The party was held at venture capitalist Peter Thiel's Beaux-Arts mansion. The host of the popular technology podcast “All-In” has organized a romp at his brand new members' club. A viewing ceremony hosted by an influential network of wealthy donors who influenced Silicon Valley.
Some of the most popular parties for President-elect Donald J. Trump's inauguration weekend will be hosted by Silicon Valley donors who seized power shortly after the start of his second administration. The tech industry, which has supported Trump over the past year or so, will revel in its influence with a multi-day extravaganza featuring tech providers.
Inauguration ceremonies attract deep-pocketed corporations and donors seeking access to the incoming administration that will oversee their industries and interests. Trump's official inaugural committee has broken fundraising records.
Companies have poured in more than $1 million, including Fortune 500 heavyweights like Ford and General Motors. Technology giants like Amazon and Google. Cryptocurrency startups like Ripple and Robinhood. There are also traditional Republican big donors, including coal billionaires Joseph W. Craft III and Kelly Knight Craft, who gave $1 million, according to people familiar with their donations. . In return, donors received tickets to exclusive official events, including an intimate dinner with Trump and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance and VIP access to Monday's swearing-in ceremony.
But much of the action takes place on the sidelines of the official program. Dozens of large-scale events are planned across Washington at the city's most exclusive hotels and restaurants, on rooftops and ballrooms, on land and on yachts, most of whom will be in the nation's capital for the new term. This is an event for corporations and wealthy executives. They want to unshackle American business.
Parties are being planned at a downtown steakhouse and a Georgetown sushi restaurant for clients and associates of lobbying firms with ties to the incoming Trump administration. They include Chartwell Strategy Group, whose partners represent clients such as Hyundai, which raised $3 million for the launch and contributed $1 million through its U.S. subsidiary. Ballard Partners is the firm of Brian Ballard, President Trump's top fundraiser, and represents companies including Amazon and Ripple that have contributed millions of dollars to the founding committee.
Some of the longtime Republican establishment donor network is gearing up for the usual festivities. The American Action Network, one of the main outside groups behind House Republicans, is hosting a big event Sunday for members of Congress and their donors at the Library of Congress. The American Opportunity Alliance, which brings together Republican billionaires such as Paul Singer and Warren Stevens, holds about six events for its members, including a hospitality suite at the Capitol Hill Club, a club reserved exclusively for Republicans. is scheduled to be hosted. Some members of the American Opportunity Alliance also plan to attend another Friday reception featuring Donald Trump Jr. hosted by lobbyist Jeff Miller.
But some of the president-elect's newest supporters, those from Silicon Valley, are hosting the year's most innovative inaugural event.
Few events capture the attention of politically ambitious business owners as much as cryptoballs. Cryptoball is a sold-out event held by the crypto industry on Friday night to celebrate the “first president of cryptocurrency,” as the invitation states. Snoop Dogg is scheduled to perform at the party, which will also celebrate venture capitalist and podcaster David Sachs, whom Trump has named czar of artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency issues.
MAGA Inc., a pro-Trump super PAC, is hosting a “VIP reception” at the Crypto Ball, with an admission fee of $100,000 per person. MAGA Inc. has attracted significant funding from these technology companies and crypto executives. On Wednesday night, Mr. Vance was the host of the group's $250,000-a-person dinner at French restaurant Le Bilboquet in Palm Beach, Florida. For those who are familiar with the incident. The 20 or so attendees included Sachs, the crypto billionaire of “The Social Network” fame, Cameron Winklevoss, Tyler Winklevoss, and 1789 Capital investor Omeed Malik. It was
Other new technology backers include Thiel. The billionaire, who did not support Trump in the 2024 election beyond donating to pro-Trump legal groups, hosted a black-tie party with close friend Sacks at his Washington home on Saturday night. I plan to. and their spouse.
On Sunday afternoon, Mr. Sachs will host a private party with the co-hosts of his show “All In,” which has a cult following in Silicon Valley and on the industry right, and Mr. Trump will also appear on the show. Last summer. Organizers Sachs, Chamath Palihapitiya, David Friedberg and Jason Calacanis, all investors, will hold the day's event at Neds Club, a Washington social club modeled after New York's Soho House that opens this month. An event is planned for the afternoon.
During Mr. Trump's second inaugural address and subsequent parade, scheduled for a frosty Monday afternoon, the Neds Club will be the site of a deliberate attempt by donors affiliated with the Rockbridge Network, a recent rival of sorts. It will be the venue for an indoor viewing party. It joins the American Opportunity Alliance as a nexus of major funders that has fostered close relationships with the incoming administration.
Other tech companies hosting events include Spotify, which hosted a brunch featuring Joe Rogan, Megyn Kelly and Ben Shapiro, and Spotify, one of Trump's most vocal backers and a member of Trump's number They include Uber and X, led by One donor Elon Musk. Expected socialites from Silicon Valley include meta chief Mark Zuckerberg, who will host the post-ceremony event alongside mega-donor Miriam Adelson, and of course Musk and his California native. Includes several friends. Texas and Florida.
Some events have already begun. Tuesday night's party, held at Morton's Steakhouse near the White House, was held by conservative radio giant Salem Media and lobbying firm Strike, which represents foreign clients including the governments of El Salvador, Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Organized by Global Diplomacy.
The party, billed as a tribute to staffers who worked for Mr. Trump, featured an open bar, free cigars, and no admission fee. The event featured prominent figures in the Trump world, including military contractor Eric D. Prince and Chad Wolf, who served as acting secretary of homeland security in the first Trump administration, as well as dozens of young Trump aides. gathered. Such aides could be useful contacts for lobbyists and others seeking access to the new administration.
By the time lobbying firm leader Robert Strike took the microphone to welcome guests, a line of mostly young people had formed in the lobby to check in.
“We did this party because the staff won't get anything,” Strike told the crowd. He added, “These rich people are getting everything, so it's great that you guys are getting something.”
eric lipton contributed reporting from Washington; David Yaffe Bellany Originally from San Francisco.
