Tech Billionaires Are Fighting Over Who’s the Biggest Asshole in Silicon Valley

Who is the biggest asshole successful Silicon Valley? For evident reasons, this is simply a hard question to answer. The tech manufacture and the task superior concern that finances it are notably riddled with sociopaths and walking personality disorders. Lately, however, denizens of some of those communities person been pointing fingers astatine 1 another, trying to suss retired who is the biggest douchebag.

This unsocial discourse, which is weirdly existential for a radical of radical who walk astir of their clip reasoning astir wealth and software, evolved retired of a long-simmering idiosyncratic feud that was triggered, appropriately by a tweet. That tweet came from David Sacks, a rightwing tech billionaire and unabashed Trump supporter, who, connected Tuesday, posted criticism of the Democratic Party implicit its determination to tally Kamala Harris arsenic President alternatively of Joe Biden. “This wasn’t a voluntary abdication; it was a governmental hit, with Nancy Pelosi arsenic the button. That’s a coup successful my book,” Sacks said, sharing his governmental analysis.

What followed was a blast from Sacks’ past. Parker Conrad, who, years ago, worked with Sacks astatine a institution called Zenefits (and who mislaid a occupation astatine the institution that yet went to Sacks) quote-tweeted the “coup” station with a small commentary of his own.

“Let maine archer you, coups are this man’s specialty,” Conrad tweeted.

Let maine archer you, coups are this man’s specialty. https://t.co/qGSGorBa9B

— Parker Conrad (@parkerconrad) July 24, 2024

Outside of the tech industry, this is simply a spot of a heavy cut. The discourse is this: successful the mid-2010s, Conrad was the co-founder and CEO of Zenefits, an HR and payroll company. The institution deed a unsmooth spot successful 2016, involving licensing violations and compliance issues. Not agelong afterward, Conrad resigned from the company. Sacks, who was an capitalist successful Zenefits and worked arsenic its COO astatine the time, subsequently took Conrad’s job. According to Conrad, Sacks efficaciously helped tarnish his estimation connected the mode out, spinning the media communicative to propulsion a bulk of the blasted connected him. In consequent interviews, Conrad has said that “something similar 70 percent of the licensing violations were really on” the “team that reported straight to David and happened portion helium was moving it.”

On Thursday, Sacks responded to Conrad’s tweet with his ain fiery response: “You were sanctioned by the SEC. Nobody else, lone you. But you’ve spent the past decennary trying to displacement the blasted onto others for your ain mediocre ethics.” Sacks ended the station with a clown emoji.

On the taxable of “poor ethics,” however, determination look to beryllium much than a fewer radical successful Silicon Valley that presumption Sacks arsenic the paragon of them. Most notably, affluent tech entrepreneur Paul Graham swooped successful to castigate Sacks for his comments against Parker: “Do you truly privation the afloat communicative of what you did to Parker to beryllium told publicly? Because it’s the worst lawsuit of an capitalist maltreating a laminitis that I’ve ever heard, and I’ve heard practically each of them,” Graham tweeted.

In a now-deleted tweet, Graham went on: “I was talking precocious to different capitalist astir whether you’re astir evil idiosyncratic successful Silicon Valley. He thought astir it for a fewer seconds, and agreed that helium couldn’t deliberation of anyone worse.” Screenshots of this tweet have circulated wide connected X.

Others joined in. Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince, himself a billionaire and self-described “rich asshole,” chimed successful to assertion that Sacks stood retired successful a crowded tract of ethically dubious firm hacks: “I cognize this story. It’s precise bad,” Prince tweeted, referencing Zenefits. “Don’t cognize if David is astir evil idiosyncratic successful SV. Lots of competition. But tin say: we overlapped a twelvemonth successful instrumentality schoolhouse and adjacent mode backmost past helium had a estimation for being a implicit asshole. And that was astatine @UChicagoLaw, which is afloat of assholes.” 

George Fraser, the CEO of the information institution Fivetran, seemed to hold with Graham’s interpretation: “10 years agone David Sacks participated successful 1 of the ugliest founder-coups ever, replacing Parker Conrad arsenic CEO of Zenefits,” Fraser tweeted. “I was adjacent to the Zenefits squad astatine the time, truthful I’m not a neutral observer, but I tin picture however events were perceived astatine the time.”

Siri Srinivas, a spouse astatine salient task superior money Gradient Ventures, quote tweeted 1 of Graham’s earlier comments astir Sacks, adding: “This is turning into the Netflix roast of David Sacks.” She aboriginal quipped: “I truly really hatred bullying and pile-ons but erstwhile it’s well-deserved.”

Ilhar Mahaniok, a managing spouse astatine VC steadfast Geek Ventures, tweeted merely: “I’m gladsome that yet David Sacks is getting the attraction helium deserves.”

“Clearly immoderate of the vitriol is related to my politics,” Sacks later offered, seeming to connote that it was his emotion for Donald Trump, a erstwhile world TV prima who ran the state poorly for 4 years but who gave radical similar Sacks elephantine taxation cuts, that was compelling radical to diss him.

Others online discussed the inclination of task capitalists bickering with 1 different and emphasized the information that it made the full manufacture look bad. Eric Bahn, co-founder and wide spouse astatine Hustlefund, tweeted: “VC has a superior marque problem. All the bickering, digit pointing, sanction calling, advertisement hominem attacks wrong the manufacture are being noticed by founders. There are bully VC humans connected this broadside of the table, but this clowniness makes america each look bad.”

TechCrunch has pointed retired that this is truly lone the latest open, nationalist spat betwixt high-level tech executives, with C-Suite folks showing an expanding propensity for highly transparent blow-ups.

Gizmodo reached retired to Sacks for remark connected wherefore truthful galore radical look to hatred him and volition update this communicative if helium responds.