California is home to more than half a million of them. So is it good or bad?
President Barack Obama's fiery discourse on tax fairness rippled across the country, reaching the ears of Southern California's wealthiest residents.
"Middle class families shouldn't pay higher taxes than millionaires and billionaires," President Obama said Monday.
California is home to 662,735 millionaires, according to Forbes Magazine.
That is, by far, the most of any state. It's about 5.5 percent of the total population.
Everyone from basketball star Kobe Bryant to corporate executive Tim Leiweke would feel the heat. But the real question may be how much of the millionaires' income comes from wages and how much comes from investments, which are taxed at a lower rate than what's paid by even modest wage earners.
Still, Republicans say now is not the time to raise taxes on anyone.
"We're depending upon small businesses for two-thirds of the job creation in this economy," said Rep. Tom McClintock, D-California. "To sock them with a massive tax increase and then expect them to produce more jobs is simply insane."
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President Obama, clearly, sees it differently.
"I think it's just the right thing to do," he said, summing up his position.
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