This is fresh air. I'm Terry Gross. In the early days of internet startups, tech innovators in the

Silicon Valley were seen as young idealists who developed their creations in their garages,

bedrooms, or at the universities where there are students. But recently, many Silicon Valley

leaders have become identified with the right, with President Donald Trump, and MAGA.

These tech billionaires are now often referred to as oligarchs because of their money, power, and access to the White House.

How and why this alliance was formed is the subject of a new report in the Atlantic by my guest, George Packer.

He shows how lucrative this alliance has been for the venture capitalists and for Trump.

Packer writes that Trump's crypto wealth has grown by at least $7.5 billion since 2024.

His article is titled The Venture Capital Populist, How David Sacks and the New Tech

Wright went full MAGA and captured Washington. Sacks co-founded the Venture Capital Fund

Kraft Ventures. He served as President Trump's special advisor for artificial intelligence

and cryptocurrency. He's now co-chair of the President's Council of Advisors on intelligence and cryptocurrency.

He's now co-chair of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.

Sacks was an early investor in Facebook, Uber, SpaceX, Palantir Technologies, and Airbnb,

was PayPal's first head of products and served as C-O-O.

He's also one of the hosts of the tech podcast All In. George Packer is a staff writer at the Atlantic, focusing on American politics, culture,

and U.S. foreign policy. He previously was a staff writer at The New Yorker. He won a National

Book Award for The Unwinding and Inner History of the New America.

His latest book is the novel, The Emergency.

George Packer, welcome back to fresh air.

Good to be back with you, Terry.

I want to start with a clip. And this is a clip of Sachacks speaking at the White House in March of 2025. The occasion was

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