The Zillow co-founder's departure for a no-income-tax state arrives as a new Washington millionaires tax nears, a repeal effort races a July 2 deadline, and residents in some of Seattle's wealthiest zip codes wonder what it all means for them.
Rich Barton announced his relocation to Las Vegas on X, writing: "Kids are launched, empty nest achieved, and we're excited to start this next chapter." He will continue as Zillow's co-executive chair remotely. Zillow and a representative for Barton declined to comment to Seattle Times.
The move makes him the latest in a string of high-profile Washington tech figures to leave the state — and for residents of Queen Anne, Magnolia, and Ballard, three neighborhoods with some of the highest concentrations of tech wealth in the city, the timing raises a direct question: should you be paying attention to this?
The tax math behind Nevada
Barton's destination is not incidental. Nevada has no state income tax — none at any income level. Washington state, by contrast, just enacted a 9.9% income tax on earnings above $1 million, signed by Gov. Bob Ferguson in March 2026 and set to take effect January 1, 2028.
To understand the stakes, consider the math. Zillow's public filings show the company is currently valued at roughly $8 billion. Barton's exact stake is not public, but as co-founder and co-executive chair he holds a significant equity position. If his annual income from stock awards, dividends, or a future sale were to exceed $1 million — which for a founder of his profile would be plausible in any given year — the new tax would apply to every dollar above that threshold at 9.9%. On $10 million in income, for example, that's roughly $891,000 in new state tax liability annually. On $50 million, it approaches $4.9 million per year. Moving to Nevada eliminates that bill entirely.
Washington's new law — SB 5813 — levies a 9.9% tax on individual income exceeding $1 million per year. It does not affect wages, salaries, or investment income below that threshold. It is separate from Washington's existing 7% capital gains tax on gains above $262,000, upheld by the Washington Supreme Court in 2023. For the vast majority of Queen Anne, Magnolia, and Ballard residents — including most tech workers earning six-figure salaries — neither tax applies directly.
A more honest look at the "tax flight"
Barton's departure is being widely framed as a response to the millionaires tax, but the evidence is circumstantial. He hasn't said so explicitly. His stated reason — empty nest, new chapter — is also plausible on its own terms. The article should be clear about that.
More importantly, the pattern of tech executive departures cited in media coverage holds up to scrutiny unevenly. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos moved to Miami in November 2023 — more than two years before the millionaires tax was signed, and well before it was even a serious legislative proposal. His documented reasons included proximity to his rocket company Blue Origin's Florida launch site and his family. Characterizing his departure as tax flight is an inference the timeline doesn't support.
Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz's relocation to Miami is more recent and temporally closer to the tax's passage, but Schultz has not publicly connected the move to the legislation either.
That said, Barton's exit does give critics of the tax a concrete, named example — and that's politically significant even if causation is unproven. State Sen. Jamie Pedersen, the bill's primary sponsor, has maintained the tax won't drive businesses away. Barton's move makes that claim harder to dismiss, whatever his actual reasons.
"I am gravely concerned. This is real." — Seattle City Council member Rob Saka
Washington's tax history isn't the first test
One piece of context missing from most coverage: Washington already passed a wealth-related tax in 2021. The 7% capital gains tax was challenged immediately in court and struck down by a lower court before being upheld by the state Supreme Court in March 2023. Barton, Bezos, and most other Seattle-area tech billionaires remained in Washington through that entire fight. The new income tax is broader and steeper — but the precedent of wealthy residents staying through a prior tax battle is worth noting.
The new millionaires tax is itself being challenged in court. As of this writing, no ruling has been issued, and the challengers' grounds have not been fully detailed in public filings. If the tax is struck down before it takes effect in 2028, departures made in anticipation of it would carry extra irony. Readers should watch Washington Courts for developments.
A citizen repeal initiative, IP26-645, backed by the conservative group Let's Go Washington, is racing a signature deadline. As of June 4, the campaign had collected roughly 165,000 of the 308,911 valid signatures needed to qualify for the November 2026 ballot — just over half the goal with less than a month to go. The deadline is Thursday, July 2, 2026.
