If California is the nation’s political fundraising hub, Silicon Valley has quickly become one of the dominant forces in terms of campaign cash. And while Northern California tech entrepreneurs overwhelmingly support Democratic candidates, a small but powerful group of defectors have moved to the right in recent years.
Tech’s conservative peers enjoyed a visit from former President Trump at a swanky fundraiser held Thursday evening at the San Francisco home of venture capitalist David Sacks. About 80 elites attended the estate on Billionaires’ Row in Pacific Heights. Admission costs: $300,000 per person and up to $500,000 per couple, according to an invitation obtained by The Times.
“It was two hours of high-quality networking in a very beautiful private home,” said Harmeet Dhillon, California’s Republican National Committeewoman and a San Francisco-based attorney who serves as an official legal representative for the Trump campaign. “All the seats were filled. It was absolutely packed.”
Dhillon said the gathering raised $12 million.
Across the country, tech leaders and employees have poured millions of dollars into politics. People working in the communications and electronics sector, which includes technology companies, have given $18.1 million to groups supporting Biden and his campaign and $1.4 million to organizations supporting Trump and his efforts, according to campaign finance data released May 21 by the Federal Election Commission.
The contributions were analyzed by Open Secrets, a nonpartisan group that tracks election finance. The total amount donated to outside groups supporting candidate committees and campaigns was $25.8 million, of which 71.7% went to Democrats and 22.1% to Republicans.
In Silicon Valley itself – the geographic area considered the center of the technology industry and About 3% of donors who donated to a Democratic candidate in 2016 or 2020 — including San Jose, Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Mountain View, Cupertino, Santa Clara, Redwood City and Sunnyvale — donated to Trump in the next cycle, a Times analysis of FEC data found. While many tech leaders and employees live in these cities, many other residents of the region do not work in the industry.
Protesters demanded a ceasefire in Gaza as Vice President Kamala Harris arrived at a fundraiser in San Francisco on Wednesday.
(Annabel Sosa/Los Angeles Times)
“Silicon Valley and the Bay Area are the heart of the global innovation ecosystem. Given the region’s economic dynamism and cultural, technological and social influence, it’s no surprise that more candidates are joining our business leaders,” Ahmed Thomas, chief executive of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, said in a statement. “That’s why our region will continue to be a political force, helping set the national agenda that supports innovation, entrepreneurship and growth.”
While a large portion of the population is being attracted to Trump’s friendliness towards emerging technologies like crypto, Silicon Valley still remains reliably Democratic. The region’s tech world has historically been known for its propensity for disruption with a liberal bent.
“There have obviously been some defections, but the reality is the vast majority is still supporting the president,” said Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Fremont), who represents Silicon Valley in Congress.
Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday attended a fundraiser He spoke to a crowd of about 100 people in San Francisco at an event held in the Oakland Hills. In the 13-minute speech he called for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war and for Hamas to return the remaining hostages to Israel.
Her remarks did not satisfy the crowd of protesters outside the venue, who began chanting as Harris arrived, “Shame on you!”
Khanna recently convened 100 tech leaders in Napa to encourage them to stay with the Biden administration.
“Democrats need a clear vision to celebrate entrepreneurship,” Khanna said. “Yes, there needs to be protections and smart regulation, but we need to be for innovation. We need to be for entrepreneurship. We need to be for wealth creation. We need to be future-oriented.”
But for some Silicon Valley tech executives, being forward-looking means campaigning for Trump.
In Latest Episodes In his podcast, “All-In,” Sachs and his fundraiser co-host, Chamath Palihapitiya, emphasized that they had previously hosted fundraisers for independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Trump’s former Republican rival Vivek Ramaswamy.
Palihapitiya, who describes himself as “non-political,” said he has donated to Democrats in the past, while he joined Sachs for a Trump fundraiser on Thursday. The two podcasters joked that their two other co-hosts, Jason Calacanis and David Friedberg, are facing criticism for associating with Trump supporters.
“I think you’re getting a lot of backlash, and that’s a sign that there’s a cowardly response to this. It’s like a cancel strategy,” Sachs said. “And I think they’re doing that because, frankly, there’s a lot of mitigation of preferences going on in Silicon Valley.”
Cian O’Brien, an entrepreneur and former vice president of a Sunnyvale tech company, said he has become an outcast in Silicon Valley since pledging his allegiance to Trump. He said he has supported Democrats all his life, though he did not vote for President Obama. After donating to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s campaign in 2016, O’Brien, 56, said he switched his support to Trump when he saw how “the system” — the media and other government institutions — had turned against him.
“They see him as a threat because he’s going to expose or crack down on their special operations … whatever,” O’Brien said. “And most of those operations revolve around people enriching themselves with power and money.”
Nibbling on sliders with American flag toothpicks, mini lobster rolls, and a dessert buffet, attendees at the Sachs fundraiser included the Winklevoss twins, famous for their feud with Mark Zuckerberg over the creation of Facebook; Coinbase executives; and some AI leaders. Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who is reportedly being courted as Trump’s potential running mate, also attended.
Trump spoke for nearly an hour on a number of topics, including AI, cryptocurrencies, and being a victim of deepfakes, prompting a young AI executive to give a detailed explanation of the use of encryption keys. He also argued that the world was safer under his administration, the border was more secure, and he spoke out against transgender women being allowed to play in female sports.
Dhillon said the former president did not speak directly about the 34 serious crimes charged against him last week but he spoke broadly about the judicial system.
“He was very excited. He said some judges are terrible. He didn’t say anything specific; he knows he has a gag order on him,” he said. “He said Republican judges go out of their way to seem impartial, to do everything they can to appear fair, to be impartial to the other side. And Democrats are drooling, they’re desperate to get their hands on the hammer and do whatever they want politically.”
Outside Sachs’ multimillion-dollar residence, police barricaded six city blocks surrounding the Pacific Heights residential area. Some attendees arrived in black Escalades, while others came on foot or by motorcycle. Many arrived in pickup trucks and waved large flags that read “Trump 2024.” One driver scuffled with a pedestrian at a stop sign. A group of middle school-age girls stood nearby, wearing Trump baseball caps.
“This is a historic event,” said Jane Kelly, 60, of Sacramento, who calls herself a lifelong Republican. “I know it’s a private fundraiser, but the fact that Trump is in California is very rare.”
After visiting Silicon Valley, Trump headed south, where fundraising events were planned in Beverly Hills and Newport Beach over the weekend.
Sosa reported from San Francisco. Ahn, Mehta and Pinho reported from Los Angeles.
