Teddy Schleifer
I write about billionaires and their impact on the world for The New York Times. MSNBC contributor. Proud Puck, Recode alum.
Get my stories at this link:
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- NEWS: Sergey Brin is making a $20 MILLION donation in California politics, his most significant and visible political investment ever. The Google co-founder is going to play in the 2026 midterms. Comes just after he left California over its wealth tax. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/28/u...
- NEWS: Bernie Marcus, just before his death in 2024, made a $100 million donation to a new dark-money organization. The check went to a new 501(c)4 group called Forward America Inc. The Republican mega-donor will have influence long after his death.
- It's an interesting time to be Trump's pick as Ambassador to Denmark. My profile of Ken Howery, the Elon friend that Trump asked to go get Greenland. www.nytimes.com/2025/01/16/u...
- Reposted by Teddy SchleiferMore than $500 million of secret money donations to the leading nonprofit that helped Harris/Biden in 2024 came from just 10 donations. One contribution was $97.5 million. Donor unknown. @teddyschleifer.bsky.social has the tax filings —> www.nytimes.com/2025/12/17/u...
- Reposted by Teddy Schleifer"It is largely going towards Musk's own projects." @teddyschleifer.bsky.social and @stephruhle.bsky.social talk about how Elon Musk's charitable foundation uses its money on the #Nightcap.
- SCOOP — A new super PAC is afoot, funded by some people in the AI industry, to challenge the first super PAC from Andreessen Horowitz and OpenAI executives. $50 million is being raised, likely from Anthropic execs and AI safety advocates, to fight back. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/u...
- ok, send me your Tokyo / Kyoto / Osaka / Hiroshima restaurant recs
- NEW: Here come the big Democratic and Republican donors in the California redistricting fight. Lots of inside-the-room details on the $200 million campaign from billionaires. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/03/u...
- Reposted by Teddy SchleiferSCOOP from @teddyschleifer.bsky.social: The Gates Foundation has decided to stop funding Arabella Advisors-managed nonprofits that are a major hub of Democratic dark money -- & an increasing subject of scrutiny from Trump allies.
- Best place to stay for October hiking in Japan? Matsumoto Hakuba Nagano Takayama Kamikochi Advice please!
- For all the Elon Musk coverage, it's kinda shocking how little scrutiny there is of the world's *second* richest person. Larry Ellison is spending hundreds of millions of dollars on for-profit companies that he is calling his new charitable project. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/12/b...
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- NEWS: Elon Musk 🤝 Curtis Yarvin The billionaire and right-wing thinker spoke late last week about Musk's third-party push, per sources briefed. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/09/u...
- NEW exclusive from NYT: Liberal Fund-Raising Drive Seeks $250 Million to Aid Pushback Against Trump A group of progressive funders are quietly preparing a big-money effort to protest Trump's attacks on democratic values. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/08/u...
- NEW: Some people who are friends with Mr. Musk’s Republican advisers privately worry about those advisers’ career prospects should they attach themselves to an anti-Trump effort. The White House is watching. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/07/u...
- Reposted by Teddy SchleiferMark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan once pledged to fix American education, transform U.S. public policy and “cure all disease.” But now their aims have downsized, jarring some allies of their philanthropy.
- JD Vance's upcoming fundraising schedule — July 7: San Diego July 22: Nantucket July 29: Jackson Hole www.nytimes.com/2025/07/01/u...
- In 2015, Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan wrote a beautiful letter to their new daughter, Max. It was the foundational document for the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. One problem: Five paragraphs of their letter disappeared until we told them last week. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/28/t...
- Doing a big 🇯🇵 Japan 🇯🇵 trip later this year. Everything is on the table. Please send recs!
- Here's a fun thing that a top donor to Andrew Cuomo's super PAC just told me.
- This morning, we have the world's most important scoop in The New York Times. The guest list for the Huma Abedin / Alex Soros wedding www.nytimes.com/2025/06/14/u...
