California's tech millionaires and billionaires are moving to Las Vegas

Kent Yoshimura moved his multimillion-dollar business from Los Angeles to Las Vegas several years ago and said he has few regrets about leaving California.

Yoshimura, a co-founder of NeuroGum, which makes caffeinated gum for memory and concentration, said access to local politicians and hiking in Red Rock Canyon were just a few of the benefits he noticed.

“The labor laws are a lot easier here, the affordability of a house, the transportation,” he said at the third annual Vegas Tech Summit, held Thursday at a private home at the affluent Summit Club in Summerlin, where tech entrepreneurs and others discussed the region's corporate landscape . “I live in Summerlin and it's 20 miles to my office and a 20 minute drive… When I was in downtown (Los Angeles), Koreatown, where my office was, was only eight miles away and I needed 45 minutes.”

Yoshimura said part of Las Vegas' appeal is comparable to the products he sells – extra energy and focus – something he couldn't achieve in California due to a number of factors affecting his personal and professional life. He also set up a warehouse and office right on the Strip and moved some of his employees to the valley.

“When you don't have to think so much about the extra things, it makes life a lot easier and you can concentrate better,” he said. “And I probably see more people in Vegas now than in LA because everyone wants to come here.”

Yoshimura's story is just one of a growing number of California tech millionaires and billionaires trading the Golden State for the Silver State. California has accounted for about a third of Nevada's new residents for decades, and Los Angeles in particular has consistently topped Redfin's immigration surveys for residents moving to Las Vegas since the start of the pandemic.

California leaves

Nearly 158,000 people relocated from California to Nevada from 2020 to 2023, representing 43 percent of all new Silver State residents over the past four years, according to driver's license filings from the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles.

A number of high-profile business leaders have already made the jump from California to Las Vegas, including billionaire Andrew Cherng, co-founder of Panda Express, and David Chao, co-founder and general partner of DCM, a multibillion-dollar venture capital firm.

Teddy Liaw, founder of NexRep, who moved to Southern Nevada a few years ago after becoming “disillusioned” with the San Francisco Bay Area, said much of what he sees is similar to California's tech entrepreneurs, millionaires, billionaires and CEOs suggests two hyphenated words: “pro-business”. Liaw is the founder of the Tech Summit, sponsored by Howard Hughes Holdings, Summerlin's master plan developer.

Nevada offers a number of tax incentives for businesses, including no taxes on corporate income or shares, as well as no franchise taxes, no personal income, inheritance or gift taxes, and no unit and estate taxes.

Liaw said he isn't worried about Las Vegas becoming California 2.0 and taking over the Golden State's left-leaning political scene, which many say is stifling the business community.

“There’s a reason they’re leaving California in the first place: the politics and regulatory environment,” he said. “You see the appeal here in terms of access and quality of life and the opportunities we have here. Ultimately, California has lost population, which is a big deal because it is the first time in history that California has lost seats in Congress due to population decline.”

Las Vegas is not without its problems and the valley is in the midst of a growing housing crisis. Home prices are on the verge of reaching record highs, and the average price of a home has skyrocketed in recent years. Nevada Treasurer Zach Conine said they are keenly aware of the affordability issues facing many valley residents and are working to ensure Southern Nevada does not become unaffordable for the average citizen, as is the case in California .

“We spend a lot of time right now talking about housing, affordable housing, attainable housing and housing for all,” he said. “Housing instability is economic instability. If we don’t have a functioning housing market, it will be harder for people to start businesses, it will be harder for children to do well in school, and nothing is easy if we have a housing problem.”

Liaw mentioned that the migration trend of entrepreneurs from Los Angeles to Las Vegas is similar to that of people leaving New York for Miami, another business-friendly region where the tech scene has flourished in recent years.

Retired short track speed skater Apolo Ohno, who lives in Miami, was in Las Vegas for the tech summit and said the valley definitely had an enticing environment and appeal, noting that he also saw a change in the landscape in I've noticed references to places like California.

Ohno is currently an entrepreneur and investor and the eight-time Olympic medalist said he could definitely see himself living here.

“Vegas has a special vibe right now,” he said.

Contact Patrick Blennerhassett at [email protected].