Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – California voters have rejected a one-time tax on billionaires, US media projected on Monday, despite growing anger over global wealth disparity.

The tax would have forced around 200 billionaires in the state to cough up five percent of their total net worth, with the money largely dedicated to helping pay for healthcare.

CNN and CBS News both projected that so-called Proposition 40 would not pass, nearly a week after voters cast ballots on whether to tax the billionaires.

With the highest population of any US state, California is notoriously slow at counting votes.

Prop 40 was one of a bevy of proposals put to voters in last week's midterm elections, which delivered large-scale victories across the nation for the Democratic Party, and handed a drubbing to President Donald Trump's Republicans.

The proposal was unveiled to fanfare in California, a state that would be the world's fourth largest economy if it were a country, but one in which there is a yawning gulf between the haves and the have-nots.

It was seen by wealth tax proponents as a key part of a global effort to tackle growing income inequality.

But the tax already appeared to be headed for defeat last week, with about 60 percent of votes counted on Wednesday showing that "No" was leading by 55.6 percent to 44.4 percent.

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