If California is the political fundraising powerhouse of the nation, Silicon Valley has grown into one of the increasingly dominant forces of campaign cash. And while Northern California tech entrepreneurs overwhelmingly support Democratic candidates, a small but powerful group of defectors has moved rightward in recent years. A gathering of tech’s conservative cohort enjoyed a visit from former President Trump on Thursday evening at a tony fundraiser held at venture capitalist David Sacks’ San Francisco home.
The estate, nestled on Billionaires’ Row in Pacific Heights, welcomed about 80 elites to the sold-out event. Cost of admission: up to $300,000 per person and $500,000 per couple, according to an invitation obtained by The Times. “It was a couple hours of high-quality networking in a very beautiful private home,” said Harmeet Dhillon, California’s Republican national committeewoman and a San Francisco-based attorney who acts as an official legal surrogate for the Trump campaign.
“The seats were all filled. It was totally packed.” The gathering raised $12 million, Dhillon added.
Across the country, tech leaders and employees have poured millions into politics. People who work in the communications and electronics sector, which includes technology companies, have given $18.1 million to Biden and groups supporting his campaign, and $1.
4 million to Trump and organizations backing his effort this year, according to campaign finance data released May 21 by the .