Jerry Brown pointed out in his State of the State address that California is a rich state; I’m not sure Jerry saw the latest from Vanity Fair, but I think his estimates of increased personal income might be a bit low. VF loves to dig into the lives (and fortunes) of Hollywood types, and the latest list of the highest-paid people in the film industry is interesting.
James Cameron made $257 million last year. Guess what? He lives in Malibu. That’s Malibu, California. Guess what? If we raised his taxes a little he’d still live in Malibu. In fact, he wouldn’t even notice.
Johnny Depp made $100 million, but he lives in France these days. But Steven Spielberg, who made $80 million without even working, lives in Los Angeles. So does Christopher Nolan $71.5 million) and Leo DeCaprio ($62 million). Kristen Stewart ($28.5 million lives in L.A. too, though I hear she wants to move to Australia; income taxes there are higher than the U.S., though, so she won’t be fleeing the taxman.
Got that? Four people, $477.5 million, last year alone. Yes, my friends, we can afford public education.