Michael Moritz, Sequoia Capital
Scott Mullin | CNBC
As leading tech investors continue to take public stances ahead of the 2024 presidential election, legendary venture capitalist Michael Moritz has made his preference clear.
in a Financial Times opinion piece In an article published on Monday, Moritz wrote that those in the industry who support Donald Trump “A big mistake was made.”
Moritz joined Sequoia Capital in 1986 and went on to make huge bets on companies including: GooglePayPal and LinkedIn criticize Trump silicon valley supporters Being self-interested and asking why so many smart and successful people “prepare Turn a blind eye to Trump”.
“I doubt any of them would want him to be part of their organization’s investment group,” Moritz wrote. . “So why are they dismissing his recent criminal conviction as nothing more than a politically motivated witch hunt based on a simple bookkeeping error?”
Andreessen Horowitz co-founders Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz recently expressed support for Trump. Tesla CEO Musk publicly support him shortly after the assassination attempt last month. Other Trump supporters include venture capitalists David Sachs and Joe Lonsdale; Doug LeoneMoritz’s long-time partner at Sequoia Capital.
Moritz, now a senior adviser at Sequoia Wealth Management, wrote that Trump’s tech financiers and supporters “make the same mistake as all powerful people who support dictators.” Moritz was referring to the 34 felonies Trump was convicted of in New York state court earlier this year. Trump said he would appeal and many of his allies dismissed his trial as a “sham.”
Moritz said he doesn’t think Trump will win in Silicon Valley in November, noting that Trump has historically performed poorly in the Valley. He’s not the only one to object.
LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman is a major democracy Supporters, leaving their own power behind Vice President Kamala Harris and President Biden before him. Last week, more than 100 venture capital firms pledge their support Harris, the de facto Democratic nominee, is stepping up her campaign to take on Trump. As of Monday, more than 700 people had signed up for Kamala Ventures ensure.
Moritz has a multi-billion dollar fortune that allows him to donate generously to charity. In 2013, he was knighted, in part for his charity work. Moritz has made major donations to Democratic causes, including $4.8 million earlier this year to American Bridge 21st Century, which is planning A $140M anti-Trump ad blitz. He also donated to the anti-Trump Lincoln Project.
His donations to the Republican Party include earlier support for Arnold Schwarzenegger when he was governor of California, Mitt Romney in 2007 and Ohio governor John Kasich in 2010 and 2014, OpenSecrets reported .
Moritz wrote that wealthy financiers believed “they would be able to control Trump” or would be making “another big mistake: deceiving themselves into thinking he won’t do what he says or promises.”
“This has not been the modus operandi of dictators for centuries,” he wrote.
watch: Trump’s technology
