San Francisco Tech Mogul Goes All-In for Trump, Hosts Fundraiser for Republican at His Home
Venture capitalist David Sacks and his fellow “All-In” podcast host Chamath Palihapitiya held a fundraiser for former President Donald Trump in San Francisco on Thursday night.
Sacks told Fox Business Network host Larry Kudlow on Friday that the evening brought in $12 million for Trump’s re-election efforts, far surpassing the original $5 million they were hoping to raise.
The event took place at Sacks’ home in the exclusive Pacific Heights neighborhood of San Francisco, with about 100 people in attendance.
“We couldn’t fit one more seat in the place,” he said. “We were completely sold out.”
Tickets sold for $50,000 per person, with a $300,000 tier that included others perks.
The New York Times reported it was Trump’s first visit to the city in at least a decade.
Tech investors and podcasters David Sacks and Chamath Palihapitiya are hosting a fundraiser for Donald Trump at a San Francisco mansion.
Tickets sold for $50,000 a head, with a $300,000 tier that includes perks like a photo with Trump. https://t.co/becJeGGKK1 pic.twitter.com/IqlRGEF0uK
— CNBC (@CNBC) June 6, 2024
Sacks was an executive at PayPal during its early days along with Elon Musk.
He went on to found Yammer, a communication tool that he sold to Microsoft for $1.2 billion in 2012.
Sacks also provided funding to Musk as the entrepreneur executed his $44 billion purchase of Twitter in 2022.
Sacks’ current firm, Craft Ventures, has invested in companies like Uber, Slack and Airbnb.
Palihapitiya was an early executive with AOL and Facebook. He previously donated $250,000 toward the Biden campaign in 2020, CNBC reported.
Sacks was a backer of Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ unsuccessful presidential primary bid this year.
Republican Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, who briefly lived in San Francisco while working as a venture capitalist, made the connection between Sacks and Trump, the Times said.
Eagerly awaiting arrival. pic.twitter.com/LtStiaO8aO
— David Sacks (@DavidSacks) June 6, 2024
The news outlet noted that Sacks recognized Vance at Thursday’s fundraiser, saying the event would not have happened without the lawmaker’s help.
$12M raised tonight! Incredible support for @realDonaldTrump. Not an empty seat in the gorgeous home of @DavidSacks and Jacqueline. Thrilled to see the tech leaders stepping up! pic.twitter.com/r4LIbrh4nA
— Harmeet K. Dhillon (@pnjaban) June 7, 2024
Near Sacks’ home, Trump supporters were present to welcome the presumptive Republican nominee.
“So all week San Francisco publications have been writing about how there are going to be big protests in San Francisco because Trump was coming to town,” Sacks recounted to Kudlow.
“As it turns out, hundreds of people turned out in the streets, but they were pro-Trump demonstrators and they were welcoming his motorcade,” he said.
There were meanwhile just an handful of anti-Trump protesters, according to Sacks.
“If that’s in liberal San Francisco, what does that tell you about the rest of the country?” he asked.
RIGHT NOW: Pacific Heights neighborhood in #SF
Demonstrators showing their support for former President Donald Trump. Trump will be arriving soon to attend a fundraiser at the home of tech billionaire David Sacks. @abc7newsbayarea #abc7newsbayarea pic.twitter.com/VJjiR98XUh— Suzanne Phan (@SuzannePhan) June 7, 2024
Tech entrepreneur Palmer Luckey, a former Facebook executive who later co-founded the defense tech company Anduril, is also slated to host a fundraiser for Trump over the weekend in Orange County, California, the Times said.
Eric Trump, son of the former president and husband to RNC Co-Chair Lara Trump, told Fox News host Maria Bartiromo on Sunday that his father’s campaign and a supporting super PAC had raised over $200 million in the days immediately following his father’s conviction in the New York business records case.
He said that the campaign had taken in over $70 million just in terms of small-dollar donations, adding that more than 30 percent of those who gave were first-time donors.
“I mean, these are Americans who are p***ed off,” he explained. “They’re coming out of the woodwork and they want to support a guy that they just believe is getting bamboozled by a system.”
Sacks listed four reasons on social media platform X ahead of his fundraiser for why he decided to back Donald Trump.
Why I’m Backing President Trump
As many press accounts have reported, I’m hosting a fundraising event for President Donald J. Trump at my home in San Francisco this evening.
Over the last couple of years, I have hosted events for presidential candidates Ron DeSantis, Vivek…
— David Sacks (@DavidSacks) June 7, 2024
“The voters have experienced four years of President Trump and four years of President Biden. In tech, we call this an A/B test,” he explained.
“With respect to economic policy, foreign policy, border policy, and legal fairness, Trump performed better. He is the President who deserves a second term,” Sacks concluded.
Earlier on Thursday, Trump participated in a town hall event in Phoenix, Arizona, hosted by Turning Point Action.
Trump makes his entrance: “I love Phoenix.” pic.twitter.com/okBLfM9fTH
— Randy DeSoto (@RandyDeSoto) June 6, 2024
There, he pledged to end Biden administration border policies.
“On day one of my administration, I will be rescinding crooked Joe’s outrageous executive order,” Trump said, adding that he “will terminate every single open borders policy of the Biden administration as soon as I take the oath of office.”
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