But Tan's passion, like that of a growing number of tech industry leaders, lies in San Francisco politics. He has a lot of opinions about the city, has an endless pile of cash to move fast and break things, and is a fan of tech executives and investments, as they often say in the tech industry. He is one of the leaders of the family. (Detractors would say it's more like trying to buy City Hall.)
For some in San Francisco's political establishment, Mr. Tan, 43, has become the most annoying figure in a parade of wealthy technology executives. He has spent about $400,000 on local politics over the past few years while developing a bombastic online persona, and more money could be on the way. And on social media site X, where he has 425,000 followers, Mr Tan has not only offended some people, he has also infuriated them.
Shortly after midnight on January 27, he posted on X (formerly Twitter) that the seven left-wing members of the city's Board of Supervisors (listed by name) should “die a slow death,” punctuated with expletives. did. It was a subtle reference to the famous song “Hit 'Em Up,” which rap legend Tupac Shakur released 28 years ago as an insult to his musical rivals. But to some, it sounded like a threat.
Mr Tan admitted he was drunk when asked by X's followers.
Hours after the post went up, Mr Tan deleted it and apologized. But many people had already seen it.
A few days later, some supervisors received anonymous letters at home with Mr. Tan's face and the words: I wish you and your loved ones a slow and painful death. ” Supervisor Aaron Peskin, who is considering running against San Francisco Mayor London Breed in the November election, is one of the few supervisors to have filed a police report based on Tan's posts. was.