The ‘PayPal Founding Four’, Which Were Close, Are Infighting Over Support for Trump

by times news cr

2024-07-31 21:16:50

Musk-Till-Sachs “Support Trump”
Hoffman’s blatant criticism of “just criminals”
Trump support grows stronger in Silicon Valley

Silicon Valley, the mecca of the US information technology (IT) industry, is embroiled in conflict between the pro-Trump and anti-Trump camps ahead of the November presidential election. The New York Times (NYT) reported on the 29th that internal strife among the IT industry’s big shots has intensified due to differences in political inclinations. In particular, it said that conflict among the founding members of the online payment service PayPal, who maintained a close relationship to the point of being called the “PayPal Mafia,” is prominent.

Peter Thiel, a big tech mogul and famous venture capitalist who co-founded PayPal, David Sacks, former COO of PayPal and head of venture capital firm Kraft Ventures, and Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, are supporters of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. In particular, Thiel has had a close relationship with Republican Vice Presidential candidate JD Vance since they were students at Yale Law School, and is still considered one of his closest people. Thiel is also close to candidate Trump.

Sachs recently held a fundraiser for Trump at her luxurious San Francisco home. Sachs supported former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election, but has become a Republican since the Joe Biden administration took office.

Meanwhile, former PayPal vice president and LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman is a big Democratic donor. He recently took to his blog to criticize Sax for hosting a Trump fundraiser, specifically calling Trump “just a criminal” after he was convicted in a hush-money lawsuit over a sexual misconduct case. Hoffman also argued with Thiel over political agendas at a conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, this month. He also helped pay for the legal fees of Jean E. Carroll, who filed a civil lawsuit against Trump, accusing her of sexual misconduct in the past.

The discontent between Hoffman and CEO Musk is also growing. The two have been raising the issue since Hoffman supported Carroll. They also pointed out that this could rather rally conservative voters and make candidate Trump look like a ‘martyr’. When candidate Trump was shot during a campaign on the 13th, CEO Musk posted on X, “The martyr (Trump) is alive.”

The San Francisco area of ​​California, where Silicon Valley is located, was considered a traditional “Democratic stronghold.” However, since President Biden took office, support for Trump has been growing as he has strengthened regulations on Big Tech and Democratic governors and lawmakers have been implementing soft policies on sexual minorities, drugs, and the homeless. Silicon Valley insiders are also growing their expectations for Trump’s pledges to ease regulations on Big Tech, cut taxes, and support the virtual currency industry.


Reporter Kim Yun-jin [email protected]

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2024-07-31 21:16:50

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