If you are a registered Washington voter and want to sign — or oppose the initiative — this is the most time-sensitive civic moment in this story. Signature gatherers have been active at farmer's markets and neighborhood events across Seattle. Whether you support or oppose the tax, the window to influence the November ballot is closing.
July 2, 2026: Deadline for IP26-645 repeal signatures to qualify for the November ballot
November 2026: General election — initiative could appear if signatures qualify
January 1, 2028: Millionaires tax scheduled to take effect (pending court challenges)
What the tax revenue funds
The "tax flight" framing dominates coverage, but there's an equally important half of the story: what the revenue is for. SB 5813 directs proceeds toward public education, early childhood programs, and a working families tax credit. The Washington Office of Financial Management has not yet published a final revenue projection, but preliminary estimates place the figure in the hundreds of millions annually. For Ballard families relying on Seattle Public Schools, or Queen Anne parents in the Seattle Preschool Program, knowing where the money goes is as relevant as knowing who's leaving.
What the survey shows
A survey by the Association of Washington Business found 44% of business leaders in the state are considering moving their personal residences elsewhere following the tax's passage. That's a striking number, but it needs context. AWB is a business lobby that actively opposed the legislation — its membership skews toward those most likely to view the tax unfavorably. "Considering" a move is also a far weaker signal than actually moving. No independent poll of a representative sample of Washington business owners has replicated this figure. Treat it as a sentiment indicator from one constituency, not a neutral measurement.
Queen Anne and Magnolia in particular have high concentrations of senior tech employees — many of them Amazon, Microsoft, Zillow, and Expedia alumni — who hold substantial stock compensation packages. Ballard has seen significant tech gentrification over the past decade.
Even so, for most residents in these zip codes, the millionaires tax does not apply directly. Washington's tax applies to income above $1 million — a threshold that excludes the vast majority of even high-earning tech workers. A software engineer at Amazon making $300,000 a year in salary and stock vesting owes nothing under this law. A senior vice president at Zillow who receives a large equity grant in a single year might.
The more indirect question — whether wealthy departures could eventually affect Seattle's property tax base, public services, or the character of neighborhoods like Queen Anne and Magnolia — is harder to answer in the short term. Urban economists are divided on whether high-earner tax flight is a real, sustained phenomenon or a visible-but-marginal one. A National Bureau of Economic Research study of millionaire migration found that top earners are somewhat more likely to move in response to tax changes, but the effect is smaller than advocates on either side tend to claim.
Who remains under Barton's legacy?
Rich Barton built two companies that reshaped American daily life — first travel booking, then home buying — from offices in the Seattle area. GeekWire has described him as one of Washington's premier self-made "unicorn" creators. Expedia, which he spun out of Microsoft in his late 20s and took public in 1999, now carries a market value around $27 billion. Zillow, which he co-founded in Seattle 20 years ago, is currently valued around $8 billion.
Many of the employees those companies attracted over two decades still live in the city's neighborhoods. The Zillow alumni network alone — people who joined early, vested equity, and stayed in Seattle — is substantial and largely invisible in coverage like this. Their presence, and their decisions about whether to stay, may ultimately matter more to the neighborhood fabric than any single high-profile departure.
Here's what Seattle's mayor says
Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson dismissed concerns about tax flight in April, saying at a Seattle University forum that departing millionaires could expect a "bye" from her. She later acknowledged the remark was counterproductive. Her more measured position is that the city needs revenue diversification and that the state tax is not within her jurisdiction to override.
City Council member Rob Saka offered a sharper response: "I am gravely concerned. This is real." Council member Eddie Lin, who recently co-sponsored the city's data center moratorium, has focused his attention on corporate power consumption — a different facet of the same question about who Seattle's economy serves.
Note on sourcing: This article incorporates publicly available legislative text, corporate investor relations filings, court opinions, and published reporting from the Seattle Times, GeekWire, and The Guardian. Tax estimates are illustrative calculations based on the published rate and threshold; they are not tax advice. Links marked above connect to primary sources where available. Readers are encouraged to verify signature count updates directly at letsgoWashington.com, as figures change daily.