E-Paper
Who is David O. Sacks? Trump's new ‘White House A.I. & Crypto Czar’ has a bitter history with Elon Musk
David O. Sacks is set to guide the administration’s policies for artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency.
Donald Trump has picked All In podcast co-host and venture capitalist David O. Sacks as the “White House A.I. & Crypto Czar.” Sacks is set to guide the administration’s policies for artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency.
“I am pleased to announce that David O. Sacks will be the “White House A.I. & Crypto Czar.” In this important role, David will guide policy for the Administration in Artificial Intelligence and Cryptocurrency, two areas critical to the future of American competitiveness. David will focus on making America the clear global leader in both areas. He will safeguard Free Speech online, and steer us away from Big Tech bias and censorship,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
He continued, “He will work on a legal framework so the Crypto industry has the clarity it has been asking for, and can thrive in the U.S. David will also lead the Presidential Council of Advisors for Science and Technology…”
Trump added, “…David Sacks has been an extremely successful entrepreneur and investor for 25 years, building and investing in some of the most iconic companies in Silicon Valley. He was PayPal’s founding-era COO, part of the legendary “PayPal Mafia.” David then founded enterprise software company, Yammer, which was acquired by Microsoft for $1.2 Billion Dollars. Subsequently he founded Craft Ventures, a venture capital firm based in San Francisco. David is co-host of the All-In Podcast, the top podcast in Tech, where he and his friends discuss economic, political and social issues. David has the knowledge, business experience, intelligence, and pragmatism to MAKE AMERICA GREAT in these two critical technologies. Congratulations, David!”
Who is David O. Sacks?
Sacks became a major Trump supporter earlier this year. He even hosted a fundraiser for him at his San Francisco mansion.
However, Sacks was critical of Trump after the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021. On an episode of his All-In podcast, he said at the time that Trump was “clearly” responsible for the incident, and that he had “disqualified himself from being a candidate at a national level.”
A venture capitalist and entrepreneur, Sacks sold Yammer to Microsoft for $1.2 billion in 2012. He is reportedly also affiliated with the “PayPal mafia,” which is an unofficial club of famous technology figures and investors, including Elon Musk and Peter Thiel.
According to the book ‘Elon Musk’ by Walter Isaacson, Musk was removed from his position as chief executive of PayPal in a “coup” that was orchestrated by Thiel, Sacks, co-founder Max Levchin, and board member Reid Hoffman. At the time, Sacks was the COO and product leader.
Musk had joined the company that same year after merging his electronic payments company, X.com, with PayPal’s parent, Confinity. He reportedly had a difference of opinions with PayPal’s board members about the company’s branding and strategy.
Musk later told Isaacson of his PayPal ouster, “I was pretty angry at first. I had thoughts of assassination running through my head.”
He continued, “But eventually I realized that it was good I got couped. Otherwise I’d still be slaving away at PayPal.”
“Of course, if I had stayed, PayPal would be a trillion-dollar company,” Musk added.
According to Isaacson, Musk later made amends with Thiel, Sacks and the other “coup” leaders. He even told Levchin, “Life’s too short. Let’s move on.”
Musk was fired, but allowed to keep his equity stake in PayPal. This came in handy when eBay acquired the company for $1.5 billion in 2002. The deal, in fact, netted Musk $250 million.
