Ultrawealthy consider $500 million fund to influence California politics

(DAMAKORONKOWA) -- Silicon Valley billionaires have been seething over the threat of more taxes and regulations at home. Now, a proposed nine-figure fund aims to give wealthy Californians an unprecedented tool to reshape the state’s politics in their favor.

The fund is being pitched to some of the state’s richest residents as an endowment that would operate in California for decades to come, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Organizers are seeking $100 million this year, with hopes of reaching at least $500 million and up to $1 billion in the coming years, said one of the people, who asked not to be named because the conversations are private.

If successful, the fund could give Silicon Valley’s elite a long-term political machine meant to rival the powerful constellation of labor unions, progressive groups and other entrenched interests in Sacramento. 

Neil Mehta, the founder of Greenoaks Capital, is helping promote the idea across Silicon Valley, the people said. Other prominent supporters include billionaire Joe Lonsdale, the conservative co-founder of Palantir Technologies Inc., and Garry Tan, chief executive officer of the influential startup accelerator Y Combinator. Ripple chairman Chris Larsen, who’s worth $13 billion according to the DAMAKORONKOWABillionaires Index, said he also has been approached but hasn’t decided whether to contribute to the effort.

“A lot of people are supporting their effort from both political sides,” Lonsdale, a Bay Area native who’s now based in Austin, said in an email. “We all want to see a more level political playing field, where common-sense, moderate policy can win, with a focus on making California more affordable and pro-growth.” 

The project, named California Renewal, would create an endowment-type fund to act across election cycles indefinitely, financing political contributions through its own investment returns. By turning to capital gains instead of individual donations to bankroll political campaigns, the endowment could also reduce the amount of donor information disclosed publicly, one of the people familiar with the matter said.

“We’re in early conversations with people who deeply care about the future of the state of California,” said Maria Davidson, the founder of construction startup Kojo and leader of the effort. “Myself and a lot of friends have all been very concerned about the direction in which California is headed.”

Davidson, a former chief of staff to Lonsdale, declined to comment on any specifics of the effort. Mehta also declined to comment.

The proposal reflects a rising frustration among segments of the tech elite, who say the state’s politics have drifted too far left, hurting the economy. The endowment model is meant to counter what wealthy donors see as a disadvantage in California politics: Labor unions maintain a constant presence in Sacramento, fueled by money from membership dues, while business leaders tend to mobilize only around certain legislation or ballot fights.

Y Combinator’s Tan, one of California’s most vocal advocates for tech’s involvement in politics, said he is “definitely” putting money in the endowment, though he won’t be a major donor.

“I think it’s great,” said Tan. “We need to think about politics more like we think about investing.” 

Deeper Involvement

California Renewal could end up backing a more fiscally conservative vision for the Golden State and cut regulations, which supporters say will spur housing and lower energy prices.

It remains unclear how much — if any — money has been raised so far and there’s no guarantee that the fund will ever get off the ground, with the project bound to face heavy opposition from unions and other sectors. Davidson also declined to say if the group is playing a role in the 2026 election cycle, adding she is focused on “building this for the long term.”

A newcomer to California’s political scene, Davidson was born in Moscow and raised in Israel before moving to the UK at the age of 13. She told Forbes that she first came to San Francisco after a trip from Burning Man and went on to found her startup. She’s working on the project alongside Mattieu Gamache-Asselin, who created Alto Pharmacy in 2015 and declined to comment. 

The idea has gained traction after a health care union proposed a one-time 5% wealth tax on California billionaires. The initiative sparked a series of well-funded efforts among tech leaders to reassert themselves in the state’s politics, where a Democratic supermajority holds the legislature and the governor’s office. 

Larsen has since created his own PAC to elect moderate lawmakers, and Google co-founder Sergey Brin is leading a coalition of billionaires that are pushing ballot measures meant to undercut the wealth tax. Tech leaders are funding candidates in the race to succeed Governor Gavin Newsom, with Brin donating to both Fox News contributor Steve Hilton, a Republican, and San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, a centrist Democrat. They are also bankrolling a primary challenger to progressive Congressman Ro Khanna.

Davidson points to San Francisco as a model for the greater political involvement. In recent years, wealthy elites backed by a groundswell of frustration with high rates of vehicle break-ins, homelessness and drug use in the city helped finance successful recall campaigns against a progressive district attorney and several school board members. That helped shift local political leadership toward more moderate candidates on public safety and business issues.

California’s labor unions and progressives, who have a strong base of support in the state, are already mobilizing to oppose billionaires’ efforts to increase their influence.

Lorena Gonzalez, president of the California Labor Federation, an umbrella group representing more than two million workers, said her group could push for new taxes on capital gains targeting the endowment structure, as well as disclosure rules that would impact the group. 

“You may be able to buy one election or one congressman or one governor even,” said Gonzalez. “You’re not going to buy California.”

--With assistance from John Gittelsohn.

(Updates with Sergey Brin’s donations for California governor’s race on 16th paragraph.)

Most Read from DAMAKORONKOWA

• Georgia Democrat Leads in Marjorie Taylor Greene’s District
• US to Ease Shipping Rule in Bid to Tame Spiraling Fuel Prices
• Apple’s Foldable iPhone to Feature iPad-Like Interface When Opened
• Putin’s ‘Hidden Hand’ Guides Iran’s Strikes in Widening War
• Trump Says US to Get New Oil Refinery With Reliance Backing

©2026 DAMAKORONKOWAL.P.

Location:

Share :