Everything You Need to Know About David Sacks, Trump’s Expert on Crypto and AI
An overview of President-elect Donald Trump’s newly appointed artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency czar.
Recently, President-elect Donald Trump appointed venture capitalist David Sacks as the White House czar for artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency, marking a fresh role within the administration.
According to Trump’s announcement on Truth Social on December 5, Sacks will also chair the president’s Council of Advisors for Science and Technology.
This influential Silicon Valley investor will spearhead the AI and crypto policymaking efforts of the incoming administration. Trump noted that this initiative will involve creating a legal framework for the cryptocurrency industry, protecting digital free speech, and addressing issues related to “Big Tech bias and censorship.”
Many peers in the tech industry have expressed their excitement over Trump’s decision.
Meet David Sacks
Born in Cape Town, South Africa, David Sacks moved to the United States at the age of five. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in economics from Stanford University and obtained a Juris Doctor from the University of Chicago Law School.
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He is married to Jacqueline Tortorice and has two daughters and one son. The family resides in San Francisco.
Sacks co-authored a book with Peter Thiel in 1995 titled “The Diversity Myth: Multiculturalism and the Politics of Intolerance at Stanford,” which addressed political correctness in higher education and advocated for intellectual diversity on campus.
The ‘PayPal Mafia’
Sacks played a crucial role at tech giant PayPal. He transitioned from managing at McKinsey & Company in 1999 to join a team of entrepreneurs in the establishment of Confinity, which later created PayPal.
His contributions included leading numerous teams focused on sales and marketing, business development, fraud operations, and product design and management.
As a corporate alumni, Sacks is part of the well-known “PayPal Mafia”—a collective of founders and early staff, which includes notable figures such as Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Palantir Chairman Peter Thiel, and Affirm CEO Max Levchin.
Business Ventures and Investments
Since his time at PayPal, Sacks has launched or invested in multiple web properties. He founded the genealogy site Geni.com in 2006, which was later acquired by MyHeritage.
In 2008, Sacks developed the first enterprise social network, a platform for corporate internal communication and collaboration. This venture garnered more than $100 million in venture capital and was purchased by Microsoft in 2012 for $1.2 billion, aiding in its growth of cloud and social business models.
More recently, he co-founded Craft Ventures, which has quickly risen to manage $2 billion in assets, successfully investing in notable companies like Bird, Reddit, and SpaceX.
On a personal note, Sacks has made angel investments in numerous well-known brands such as Airbnb, Facebook, Palantir Technologies, Rumble, SpaceX, Uber, and Wish.
Bitcoin recently surged past the $100,000 mark for the first time.
Film Productions: ‘Thank You for Smoking’ and ‘Daliland’
Following PayPal’s sale to eBay for $1.5 billion in 2002, Sacks invested his share in producing and financing the 2005 film “Thank You for Smoking.”
The film achieved commercial success, premiering at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival and being acquired by Twentieth Century Fox. It garnered two Golden Globe nominations, including Best Motion Picture.
Almost a decade later, Sacks produced the 2023 film “Daliland,” a biography of the celebrated surrealist artist Salvador Dali. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2022 before being picked up by Magnolia Pictures for distribution the following year.
The ‘All-In’ Podcast
In March 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic’s onset, Sacks launched the weekly “All-In” podcast alongside fellow venture capitalists Jason Calacanis, David Friedberg, and Chamath Palihapitiya.
Chamath Palihapitiya, CEO of Social Capital, speaking onstage at an event in San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts on October 19, 2016. Mike Windle/Getty Images for Vanity Fair
The podcast has released 224 episodes so far, delving into varied topics including politics, business, economics, and social issues. Over its four-year run, it has welcomed an impressive lineup of guests, such as billionaire Mark Cuban, Trump, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Tucker Carlson, and Elon Musk.
Political Involvement
Historically, Sacks has contributed to both Democratic and Republican candidates, including donations to Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign and Hillary Clinton’s 2016 run.
In recent years, he has become more politically active, supporting fundraisers for candidates such as JD Vance and Blake Masters during their GOP Senate campaigns.
Sacks also delivered a speech at the 2024 Republican National Convention.
