India, Oct. 23 -- Meta Platforms Inc. (META) has approved a new class of non-voting stock that could allow CEO Mark Zuckerberg to raise billions of dollars to cover a potential California wealth tax without surrendering his majority voting control.

The Class C common stock, set to take effect in January, will give shareholders one new non-voting share for every Class A or Class B share they own, effectively creating a two-for-one stock split. Meta said the shares could also be used for capital raising, employee compensation and acquisitions, including investments in artificial intelligence.

An SEC filing said Zuckerberg could immediately sell or transfer up to 20 percent of the Class C shares he receives, equivalent to 10 percent of his o...