- NEWS: Elon Musk and Donald Trump very privately spoke on Monday night. Musk called Trump, and that led to Musk's post overnight that he had "regrets." Scoop from us www.nytimes.com/2025/06/11/u...
- Can Anyone Replace Elon Musk? www.nytimes.com/2025/06/10/u...
- Reposted by Teddy SchleiferScoop: Even after Musk's public feud with Trump, his allies are poised to take over DOGE. Joe Gebbia, co-founder of Airbnb and board member of Tesla, and Anthony Armstrong, a former Morgan Stanley banker who worked on the Twitter deal, are in talks to lead the initiative nytimes.com/2025/06/10/u...
- NEWS: Who is taking over for Elon Musk? The billionaire Joe Gebbia? The banker Anthony Armstrong? Gebbia and Armstrong are likely on a small council of DOGE officials who oversee Musk's signature project, per sources. With @kateconger.com + Nick Nehamas. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/10/u...
- Reposted by Teddy SchleiferThe Trump-Musk alliance dissolves into open acrimony as the two hurl personal attacks after the billionaire went after the tax and spending bill Trump: "I’m very disappointed in Elon." Musk: "Such ingratitude." @tylerpager.bsky.social @teddyschleifer.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/live/2025/06...
- NEW: Elon Musk was humiliated by Jared Isaacman's ouster — and the rest is history. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/06/u...
- How did Elon Musk spend his first day after leaving the White House? Going to a closed-doors conference with Sam Altman and spending hours with Peter Thiel. @rmac.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2025/06/06/u...
- Reposted by Teddy SchleiferAfter leaving the White House last Friday, Elon Musk headed to Montana where he attended a private event with Peter Thiel's Founder Fund. Sam Altman was also in attendance. From there, Musk stewed over what he saw as the undoing of his influence in DC. Our latest: www.nytimes.com/2025/06/06/u...
- Reposted by Teddy SchleiferMusk says he's done with Washington. But it's more complicated — his lieutenants are running DOGE still, his X feed can upend the Republican agenda, and Trump world is still waiting on promised donations www.nytimes.com/2025/05/28/u...
- New: A Disillusioned Musk, Distanced From Trump, Says He’s Exiting Washington With the NYT team @rmac.bsky.social @tylerpager.bsky.social and more www.nytimes.com/2025/05/28/u...
- NEW — Elon Musk still hasn't donated the $100 million he promised to fund Donald Trump's political work, per multiple sources.
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- New — Some tech billionaires and spouses have just signed The Giving Pledge, the commitment to give away at least half of one's assets to charity. Block founder Jim McKelvey. Venture capitalist Jay Hoag. Dropbox CEO Drew Houston. Here are some of their letters.
- Pelosi and Jeffries are doing a DCCC fundraiser at the home of Sandi and John Thompson next month, per invite.
- NEWS — The Federal Trade Commisssion is investigating Media Matters, which is being targeted by Elon Musk. FTC sent a letter to Media Matters on Wednesday and spoke of possible illegal collusion among advertisers vs. X. With @kenvogel.bsky.social + @kateconger.com www.nytimes.com/2025/05/22/t...
- NEWS: Cuts at Laurene Powell Jobs’s philanthropy. Emerson Collective has laid off 10% of its staff, per sources, in a strategic repositioning. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/21/t...
- New F.E.C. filings tonight show the big financial difference right now between the Republican and Democratic National Committees. The DNC has $18 million on hand. The RNC has $67 million on hand.
- "The Wisconsin race may have been a turning point: Mr. Musk appears aware that his public presence in the race backfired, according to a person who has spoken with him." www.nytimes.com/2025/05/20/u...
- Elon is not tweeting as much about Trump — or tweeting as much, period. In March, he averaged 103 posts a day, but in April, he dropped to just 52 a day. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/20/u...
