Trump's Silicon Valley Whisperer Had A Meteoric Rise In GOP Circles
Jacob Helberg has never built a successful tech company, or led a major fund. But after rallying support for the TikTok ban bill, the former Democratic fundraiser has become one of Silicon Valley’s conduits to former president Donald Trump. Where did he come from?
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00Today on Forbes, the curious rise of Silicon Valley's Trump whisperer, a former Biden donor pushing a free-for-all AI policy.
00:10The Hill and Valley Forum was something of a victory lap for its organizer, Jacob Helberg, the 34-year-old tech executive who rallied bipartisan support for the so-called TikTok bill that passed Congress in April.
00:23It was a crowning moment heralded with accolades from former President Donald Trump.
00:28In front of a room of leaders from Silicon Valley and D.C., in a pre-recorded video at the conference in May, Trump said,
00:36"...Jacob, I want to thank you. Our meeting was very productive on AI and all of the ramifications, both good and bad."
00:44For a former Democrat who donated to Biden's last presidential campaign and gave $1.5 million to Democrats in the 2020 election, according to FEC records,
00:54Trump's endorsement capped an uncanny rise in Republican circles where Helberg touts himself as Silicon Valley's China hawk.
01:01Now, he's among a coterie of wealthy tech elites lining up to shape tech policy by helping Trump retake the White House in the November presidential election.
01:11As an advisor to defense contractor Palantir and a friend to its co-founder Peter Thiel, who was an outspoken supporter of Trump in the 2016 election,
01:20Helberg has a lot to say, particularly on AI.
01:25And Trump, it appears, is listening.
01:28Helberg has donated more than $1 million to political groups supporting the former president, according to FEC filings and the investor, and he has committed another $1 million.
01:38He told Forbes he talks to Trump's campaign, quote, every other day, but declined with a smile to say whether he's discussed a potential administration role.
01:47He said, quote, I'm completely focused on what I'm doing right now.
01:52Helberg's advocacy for a Trump plan to strip away a Biden executive order that would impose bias and national security guardrails around AI development has put him at odds with some prominent Silicon Valley leaders who previously supported his efforts on TikTok.
02:07Broadly, Helberg believes that existing laws already govern AI appropriately and that, quote, a morass of red tape would harm U.S. competition with China.
02:17The reasons for Helberg's meteoric rise in GOP circles are as fuzzy as his own credentials.
02:23Forbes has uncovered various inconsistencies and odd claims in Helberg's story and background.
02:28And despite appearing at high profile policy events and garnering praise from Trump himself, it's hard to tell what he actually does from day to day.
02:36He is vague when explaining his nine to five role at Palantir, for instance, saying that he helps, quote, think through the ways in which technology software and AI is going to be a platform in this new great power rivalry landscape.
02:49He describes his interactions with the Trump campaign as, quote, an extracurricular.
02:55Unlike other Silicon Valley heavyweights who've parlayed their business careers into governmental influence, like former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, Helberg has built his reputation in other ways.
03:06Key among them using his hawkish anti-China treaties, the wires of war, to help him leapfrog from a mid-level role on Google's news policy team into think tank jobs and a spot on the powerful U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, which he used to rally support in Congress for the ticktock bill.
03:25His personal connections played no small role, too.
03:28He married tech investor and major Republican donor Heath Reboy in 2018 at a ceremony officiated by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
03:37They now share two children.
03:39In Helberg's book, he wrote, quote, Heath had his fingerprints on some of the most prominent companies in the valley, and growing closer to him meant becoming more firmly embedded in that culture.
03:50I came to know some of tech's most original thinkers.
03:54Kevin Hartz, the founder of Eventbrite, who went to college with Reboy and attended Helberg's wedding, said, quote, a lot of people have taken notice of Helberg over time.
04:03He's got great relationships with people around him that are backing him.
04:08Asked about Helberg's political shift and rise in GOP circles, Reboy, who has donated around $3 million to Republicans this election cycle, according to FEC records, told Forbes in an email, quote, I am always happy when people leave the Democratic Party.
04:25To some people close to Helberg, his conversion to Trump Republican is little more than advantageous positioning.
04:31One Silicon Valley bigwig who travels in Helberg's circles said that until recently, quote, he didn't have a view on AI or had ever expressed this super close relationship to Trump.
04:41Now is the time to get noticed by Trump because he's paying attention to anything that helps him get elected.
04:47For full coverage, check out David Jeans' piece on Forbes.com.
04:53This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes.
04:55Thanks for tuning in.