The most striking contribution came last month, when Dustin Moskovitz, a tech billionaire and Facebook co-founder, pledged $20 million to political groups that support Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. Moskovitz discussed the contribution with CNBC over the weekend, reiterating that he and his wife, Cari Tuna, were compelled to donate after Republicans officially chose Donald Trump as their nominee.
“I think it’s apparent to every American that this is a very special election. The stakes are extremely high,” Moskovitz told CNBC. Moskovitz’s contribution made headlines in part because he is a relative novice to political donations. Despite his wealth and connections, Moskovitz is not particularly well known beyond industry circles.
Nevertheless, the donation catapults Moskovitz and Tuna into the upper echelons of political contributors this election cycle, a list that includes fellow billionaires and longtime influencers Sheldon Adelson, Michael Bloomberg, George Soros and Silicon Valley hedge-fund manager Thomas Steyer. Assuming the full $20 million is donated prior to the election, Moskovitz and Tuna would rank among the top 10 individual contributors this cycle, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Moskovitz and Tuna did not respond to requests for comment.
Moskovitz amassed his wealth as one of four Harvard undergraduates who, in 2004, created the primitive version of what was then called “The Facebook.” He stayed with the social network through November 2008, according to LinkedIn. He then started Asana with fellow Facebook employee Justin Rosenstein. The company makes business software that helps teams communicate and track progress on work projects. Asana has raised $88.2 million from venture capital investors to date, including $50 million in March, according to CrunchBase, an online database that tracks venture deals.
For her part, Tuna runs the couple’s philanthropic efforts. To that end, she serves as president of their foundation, Good Ventures, which has given money to causes that range from animal welfare to scientific research to criminal justice reform.
Moskovitz and Tuna wrote in a blog post on the website Medium in September that political donations were not initially part of their philanthropic plan. But they cast the race between Trump and Clinton as more than a decision of politics, and one that has “become a referendum on who we want to be – as individuals, as a nation and as a society.”
The pair also expressed reluctance at using their wealth to influence the democratic process.
Silicon Valley’s increased influence in the political process has not come without scrutiny. It’s no secret that Silicon Valley leans far left. Its epicenter is the liberal bastion of San Francisco. Wealthy tech executives were big donors to President Barack Obama’s campaigns and have shown similar financial support for Clinton.