Big names in cryptocurrency and venture capital, some of whom are former Democratic donors, have voiced their support for former President Donald Trump.
Venture capitalists David Sachs and Chamath Palihapitiya organized a big fundraiser for the former president in San Francisco Thursday night. Raise Donated $12 million to Trump 47th Joint Fundraiser at sold-out event Fee Up to $500,000 per couple. Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal, prominent tech investor Shervin Pishevar, and Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, who famously feuded with Mark Zuckerberg over the founding of Facebook, attended the event, a person familiar with the fundraising told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
“In 2016, the only person I knew from Silicon Valley who supported Trump was Peter [Thiel]”Now there are dozens, maybe more,” Palantir senior adviser Jacob Helberg told Reuters. “Over the last six months, the dam has started to break.” (RELATED: Democratic megadonor with ties to Jeffrey Epstein gives $250,000 to Nikki Haley Super PAC)
Helberg recently made $1 million Donate While he previously supported Democratic candidates, he has voiced his opposition to President Trump’s reelection bid in 2024.
“The social costs of supporting Trump are not as great as they were before,” Helberg said of Silicon Valley, where many believe Trump was right on many of the issues that will make or break America.
Palihapitiya, Before The former Facebook executive, now a venture capitalist, is also a major supporter of the Democratic Party, pouring $1.3 million into the party between 2011 and 2021 before he began fundraising for Trump. according to In the San Francisco Chronicle.
Former President Barack Obama’s campaign and Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign both benefited from Pishevar’s donations, loaning them cash and allowing his home to be used as a fundraising platform for Democratic candidates. according to Deadline. But some Democrats cut tie Despite being a major donor to the party, Pishevar was hit by sexual misconduct allegations. Proven Pishevar also donated to Republican Senate candidates in Georgia in 2020, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) records.
“I gave $300,000 to Trump,” said Sean Maguire, a partner at Sequoia Capital and a former Hillary Clinton donor. I have written Xth day of May.
“I know I will lose friends over this. Some will refuse to do business with me. The media will probably demonize me, as so many have done before me. But I still believe this is the right thing to do,” he continued.
Maguire decided to support Trump because of President Joe Biden’s handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal, his inadequate support for Israel, and what he sees as double standards in the media covering Trump and Biden. Quote Biden’s approach to Israel when explaining his support for Trump.
Free market capitalism, baby 🇺🇸
— Sean Maguire (@shaunmmaguire) June 7, 2024
Grewal’s partisan allegiance is not clearly defined in his FEC records. Showing The cryptocurrency executive has recently donated to both the Republican and Democratic campaigns, and Reuters reports that other Coinbase executives also participated in the fundraiser.
Following Biden’s endorsement, Coinbase executives and the Winklevoss twins, who run the cryptocurrency trading platform Gemini, also announced their support. rejection Congressional attempts to limit how the Securities and Exchange Commission can regulate digital currencies.
“That may have been the last domino to fall,” Trevor Traina, a San Francisco technology executive, told Reuters about the veto. Both Sachs and Palihapitiya have significant cryptocurrency holdings.
The crypto industry has broadly stepped up efforts to influence policy, with super PACs with ties to the crypto industry raising $102 million so far this fiscal year. according to FairShake, a major crypto-backed super PAC, has spent more than $10 million to challenge Democratic Rep. Katie Porter in California’s Senate primary, according to Reuters. show.
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
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