Elon Musk has been the most vocal supporter of the US President Donald Trump. At the same time, also the one getting the most attention and spotlight. Other than him there are some other technology billionaires who have put their might behind Donald Trump. These include the two prominent members, the famous PayPal Mafia‘ Netscape founder and the man who had to leave his job at Facebook in 2017 for supporting Donald Trump.
One week of Donald Trump’s second term has thrust all these technology billionaires into the spotlight. Here’s looking at Silicon Valley’s ‘Right Wing’ that is expected to play a key role in shaping the tech landscape under Trump’s administration as per a report by news agency AFP:
Crypto Czar David Sacks
Recently appointed as Trump’s AI and Crypto Czar, David Sacks is a cryptocurrency advocate and investor who stood alongside the president as he signed an executive order to deregulate the controversial crypto industry.
A South African native and member of the “PayPal Mafia” — a group of early internet entrepreneurs who became Silicon Valley influencers — Sacks co-hosts the All-In podcast, popular among conservative tech leaders. He also co-organized a Trump fundraiser that introduced the president to cryptocurrency.
Sacks, a staunch proponent of deregulation, has already overseen the reversal of an executive order issued under President Biden that had established regulatory guardrails for AI technologies.
PayPal Mafia’s Peter Thiel
A Silicon Valley conservative stalwart, Peter Thiel has been a pivotal figure in tech and politics for decades. The German-born investor, who spent part of his youth in southern Africa, launched Sacks’ career at PayPal and famously ousted Elon Musk as its CEO.
Thiel, an early Facebook investor and mentor to Mark Zuckerberg, is known for his critiques of liberal policies in higher education and government. Though less involved in Trump’s 2024 campaign than in 2016, Thiel’s influence is felt through his protégé, Vice President JD Vance, as well as his defense-tech investments in Palantir and Anduril, both poised for growth under Trump’s Pentagon.
Thiel hosted a high-profile inauguration party at his Washington, D.C., mansion, attended by figures such as Zuckerberg, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and Vance.
Netscape founder Marc Andreessen
Midwestern-born Marc Andreessen gained fame in the 1990s as the founder of Netscape and has become one of Trump’s most vocal tech allies. Initially a supporter of Democratic candidates, Andreessen shifted his allegiance due to frustration with the Biden administration’s strict cryptocurrency regulations.
During Trump’s transition, Andreessen frequented Mar-a-Lago and played a hands-on role in staffing the administration, referring to himself as an “unpaid intern.” His venture capital firm, Andreessen Horowitz, has backed major tech companies like Twitter (now X), Airbnb, and Coinbase.
Andreessen is a staunch advocate of “effective accelerationism,” a Silicon Valley movement that opposes any restrictions on technological progress, viewing such limits as detrimental to humanity’s future.
Palmer Luckey, the man who sold his startup for $2 billion to Facebook when he was 21 years
Palmer Luckey, a tech prodigy and vocal Trump supporter, made waves in Silicon Valley for his conservative views. At just 21, he sold his virtual reality company Oculus to Facebook for $2 billion in 2014.
His political stance made him an outsider at Facebook, where he departed in 2017 under scrutiny for his Republican activism. Luckey’s current venture, Anduril Industries, has become a defense-tech powerhouse, specializing in AI-powered systems like autonomous surveillance towers and drone interceptors.