- NEWS: Democratic mega-donors are debating plans to spend tens of millions of dollars on a range of influencer plans to "find the liberal Rogan." We've got pitch decks, investor meetings, and internal docs. One Democrat has a spreadsheet of 26 different proposals. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/20/u...
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- NEW: Kamala Harris is headlining another big-money fundraiser. Harris is set to speak at a D.N.C finance event on June 3 in San Francisco, sources tell me + @shanegoldmacher.bsky.social. Comes as Harris is talking to people about a running for Governor of California.
- This take is good but really late. It is not "ending" — it has ended. The Silicon Valley backlash to traditional billionaire philanthropy has been going on for over a decade. Probably began with Sean Parker's "Philanthropy for Hackers" op-ed in ... 2015. www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...
- New arrivals of Trump allies at the Congressional and Senate Leadership Funds: CLF has added Andy Surabian, Richard Walters and Matt Brooks to its board, and Chris LaCivita as a senior advisor. SLF has added Johnny DeStefano, a former Trump aide, and replacing its entire board.
- Details here: www.nytimes.com/2025/05/10/u...
- Eric Trump is headlining a fundraiser tomorrow in the Chicago area, per invite obtained by NYT. Tickets go from $5,000 to $250,000. Not totally clear who the event is for, but the flyer is paid for by the McHenry County GOPAC.
- New: Pierre Omidyar disclosed that he and his family gave $16.4 million in dark-money contributions in 2024. Omidyar, one of the richest people in the world, each year discloses his 501c4 contributions. He gave quadruple as much in the last presidential election year, 2020.
- Here's Pierre Omidyar's giving in 2020 — $62.1 million, including $45 million to the Civic Action Fund.
- Reposted by Teddy SchleiferAs Elon Musk laid waste to the federal government, the Department of Transportation quietly met with and consulted his tunneling firm, the Boring Company, a $6 billion Amtrak tunnel project connecting Baltimore, DC and Virginia. Our latest: www.nytimes.com/2025/05/12/t...
- News: Donald Trump's super PAC and nonprofit have raised $400 million since Election Day. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/10/u...
- Live from the Ritz-Carlton at Half Moon Bay. After Criticism, Harris’s $900 Million Group Tries to Lay Out a Future www.nytimes.com/2025/05/09/u...
- Good news, people of the Internet. If you like what I write about — rich people, political shenanigans, Silicon Valley, philanthropy — you can now sign up to receive my articles right in your inbox. www.nytimes.com/newsletters/...
- Reposted by Teddy Schleifer“Mr. Gates hoped to find an ally in Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a vocal champion of efforts to fight malaria and child poverty in the past. But Mr. Rubio, who oversees foreign assistance, has declined to meet or speak with Mr. Gates since the election.” www.nytimes.com/2025/04/30/b...
- NEW: Bill Gates versus Donald Trump. Gates wants to speak up and defend foreign aid. But Gates officials are also rattled about Trump going after the philanthropy’s tax-exempt status. What’s a billionaire to do? www.nytimes.com/2025/04/30/b...
- News: Elon Musk's top adviser has quietly incorporated three new companies. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/25/u...
- Scoop: Team Elon Musk has a new company … or three. Musk’s top adviser quietly incorporated a trio of companies called Red Planet Ventures in February, per docs reviewed by The New York Times. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/25/u...
- The Zuckerbergs Founded Two Bay Area Schools. Now They’re Closing. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/24/u...
- NEW — Here's the language of the White House investigation into ActBlue. Just released.
- “Mr. Musk has told friends that he has been frustrated by the encounters he has had with Mr. Trump’s trade advisers. The billionaire has tried to work behind the scenes to persuade Mr. Trump to abandon his draconian protectionist posture, according to two people." www.nytimes.com/2025/04/23/u...
- ELON MUSK on today’s Tesla earnings call: — Says “my time allocation on DOGE will drop significantly” beginning in May and that his work is “mostly done” — Says he’ll remain involved for a day or two week for the rest of the term — Says that he has advocated for lower tariffs directly to Trump
