The Nerd Reich | Palantir for Governor? by Gil Duran

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The article examines why tech billionaire Joe Lonsdale—known for extremist statements and support of former President Trump—has become the top donor to San José Mayor Matt Mahan’s bid for California governor. Lonsdale contributed the maximum $78,400, outspending even right‑wing candidates, while Mahan, a newcomer with only a mayoral résumé, has attracted a cascade of Silicon‑Valley money from figures such as Sergey Brin, Y Combinator’s Garry Tan, Michael Seibel, Marc Merrill, Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund partner Brian Singerman, and executives from Anduril. The piece argues that Mahan, though running as a Democrat, serves the interests of right‑leaning tech oligarchs, advocating “back‑to‑basics” policies that threaten the poor and oppose progressive initiatives like a billionaire wealth tax. By funding a Democratic candidate with conservative policy leanings, these billionaires aim to capture the governor’s office despite California’s long‑standing Republican drought, highlighting a broader strategy of tech money reshaping state politics.

Read more: https://www.thenerdreich.com/palantir-for-governor/

#JoeLonsdale #MattMahan #Palantir #GavinNewsom #JamesRolph #SteveHilton #GarryTan #SergeyBrin #MichaelSeibel #MarcMerrill #BrianSingerman #DavidMarcus

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I turned my grandmother’s recipes into a $1 million catering company that feeds people from Sergey Brin to Steph Curry

Chef Rene Johnson built a million-dollar soul food empire catering to Bay Area power players. Using her g…
#dining #cooking #diet #food #RecipeTopics #ayeshacurry #Blackberry #kamalaharris #Recipes #SergeyBrin #StephCurry
https://www.diningandcooking.com/2601990/i-turned-my-grandmothers-recipes-into-a-1-million-catering-company-that-feeds-people-from-sergey-brin-to-steph-curry/

yahoo news | Google Co-Founder Sergey Brin pumping $45 million to fight California's 'Billionaire Tax'

Sergey Brin, the Google co‑founder, has pledged roughly $45 million to the group Building a Better California, which is leading the fight against the state’s proposed “billionaire tax.” The measure would levy a one‑time 5 percent levy on individuals whose net worth exceeds $1 billion, with supporters saying the revenue would fund health‑care and other public programs. Building a Better California has raised about $80 million in total to finance campaigns, advertisements and ballot‑initiative efforts aimed at defeating the tax.

The billionaire tax has become a flashpoint for California’s political and business communities. Labor leader Dave Regan, who backs the initiative, recounted a private meeting with Governor Gavin Newsom in which the governor urged him to abandon the effort, a request Regan rejected. Former legislative attempts to impose a wealth tax failed because of the high vote threshold required for new taxes, and economists such as Emmanuel Saez have warned that the proposal is “legislatively impossible” without a ballot measure.

Opposition to the tax is well‑funded and expanding. In addition to Brin’s contribution, other Silicon Valley figures—including Larry Page, Peter Thiel and David Sacks—are either leaving the state or considering doing so to avoid potential tax exposure. Analysts estimate that the departures of Page and Brin alone could represent roughly $25 billion in lost revenue for California. With tens of millions already flowing into anti‑tax campaigns and more expected, the billionaire‑tax initiative is shaping up to be one of the most closely watched and expensive ballot battles in the state’s recent history.

Read more: https://nypost.com/2026/03/25/us-news/google-co-founder-sergey-brin-pumping-45-million-to-fight-states-billionaire-tax/

#sergeybrin #google #buildingabettercalifornia #billionairetax #gavinnewsom

RE: https://fediscience.org/@petersuber/116296505893814290

“Among the new members of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (#PCAST) are #MarcAndreessen, #SergeyBrin, #MichaelDell, #LarryEllison, and #MarkZuckerberg.”

so:

❝ TRUMP APPOINTS #FriendsOfEpstein BILLIONAIRES TO PCAST

Trump appoints billionaires who appear in the #EpsteinFiles as part of a mailing list of #FriendsOfEpstein who enjoyed unconference "MONEY & POWER" weekends at his pedophile island, or shared tips on insider-trading or how to build a master race ranch ❞

"Trump remembers to appoint science panel, fills it mostly with tech bros."
https://www.theregister.com/2026/03/25/trump_science_tech_panel/

Among the new members of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (#PCAST) are #MarcAndreessen, #SergeyBrin, #MichaelDell, #LarryEllison, and #MarkZuckerberg.

If you're curious, Wikipedia lists the PCAST members under Biden and Obama.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President%27s_Council_of_Advisors_on_Science_and_Technology

#DefendResearch #Trump #TrumpVResearch #USPol #USPolitics

#Trump staffs #science & #technology panel with non-scientists

The list of appointees was finally released…There are still 9 unfilled vacancies on the council, so it's possible more scientists will be named later. But 4 now, #PCAST is heavily tilted toward extremely wealthy tech figures.

These include investor #MarcAndreessen , Google's #SergeyBrin , #MichaelDell of Dell, #LarryEllison of #Oracle, #JensenHuang of #NVIDIA , #LisaSu of AMD, & Mark #Zuckerberg of #Meta.

https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/03/trump-staffs-science-and-technology-panel-with-non-scientists/

https://winbuzzer.com/2026/03/25/trump-appoints-zuckerberg-huang-brin-pcast-panel-xcxwbn/

Trump Names Zuckerberg, Huang, Brin to PCAST Technology Advisory Council

#AI #DonaldTrump #USGovernment #BigTech #Google #NVIDIA #Meta #MarkZuckerberg #JensenHuang #SergeyBrin #AMD #LisaSu #Dell #Oracle #AIRegulation #Cryptocurrency #WhiteHouse #PCAST