A secret fundraiser revealed Pete Buttigieg is being backed by some of Silicon Valley's wealthiest families

Isobel Asher Hamilton

December 14, 2019 6:09 PM

Pete Buttigieg is having a fundraiser hosted for him by a group of extremely wealthy Silicon Valley families, according to a host list obtained by Recode.

pete buttigieg

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings is listed as a co-host, as are family members of Sergey Brin, Eric Schmidt, and Sheryl Sandberg.
Buttigieg has come under fire from rival Democratic candidate Elizabeth Warren for his ties to big tech.
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Pete Buttigieg is having a fundraiser thrown for him by a who's-who of wealthy Silicon Valley families.

Recode obtained a host list circulated to prospective donors for an exclusive event, slated for Monday morning in Palo Alto. The list is littered with the family members of prominent Silicon Valley execs, including:

Nicole Shanahan, wife of Google cofounder Sergey Brin.
Wendy Schmidt, wife of former Google CEO Eric Schmidt.
Michelle Sandberg, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg's sister.

Also hosting the event is Netflix cofounder and CEO Reed Hastings. A spokesperson for Buttigieg told Recode in a statement: "We are proud to have the support of more than 700,000 grassroots donors across the country who are helping power this campaign. The only thing people are promised at an event with Pete is that he will use that money to beat Donald Trump."

Recode pegged the estimated net worth of the Hastings, Schmidt, Sandberg, and Brin families at roughly $80 billion.

Reed Hastings Getty

Family members fundraising for Buttigieg do not paint a complete picture of how Silicon Valley heavyweights like Brin, Schmidt, and Sandberg support candidates. CNBC reported in April that a data science software and consulting backed by Eric Schmidt had been advising Joe Biden.

Buttigieg has been sharply criticised by fellow Democratic candidate Elizabeth Warren for his ties to big tech. "When a candidate brags about how beholden he feels to a group of wealthy investors, our democracy is in serious trouble," Warren said during a speech on Thursday . Warren herself has raised over $173,000 from tech company employees .

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