Overview: A newcomer to Silicon Valley’s political giving scene, Reid Hoffman has quickly established himself as an influential donor for the Democrats. He’s given to state party funds around the country and millions to national campaign PACs. In 2020, most of Hoffman’s energy was spent trying to prevent Trump from winning re-election.
Location: Mountain View, CA
Total Donated (2016-2020): $14,847,820
Top Recipients: House Majority PAC, Senate Majority PAC, DCCC
Key Issues: Unseating Trump
Largest Donation to Date: $3,053,000 to the House Majority PAC
Profile: Although he only launched into politics recently, Reid Hoffman has become one of Silicon Valley’s biggest players. Originally a member of the media-christened “PayPal Mafia,” Hoffman would go on to co-found LinkedIn in 2003. Selling the company to Microsoft in 2016, along with funding a handful of other tech companies and becoming a partner at a venture capital firm, Hoffman now has a net worth of around $2 billion. He’s also the author of multiple books and writes essays and articles for a variety of publications. Additionally, Hoffman serves on the board of New America, a think tank aimed at nurturing tech workers.
Save for a million-dollar donation to an Obama campaign PAC in 2012, Hoffman didn’t really enter political giving until after 2016. He quickly established himself as a leading Democratic donor, giving $2 million to the Senate Majority PAC and more than $3 million to the House Majority PAC ahead of the midterms. He’s already made similarly sized gifts to those PACs this cycle, along with $1.5 million to Biden’s Unite the Country PAC. He’s also given to Democratic Party funds in many states, including $1.5 million to North Carolina and $850,000 to Wisconsin. His donor record is almost exclusively filled with Democrats, except for a $400,000 gift to launch Republican Women for Progress, which supported two Democrats for state legislature positions in Michigan—it fell under the larger goal of unseating Trump-supporting conservatives. Hoffman has focused most of his political energy on getting Trump out of office, and he generally supports empowering marginalized people as part of a “return to an inclusive American dream.”
Ideological Vibe: Liberal. In Hoffman’s limited time in Democratic Party donating, he’s shown strong support for the party establishment and its agenda. Early in the 2020 Democratic Primary, he showed his preference for centrist liberals with donations to candidates like Biden, Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, Corey Booker and Michael Bennett—skipping vocally progressive candidates like Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.
Hits and Misses: Hoffman is relatively new to the political giving world, so his record is limited. His large gift to the House Majority PAC helped Democrats in 2018, and he no doubt hoped his other PAC donations would prove just as fruitful in 2020.
Looking Forward: Hoffman’s political goals are mostly anti-Trump, and he’s even been criticized by party leaders for lacking a more holistic political strategy beyond 2020. Despite the backlash, expect Hoffman to continue investing in liberal candidates and causes with a venture capitalist’s angle.
Relationships: LinkedIn—Co-Founder; Greylock Partners—Board Member; New America—Board Member
Contact Information: N/A