Encouraged by conversations he’s had with Vice President Kamala Harris, a billionaire venture capitalist has pulled his support for Donald Trump – and announced a “significant donation” for his Democratic opponent, according to a new report.
The decision announced Friday by Ben Horowitz and his wife Felicia came three months after he and business partner Marc Andreessen faced criticism when they chose to throw their support to the former president.
But that was before President Joe Biden jolted the race when he stepped aside, and their “great friend” Harris became the Democratic nominee.
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“As a result of our friendship, Felicia and I will be making a significant donation to entities who support the Harris Walz campaign,” according to an email Horowitz sent Friday to employees of his firm Andreessen Horowitz. He told employees that, although the Harris campaign has yet to state what their tech policy would be he is “encouraged by my belief in her.”
A report in Axios noted that the donation would come from the couple’s personal wealth – not from the firm.
The announcement prompted mixed reaction on social media.
“He's just playing both sides, and may have donated to Kamala in order to keep peace with his wife,” Paul Sas, a behavioral economist, wrote on X.
“Wow,” journalist Yashar Ali posted to his social media followers. “Venture capitalist Ben Horowitz and his wife Felicia were backing Trump when Biden was in. Their decision led to a lot of criticism, but they remained firm,” he said noting that Horowitz’s significant personal contribution would go to entities supporting the vice president.
But the announcement still didn’t come without its own round of criticism.
“Completely soulless,” said reporter Gil Duran. “They just want to be on the side that's winning so they can further their greedy and power-hungry agenda. The good news: They clearly think Kamala will win.”
Biz Carson, who covers wealth and Silicon Valley for Bloomberg, said that the news would rankle among the former president's campaign.
"The news is a blow to Trump, whose campaign has far less cash on hand than Harris," Carson wrote.
