Another high-profile business leader is leaving Washington.
Rich Barton, the billionaire entrepreneur who founded Expedia, Zillow, and Glassdoor, announced Friday that he has officially relocated from Seattle to Las Vegas, becoming the latest prominent figure to leave the state amid growing debate over taxes, regulations, and Washington’s economic future.
BREAKING: Richard “Rich” Barton, the founder of Expedia, Glassdoor, and Zillow, as well as current co-executive chairman of the company, has moved out of Seattle to Las Vegas.
Tell me again how wealth isn't leaving Washington because of the Democrats' income tax pic.twitter.com/Ep8klICOdI
— Ari Hoffman (@thehoffather) June 6, 2026
Barton revealed the move Friday in a post on X. “Officially a Las Vegas resident. Kids are launched, empty nest achieved, and we’re excited to start this next chapter.”
The move comes just months after Washington Democrats enacted a controversial new tax on high-income earners and follows a series of departures by wealthy individuals and businesses from the Evergreen State.
Barton is one of the most influential entrepreneurs in Seattle’s modern business history. He founded Expedia inside Microsoft in 1994 before spinning it off into a public company. He later founded Zillow in 2004 and co-founded Glassdoor in 2007, helping build several of the region’s most recognizable technology brands.
His departure follows another major loss for Seattle’s business community. Earlier this year, Starbucks founder Howard Schultz announced that he and his family had relocated to Miami, Florida, just days after Gov. Bob Ferguson signed Washington’s new so-called “millionaire’s tax” into law.
In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, Schultz warned that Seattle’s political leadership was increasingly hostile toward employers and investors, arguing that businesses were being treated as “the adversary of the public good.” He also criticized what he described as the city’s embrace of socialist policies and warned that Seattle risked driving away the very people and companies responsible for its economic success.
Schultz’s departure came after years of tension between Starbucks and local political activists. The company faced repeated protests, strikes, and encampments outside its Seattle headquarters, many of which were supported by Democratic elected officials, including Rep. Pramila Jayapal and Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson, who previously encouraged consumers to boycott Starbucks during a labor dispute.
Barton is not the first billionaire to leave Seattle. Jeff Bezos famously relocated to Florida in 2023, ending nearly three decades in the Seattle area. At the time, Bezos cited family reasons and a desire to be closer to Blue Origin’s operations, but his move also highlighted the growing trend of wealthy Washington residents relocating to states with lower tax burdens.
The departures come as several major Washington employers are increasingly directing investment and future job growth elsewhere. Starbucks recently announced a $100 million expansion in Nashville, Tennessee, where it plans to move or hire 2,000 workers over the next five years while simultaneously cutting jobs, closing stores, and consolidating office space in Seattle.
Janicki Industries, one of Washington’s largest aerospace and defense suppliers, recently selected Montana for an $800 million expansion expected to create more than 2,000 jobs. Company president John Janicki previously cited “ever-increasing regulations and lack of business understanding at an executive and legislative level” as reasons growth in Washington was slowing.
Meta has laid off nearly 1,400 workers in King County this year while scaling back portions of its Bellevue expansion and reducing office commitments across the region.
Other companies, including Genie Industries, Novanta, Republic National Distributing Company, and Delta Camshaft, have announced facility closures, relocations, or layoffs affecting hundreds of Washington workers.
Meanwhile, downtown Seattle office vacancy rates remain above 35 percent, among the highest levels on record.
Washington Democrats have repeatedly dismissed concerns about corporate flight and wealthy residents leaving the state. Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson recently laughed off warnings about high earners relocating because of new taxes, saying, “if … the ones that leave … like, bye.”
But for critics, Barton’s departure adds another name to a growing list of entrepreneurs, investors, executives, and employers who are choosing to build their next chapter somewhere other than Washington.
