But the PayPal Mafia, Blank said, "is an example of when Silicon Valley decided it actually had superpowers past the Valley." Originally Published: June 8, 2025 at 4:00 AM PDT ...

But the PayPal Mafia, Blank said, “is an example of when Silicon Valley decided it actually had superpowers past the Valley.” Originally Published: June 8, 2025 at 4:00 AM PDT ...

The PayPal Mafia power trio have major financial interests in companies whose success rests in large part on government contracts and federal regulations. A White House memo said Sacks and Craft, ...

From left: Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, and David O. Sacks. All images from Wikipedia. With the ascension of Elon Musk, Peter Thiel acolyte JD Vance, Ken Howery, David O. Sacks, and other members of the so ...

We’ll link to his piece, “How the roots of the 'PayPal mafia' extend to apartheid South Africa.” And we’ll do Part 2 of this conversation and post it online at democracynow.org.

Thiel recruited Sacks to the start-up that became PayPal in 1999. A year later the company merged with Musk’s X.com. In 2002 eBay decided to buy it.

But not before being privy to a riotous celebration of how a clique of billionaires—the so-called PayPal Mafia—helped clinch Donald Trump’s election victory and is taking Washington by storm.

Sacks, a PayPal Mafia member and close associate of Elon Musk, will shape AI and cryptocurrency policy. This marks a significant shift for Sacks, who previously criticized Trump.

With a growing list of successful projects and startups led by former R3 employees, the impact of the“R3 Mafia” is set to rival that of their PayPal counterparts. As the blockchain industry ...

The PayPal co-founder donated over $1 million to Trump’s campaign back in 2016 and spent $10 million to help JD Vance win a Senate seat in Ohio in 2022.