Businessmen from Silicon Valley, the technological center of the United States in California, a Democratic stronghold, are backing with their millions Donald Trump led by Elon Musk, who bet part of his fortune on the electoral candidacy of the former Republican president.
According to the American press, the billionaire plans to donate US$ 45 million a month to “America PAC”, a “political action committee” that supports Trump’s presidential campaign.
Super PACs are legal entities that cannot directly finance a candidate, but can spend on advertising or on-the-ground actions.
A few months ago, Musk declared that he would not make donations to any of the candidates, despite the fact that the right-wing orientation of his social network X (formerly Twitter) and his incendiary messages against Democrats and the left left no doubt about his political affinities.
Shortly after the assassination attempt on Trump on Saturday, Musk made public his full support for the Republican.
Lesser-known tech figures are also pulling out their checkbooks for the former US president, hoping he will promote cryptocurrencies, defence technology and push back against regulators who want to curb startup takeovers.
Most Trump supporters in Silicon Valley are white men, and they are united by their aversion to so-called “woke” ideology.
Conservatives use this term to describe what they see as the left’s complacency towards minority demands. They believe that diversity and equality are detrimental to efficiency and excellence.
“PayPal Mafia”
Many of these businessmen rolled out the red carpet for Trump at a fundraising event in June, organized by David Sacks, one of the members of the “PayPal mafia”.
This informal group includes Musk, who worked in the late 1990s at the startup that became a leader in online payment services.
Sacks’ generosity earned him a speech at the Republican National Convention.
“In my hometown of San Francisco, the Democratic government has turned the streets of our beautiful city into a cesspool of crime, homeless encampments and open drug use.“Sacks told delegates.
Another member of the “PayPal mafia”, Peter Thiel, an ultra-conservative of German origin, supported Trump in 2016 and has established himself as the spearhead of the right in the technology sector.
In 2021, after the assault on the Capitol, he assured that he would stay out of politics.
But he then made a major contribution to the Senate campaign of JD Vance, whom Trump chose this week as his vice presidential nominee.
Chamath Palihapitiya, a former Facebook executive who co-hosts the All-In podcast with Sacks, also helped organize the fundraiser.
He is known for his passion for SPACs, a type of legal vehicle that allows companies to go public more easily.
“Cryptocurrency Wars”
This practice was abandoned after the US Federal Reserve raised rates, which stifled the private equity sector.
On Tuesday, the information website reported that Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, heads of one of the largest investment funds in the region, also support Trump.
His company last year created a fund to wage political war against lawmakers who want to regulate cryptocurrencies, an industry marred by scandals and bankruptcies.
Crypto billionaires Cameron Winklevoss and Tyler Winklevoss were also present at the June fundraiser.
Trump, once quite hostile to cryptocurrencies, has softened his stance.
The ex-president “will end the Biden administration’s war on cryptocurrencies“,” Cameron Winklevoss promised.
Executives at Palantir, a data analytics company co-founded by Peter Thiel and Joe Lonsdale, are also among the Republican supporters.
“Our country is stagnant because we have these lunatics in charge“We are not going to be doing this,” Lonsdale told CNBC this month, referring to Democrats.
Source: Gestion
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