Billionaire David Friedberg slammed Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) on Monday, arguing that the Representative from California's 17th District should also be asked to pay 5% of his wealth as a one-time tax payment.

Ro Khanna Vs David Friedberg

In a post on X, Khanna quoted a post he made, calling out Friedberg after the latter alleged that Khanna was establishing a "Politburo" with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass).

Khanna asked Friedberg if he was also opposed to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's "Universal Basic Capital of 2.5 percent" on AI companies for a "dividend to Americans." Khanna asked if this also accounted for "asset seizure."

The Universal Basic Capital argument says that Americans should directly own equity or productivity generated by AI companies.

Friedberg, in his response, criticized Khanna, asking him to "make a voluntary contribution of 5% of your family's $200M net worth to the government" that would help jobs, healthcare and more.

Friedberg said that Khanna's $10 million would help over 1,000 California kids access free childcare for a year, without outlining how he landed upon the number.

"Once you've made your personal contribution to a more just and equitable society, I'll support all your other asset seizure ideas," Friedberg said.

Elon Musk Wealth Tax Row

Khanna, over the weekend, criticized Tesla Inc. (Tesla (TSLA)) and Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX (SPCX)) CEO Elon Musk, saying that Musk had cut funding for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which severely impacted access to critical healthcare for over 4.5 million children globally, during his time with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

He demanded that Musk be held accountable and be "subpoenaed" and investigated for his actions. Musk, in turn, called Khanna an "evil liar." On the other hand, Musk has touted that the world economy could grow up to 10 times its current size in the next 10 years, barring a scenario wherein there is another world war.