How a Network of Tech Billionaires Helped J.D. Vance Leap Into Power

🌈 Abstract

The article discusses how a network of tech billionaires, including Peter Thiel, David Sacks, and Elon Musk, helped J.D. Vance, a former tech executive, rise to political power. It highlights how Vance's connections and funding from these tech leaders were crucial to his political ascent, particularly his campaign for the Ohio Senate seat and his selection as Donald Trump's running mate.

🙋 Q&A

[01] How a Network of Tech Billionaires Helped J.D. Vance Leap Into Power

1. What was J.D. Vance's background in the tech industry?

• Vance spent less than five years in Silicon Valley's tech industry, working as a junior venture capitalist and a biotech executive.
• He worked at Peter Thiel's investment firm Mithril Capital in 2016 and later joined the venture firm Revolution founded by Steve Case.
• In 2020, Vance founded his own venture firm, Narya Capital, and raised a $120 million fund with the help of his tech connections, including Peter Thiel, Eric Schmidt, and Marc Andreessen.

2. How did Vance's tech connections influence his political rise?

• Vance's connections with tech billionaires like Peter Thiel, David Sacks, and Elon Musk were crucial to his political ascent.
• Thiel provided $15 million to support Vance's Senate campaign, and Sacks donated $1 million to a PAC backing Vance's run.
• Thiel and Musk also lobbied Trump to choose Vance as his running mate, and Sacks hosted a private dinner with Trump and tech executives where they recommended Vance as the running mate.

3. How did Vance's tech background influence his political views and positions?

• Vance has praised the FTC's antitrust cases against tech companies and called for the breakup of Google, describing it as an "explicitly progressive technology company."
• He has also backed tech platforms favored by conservatives, such as Parler and Rumble, and co-founded a network of major conservative donors with tech leaders.

[02] Vance's Relationship with Peter Thiel and Other Tech Leaders

1. How did Vance first connect with Peter Thiel?

• Vance met Thiel after the investor delivered a speech at Yale Law School, where Vance was a student, in which Thiel derided the professional prospects of law students and argued that their time might be better spent in Silicon Valley.
• Thiel's venture capital firm had previously invested in a company led by Frederic Moll, who later hired Vance as an executive at Circuit Therapeutics, a biotech company.

2. What was Vance's relationship with Thiel and other tech leaders like Sacks and Musk?

• Thiel wrote a promotional blurb for Vance's 2016 memoir "Hillbilly Elegy" and encouraged Vance's hiring at Mithril Capital.
• Sacks, an entrepreneur and podcaster, became one of Vance's "closest confidants" in politics and hosted a private dinner with Trump and tech executives where they recommended Vance as the running mate.
• Musk also encouraged Trump to choose Vance as his running mate in private communications.

3. How did Vance's tech connections influence his political ambitions and the support he received?

• Vance's tech connections, particularly with Thiel, Sacks, and Musk, provided him with crucial funding, profile-raising, and lobbying support for his political aspirations, including his Senate campaign and selection as Trump's running mate.