The super-rich are usually content to pull the strings from behind the curtains as election day looms. But not this time. As the US presidential elections heats up, the ultra-wealthy are stepping out of the shadows and fiercely lobbying for the candidate they want to see in the White House.

Leading the way is Peter Thiel, founder of digital-wallet company PayPal and Facebook’s earliest investor (yes, the guy got super rich from it). Donald Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, once worked for Thiel and many believe this relationship put Vance on the ticket. Certainly, Vance hasn’t distinguished himself after emerging as the vice-presidential hopeful.

Then, there’s the other behemoth billionaire in the electoral fray: Elon Musk. Forbes recently pegged Musk’s fortune at a colossal $244 billion. Musk has a massive 197-million followers on X (formerly Twitter) where he regularly amplifies extremist nonsense and fires off his controversial takes. Just this week, he retweeted someone claiming, “A Harris victory in 2024 makes the US a One-Party state.” Musk has a thing for amplifying anti-immigrant rhetoric, too, and pushing the lie that the Biden-Harris team won’t deport immigrants because they’re potential voters.

Musk is undoubtedly a genius but he’s a chaotic leader, especially with X which is haemorrhaging money. Nevertheless, Trump has promised him a seat at the table, potentially heading a new Department of Governmental Efficiency that will, no doubt, consider its job done if it shuts down half the Federal Government. Trump has left himself a convenient out to save him from having to hire Musk by saying the billionaire might be too busy to take the job.

There’s one small hitch in the Musk-Trump bromance. Trump’s threatening to slap 100-per-cent tariffs on almost every product that comes out of China. And guess who makes a tonne of cash selling Shanghai-produced Teslas — a large number of which he’s also exporting to Canada? Yes, you’re right: Musk.

The open entry of the billionaires into the political arena is part of a larger phenomenon: The right-wing rich are declaring their political ambitions in an unprecedented fashion. In the past, older mega-donors like the multi-billionaire Koch brothers donated huge amounts but stayed more behind the scenes. Now powerful arch-conservative Leonard Leo, who runs a group called the Marble Freedom Trust, has vowed to “crush liberal dominance”. The billionaire told the Financial Times on Monday, “We need to crush liberal dominance where it is most insidious….in the areas of news and entertainment, where left-wing extremism is most evident.”

Then you have Silicon Valley’s muscular venture capitalists Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, who are both throwing their weight behind Trump. Andreessen was the founder of Netscape, one of the first tech companies to go public in the early 1990s. Then, there are the Winklevoss twins who are pouring millions into Trump’s coffers. The biggest splash has come from libertarian banking heir Timothy Mellon, who’s lavished $125 million on Trump’s campaign.

It’s no coincidence Andreessen, Horowitz and the Winklevoss brothers are hoping a Trump administration would relax the regulations surrounding cryptocurrency. Thiel, too, is eager to see looser regulations around cryptocurrency.

Silicon Valley nervous

The traditionally left-leaning Silicon Valley giants are also feeling the pinch from a slowing tech-sector and fear a Democratic government might put the squeeze on them with higher taxes. Vice President Kamala Harris made a major misstep by talking about capital gains taxes which alarmed the rich — even though she was talking about a tax on very high net worth individuals. Many billionaires are also riled by the Biden-Harris administration’s tougher climate rules, support for labour unions and strong enforcement of anti-trust laws. Nevertheless, Harris still has some high-profile backers amongst Silicon Valley’s stars, led by billionaire Vinod Khosla. Musk recently branded Khosla “deranged” for opposing Trump.

In the opposite camp, Aaron Levie, the CEO of Box, hit out at investor David Sacks, who’s also part of what’s called the ‘Paypal Mafia’, for supporting Trump, saying he “must be high on cough syrup”. Several Silicon Valley insiders say the Trump-Harris divide is wrecking long-standing friendships and might even damage business partnerships.

By the time this column appears, the Trump-Harris televised debate will have just wrapped up, and it could give us an indication of which way US voters are leaning. In recent days, Trump’s rambling has reached new heights — but this doesn’t seem to have deterred a significant chunk of American voters. Says one cynical analyst, disappointed that Harris hasn’t surged far ahead: “What can you say about a country where half the electorate is considering voting for Trump?”

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