Founder Alignment

Part of the Big Tech's War on Users series Meta reported earnings yesterday. Revenue up 26%. A $9.89 billion charge for the teen mental health settlement. Headcount down 15% from a year ago. And, tucked into the same press release, a brand new class of stock, created so that Mark Zuckerberg can pay a tax bill without losing an ounce of control over the company. My first reaction was the same as everyone's: wait, what? The Deal Here's what happened, per Forbes and Meta's own earnings release. California votes on Proposition 40 on November 3rd. It's a one-time tax of up to 5% on people with more than a billion dollars in covered assets: businesses, securities, art, collectibles. Real estate is excluded. Ninety percent of the money goes to health care, the other ten to food assistance and education. Zuckerberg is worth about $239 billion by Forbes' count. Five percent of that is roughly $12 billion, which Prop 40 lets you pay in five annual installments starting in 2027. So he went to a…