In late January, Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan began tweeting death threats aimed at local politicians.
In the early morning hours of January 27, Tan tweeted, naming the members of the city's supervisory board: “As label and mother staff: Chan Peskin Preston Walton Melgar Ronen Safai Chan.”
“If you're down as the Peskin Preston, Walton Melgar, Ronen Safai Chan crew, so are you,” he wrote in a since-deleted post. “Late mothers die.”
Tan also posted a photo of what he said was his personal liquor cabinet. To a user who suggested that Tan might have been “beaten up” while she was writing this post, Tan responded, “You're right,” and “Mom, you're our enemy.”
Mr Tan apologized the next day while deleting the post, saying: “There is no place, no excuse, no reason for this language and this type of speech.” Sam Singer, Mr Tan's spokesman, said: luck“Garry Tan made the terrible, terrible mistake of quoting a rap lyric and referring to a member of the Board of Supervisors. He retracted the tweet and apologized to the regulator for his lack of judgment.” ”
The post was a reference to a Tupac Shakur track. Hit'em Up. One of hip-hop's most famous “diss tracks,” the song was his five-plus minute expletive-filled rant that fueled the East Coast-West Coast rap conflict of the 1990s. mission localwhich contributed to Shakur's shooting death in Las Vegas just three months after the song's release.
Tan is a loud and aggressive commentator on San Francisco State, frequently opines on X, and has recently pushed for more tech entrepreneurs to participate in politics.
But it's clear that even though Tan regrets paying homage to Tupac, he still feels strongly about urban crime in his city. “San Francisco, in a way, gouged out his own eyes,” Tan said. wall street journal Earlier this month, he was hosting a gathering of political donors at his mansion. And Tan is not alone.
Rebellion of high-tech billionaires
In fact, wealthy tech executives dragging California politicians over the coals is nothing new. Michael Moritz, founder of Sequoia Capital, mocked the city's drug problem and housing costs, writing: financial times A recent editorial describes “open-air drug markets and homeless encampments.” Tech investor Nat Friedman said he moved out of town last year after “two meth addicts” broke into his home.
Mr. Moritz and Mr. Friedman poured money into efforts to establish a new city in nearby Solano County. Mr Tan, on the other hand, is part of a group of wealthy residents who are spending heavily to steer the city's politics in a moderate direction.
“For the past several decades, San Francisco politics within the Democratic Party has been dominated by progressive left-wing activists,” said Tan's spokesman, Singer. luck. “Their policies have led to increases in violent crime, robberies, and auto thefts, posing a serious threat to public safety.”
Tan donated tens of thousands of dollars to recall San Francisco's progressive District Attorney Chesa Boudin and several members of the school board in 2022, according to . mission local. Tan said the rally at his condominium was “part of the evolution of a new San Francisco that is turning the page on the failed leftist politics of the past.” san francisco standard. He also serves on the board of an organization called Grow SF, which focuses on fighting drug crime, cleaning streets and building housing, according to the site.
But many local residents object to this blatant show of power by the influential CEO, who is estimated to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Five supervisors whom Mr. Tan criticized for his pro-rap tweets told local media that they received threatening letters at their homes saying, “Garry Tan is right!” I wish you and your loved ones a slow and painful death. ” After receiving the letters, several of them filed police reports.
Tan has taken particular aim at Supervisor Dean Preston, donating $50,000 to a political action committee called “Dump Dean.” Mr. Preston, the only Democratic Socialist on the Board of Supervisors, has drawn criticism from the right and praise from the left for supporting proposals to increase taxes on luxury real estate and tax vacant properties in the city.
Preston said. luck He said he has received threats before, but “demanding my death is a new level of toxicity from a tech executive that is aggressive and dangerous.”
“Mr. Tan embraces Mr. Trump's ideas and encourages political violence against those whom Mr. Trump demonizes.” “Anyone who cares about decency and decency should have nothing to do with him. Candidates should return his political contributions and the media should stop normalizing his toxicity. .”
Mr. Preston previously journal The tech billionaire's political fundraising was a “cynical effort to control the city” and “buy political power and rewrite the rules for his own economic benefit,” he said. did.
Meanwhile, Singer said that while the tech industry supports the effort, it is “driven by neighborhood and community leaders.”
