The Atlantic | The Venture-Capital Populist by George Packer AI generated summary, Read the full article for complete information. The article traces how venture capitalist David Sacks, a longtime libertarian‑conservative who built his fortune through PayPal, the “PayPal Mafia,” and later investments in Facebook, SpaceX, crypto and AI, moved from publicly condemning Donald Trump after the Jan. 6 insurrection to becoming a key architect of the new tech‑right’s alliance with the MAGA movement. In June 2024 Sacks hosted a $12 million fundraiser for Trump on “Billionaires’ Row,” which helped seal Senator J.D. Vance’s selection as the former president’s running mate and signaled a broader embrace of Trump among Silicon Valley elites. The piece details Sacks’s appointment as the White House’s special adviser on AI and crypto, the conflict‑of‑interest waivers that let him keep his venture‑capital firm while shaping policy, and his push for a pro‑crypto regulatory framework (the GENIUS Act) while advocating minimal regulation of AI and aggressive export of U.S. AI chips—even to China. The author argues that Sacks’s self‑interest‑driven populism has fused venture‑capital wealth with government power, reshaping American tech policy in ways that privilege the industry’s richest players at the expense of broader democratic and regulatory safeguards. Read more: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/2026/06/david-sacks-crypto-ai-venture-capital/686941/?utm_source=feed #DavidSacks #DonaldTrump #CraftVentures #Nvidia #GENIUSAct #ChamathPalihapitiya #JDVance #ElonMusk #JensenHuang