Berggruen grew up in Paris, where his father was an art dealer. His Berggruen Holdings has made over 100 investments. He got the nickname the “homeless billionaire” for choosing to live in a series of luxury hotels, something he said he would prefer if it weren’t for the birth of his children and the desire for them to have a permanent residence. He now lives in Los Angeles.
The investor said he’s devoting most of his time now to his think tank and public-policy efforts. Among his accomplishments: passing legislation in California in 2014 that requires the state to publish the top 10 donors providing financial support for ballot measures.
In an interview, Berggruen said he wants to focus on rethinking California’s tax structure, which counts heavily on volatile personal-income levies because 1978’s Proposition 13 limits assessments on real estate. One fix would be to shift some of the burden to a sales tax that exempts items needed by everyone, like education, cell phones and health care, he said. A “very low” sales tax could be applied to services used by the wealthy, such as accounting or interior decorating.
“The rich would still pay for it, but not in the form of income tax, which is very volatile,” he said.
Berggruen is also looking at trying to restructure Los Angeles city government, which has a “weak mayor” system that gives more policy control to 15 council members, a setup that can lead to gridlock and inaction.
“Anything’s possible,” said former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who’s considering running for governor and also attended the event. “It’s going to be tough.”