COMPLETE STATIC READING EDITION

Making J.D. Vance and Blake Masters

Two former employees, $32 million, and a road to the vice presidency

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The Vance path

From a Yale lecture to the ticket.

Vance wrote in 2020 that Thiel’s 2011 talk was “the most significant moment of my time at Yale Law School.” He joined Thiel’s Mithril Capital in 2015, then co-founded Narya Capital with Thiel’s backing; Narya led a 2021 investment in Rumble that included Thiel. [1][2][3]

Fortune reported that Thiel introduced Vance to Trump at Mar-a-Lago in 2021. [4][5]

What we can’t tell you. How much their politics differ now is a matter of later reporting.

The sources

  1. The Guardian: How Vance’s path to the VP pick wound through Silicon Valley, 19 July 2024 ↗

    Covers the 2011 Yale talk, Mithril, Narya and Rumble.

  2. TechCrunch: Vance has long ties to Silicon Valley, 15 July 2024 ↗

    His venture-capital career.

  3. Rumble: Narya and Peter Thiel lead investment in Rumble, 19 May 2021 ↗

    The company’s own announcement.

  4. Fortune: How Thiel’s network is moving into Trump’s White House, 7 December 2024 ↗

    Names Sacks, O’Neill, Kratsios, Howery and Vance, and says Thiel introduced Vance to Trump at Mar-a-Lago in 2021.

  5. TIME: “The Reinvention of J.D. Vance”, 2024 ↗

    Profile covering his relationship with Thiel.

The 2022 money

FEC numbers.

CNBC tallied $32 million from Thiel in the 2022 midterms. He gave $15 million to a pro-Vance super PAC, which helped Vance win the primary, and $15 million plus $2.5 million to a pro-Masters PAC. He did not fund Vance in the general election. [1][2]

OpenSecrets called the Arizona Republican Senate primary record-setting for outside spending. Masters lost to Mark Kelly. [3]

What we can’t tell you. Dark-money spending, if any, is not in these totals.

The sources

  1. CNBC: Thiel’s picks Masters and Vance see mixed results, 12 November 2022 ↗

    Reports $15 million to the pro-Vance PAC, $15 million plus $2.5 million to the pro-Masters PAC, and about $32 million in the 2022 cycle.

  2. Federal Election Commission: Protect Ohio Values PAC, 2022 cycle ↗

    Primary filing data for the pro-Vance super PAC.

  3. OpenSecrets: Thiel-backed Masters to face Kelly, 3 August 2022 ↗

    Nonpartisan money-in-politics tracker on the primary spending.

WHAT PEOPLE SAY ABOUT THIS FILE

The claims, rated.

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