Silicon Valley Billionaires Turn to Trump

What’s happening: Tech billionaires Elon Musk and David Sacks held a secret dinner party at Sacks’s California mansion, where they discussed the 2024 election and how they could garner support for Donald Trump.

Why it matters: Silicon Valley has historically been a major source of financial support for Democrats. But if tech billionaires shift away from Democrats — toward third-party candidates like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. or even toward Donald Trump — it could be a boon for the Republican Party, which has been outspent in the past by Democrats.

Flashback: When Trump ran for president in 2016, it was politically difficult for Silicon Valley tech superstars to support him. Eight years later, Sacks and his ilk are discussing openly holding fundraisers for the former president.

• The numbers: Democrats outspent Republicans in the 2020 election by billions of dollars — $8 billion by Democrats to $5 billion by Republicans. But the imbalance may be shifting; April saw Trump out-raise Biden for the first time, $76 million to $51 million.

• Making converts: Jacob Helberg, once a major Democrat donor, recently gave Trump $1 million. Helberg cited “the pandemic, an artificial intelligence arms race against China,” and the TikTok ban (he supported the ban) as reasons for his shift to Trump.

Third-party? Big money could also fund RFK Jr.'s independent candidacy. Billionaire Bill Ackman recently spoke in favor of RFK Jr.’s candidacy, though he said he was undecided between him and Trump.