By Staff Reports / The Seattle Times
Nevada’s no-income-tax advantage just claimed one of the most recognizable names in American tech.
Rich Barton, the billionaire entrepreneur who co-founded Expedia, Zillow, and Glassdoor and spent roughly three decades building his career in Seattle, announced on June 5 that he is officially a Las Vegas resident. “Kids are launched, empty nest achieved, and we’re excited to start this next chapter,” Barton wrote on X.
Barton served as CEO of Zillow from its founding 20 years ago until 2010 and then again from 2019 to 2024, and will continue to serve as the company’s co-executive chairman from his new Nevada residence. Review Journal
The move comes amid an increasingly heated debate over taxes in Washington state, where lawmakers have expanded taxes on wealthy residents while some business leaders warn that the policies could drive entrepreneurs elsewhere. Following the state’s transition to a graduated capital gains tax — which now levies a 9.9% rate on gains exceeding $1 million — lawmakers approved a controversial millionaire’s tax that sets a 9.9% personal income tax on high earners, set to take effect in January 2028.
Barton’s departure echoes similar high-profile exits from the Seattle area, including Jeff Bezos, who left Washington for Miami in late 2023, and former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, who announced he was leaving the region earlier this year. In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, Schultz warned that Seattle’s political leadership was increasingly hostile toward employers and investors.
Barton’s Las Vegas move is one more high-visibility data point in a trend that local brokers and analysts say they are watching closely, as wealthy households weigh their options and Nevada’s lack of a state income tax makes Las Vegas a logical landing spot.
For Nevada’s business community, the message could not be clearer. The man who built one of the most widely used real estate platforms in the country — a man whose entire career was built on reading markets and understanding where value lives — looked at the landscape and chose Nevada. That is not a coincidence. It is a verdict.
Nevada’s competitive tax environment, pro-growth regulatory climate, and quality of life continue to attract exactly the kind of high-value residents and investment that Keystone Corporation has long advocated for. When billionaire entrepreneurs vote with their feet, Nevada keeps winning.
Source: The Seattle Times, GeekWire, KIRO 7, June 2026.