to 4.4 per cent to close at 7,108.4. Most of the panic selling happened in the last hour of the trading day as things went from bad to worse pretty quickly with technology shares hitting the hardest. Amazon lost 4.1 per cent, Facebook 4.9 per cent, Google-parent Alphabet 4.1 per cent and Netflix 8.7 per cent, AFP reported. According to a report by Bloomberg, world's richest person, Jeff Bezos lost $8.2 billion reducing his net worth to $138 billion while Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's fortune went down by $3.2 billion. Over $33 billion was wiped from the fortunes of the technology sector's 61 richest people in one day. Google co-founder Larry Page and Sergey Brin's fortune went down by a combined $4.5 billion. Investors have been unnerved by a myriad of issues including some disappointing earnings reports, uncertainty over Brexit, Italy's budget spat with the European Commission, upcoming US midterm congressional elections and pressure on Saudi Arabia over the killing of a prominent journalist, Reuters reported.

How much Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg lost in worst day of Nasdaq trading since 2011?

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Why so many billionaires live in California

Tech mogul faces largest-ever US tax evasion charge - $2 billion

How much Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg lost in worst day of Nasdaq trading since 2011?