OnJanuary 8th, an anonymous buyer shelled out $21 million for a 5,000-square-foot luxury penthouse at the swank Summit Club just outside Las Vegas, the most ever paid for a condo in the area. The buyer was longtime Los Angeles billionaire Don Hankey, who tells Forbes exclusively that the reason behind his high-price purchase was California’s new proposed 5% billionaire wealth tax.

“It’s ridiculous,” says Hankey, phoning from his new digs in the Silver State. “We've already lost a lot of wealthy people and a lot of good companies that have been moving out of California. This is just going to continue the trend.”

Hankey, 82, had lived in California all his life and had built his Hankey Group financial services empire there since 1972. But he says he read about the proposed new tax this fall and by December was looking for property in Nevada, where he already has an office building. He ended up with a five-bedroom spread atop a country club, with sweeping views of the desert and a private lap pool. He bought the condo fully furnished, including art and silverware, allowing him to move in right away.

The timing is key. The bill—which needs some 900,000 signatures to get on the ballot, then would have to win at the polls and overcome any legal challenges—would apply........

© Forbes