Thursday, October 24, 2024

How Laurene Powell Jobs, Steve Jobs’ widow, has played a role in the rise of Kamala Harris (Connecting the Dots: Laurene Powell Jobs, Steve Jobs, Apple, The FEC & Soros Funding, All Networking)

How Laurene Powell Jobs, Steve Jobs’ widow, has played a role in the rise of Kamala Harris (Connecting the Dots: Laurene Powell Jobs, Steve Jobs, Apple, The FEC & Soros Funding, All Networking)

Firstpost

FP Explainers • September 27, 2024, 09:00:18 IST

https://www.firstpost.com/explainers/laurene-powell-jobs-steve-jobs-widow-kamala-harris-rise-us-presidential-election-13819444.html

US billionaire Laurene Powell Jobs has reportedly been a key player behind Kamala Harris’ ascent. The duo’s friendship goes way back. The philanthropist worked behind the curtain to nudge Joe Biden out of the presidential race after his disastrous debate with Donald Trump

Laurene Powell Jobs has helped to boost Kamala Harris' presidential campaign. File Photo/Reuters

United States Vice President Kamala Harris is eyeing to become the country’s first female president. A high-profile friendship is helping her to realise that goal.

Philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs has reportedly played a key role in propping up Harris as Democratic presidential nominee after US President Joe Biden’s disaster debate with Donald Trump. The duo have been friends for years.

Here’s a look at how Powell Jobs has a hand behind Harris’ rise.

Who is Laurene Powell Jobs?

Laurene Powell Jobs, 60, is the founder of Emerson Collective, a philanthropy and investment firm. Her collective is the majority owner of The Atlantic magazine.

Powell Jobs did her MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business. It was here in 1989 that she met Steve Jobs, the co-founder and former CEO of Apple.

The duo married in 1991 and had three children – Reed, Erin, and Eve.

She inherited Steve Jobs’ stake in Apple and Disney upon his death. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Powell Jobs’ current net worth is $11.5 billion, making her the wealthiest woman in Silicon Valley.

Harris and Powell’s friendship

Powell Jobs’ friendship with Harris is not new. As per a New York Times (NYT) report, the philanthropist has emerged as Harris’ “essential” confidante over the past two decades.

Not only has she provided funds and counsel to Harris but also helped boost the Democratic nominee’s public profile.

Powell Jobs has been funding Democratic politics for years. She and her collective have donated more than $3.4 million to Democratic nominees and other funds since 2020, Fortune reported citing the Federal Election Commission filings.

As per the NYT report, Harris’ bonhomie with Powell Jobs developed over shared political philosophy, a fascination for art and culture, and their “mutual trials” as women in public life.

In 2003, Powell Jobs donated $500 to Harris’ first run for San Francisco’s district attorney. Next year, they attended the March for Women’s Lives in Washington, DC, with other female leaders from the Bay Area.

Laurene Powell Jobs, founder and chair of Emerson Collective, speaks at the Clinton Global Initiative at the Hilton Midtown Manhattan in New York City, US, September 24, 2024. Reuters

When Biden swore in Harris as a Senator in January 2017, Powell Jobs was among the 59-year-old’s “extended family” to get a picture with the then-US Vice President.

As per the NYT report, Powell Jobs has organised several fundraisers for Harris, including many at her house. Last year, she made three donations to Harris’ campaign worth nearly $1 million.

“Laurene has a gift for friendship, especially old friends — she is tribally loyal. Kamala Harris falls within that ring of friends,” David Bradley, who sold The Atlantic magazine to Powell Jobs’ Emerson Collective, told the American newspaper.

In 2017, when asked in an interview about running for the 2020 US presidency herself, Powell Jobs turned the spotlight on Harris.

Pointing to her friend who was sitting in the crowd at a tech conference, the billionaire said: “I vote for her”.

Is Laurene Powell behind Harris’ ascent?

Powell Jobs, who has connections to Silicon Valley, has placed her bets on her close friend, Harris. She has “quietly” given millions of dollars to an organisation backing Harris’ presidential bid, three people in the know of the matter told NYT.

In fact, the billionaire worked behind the curtain to push Biden out of the presidential race after his disastrous June debate. As per NYT, Powell Jobs expressed her concerns to major Democratic donors about the 81-year-old’s ability to defeat Trump.

When the US president insisted on staying in the contest, Harris reportedly looked at her options and turned to Powell Jobs for counsel, among others.

Soon, Harris became the Democratic presidential nominee as Biden exited the race. As per NYT, Powell Jobs has pulled her weight to encourage female technology leaders to publicly support Harris. She is also helping in getting funds for Harris’ campaign.

Several polls have put Harris ahead of Trump in the presidential race. If she wins, will Powell Jobs have a role in the Democrat’s administration?

Some say the billionaire will be an “insider” even if she does not hold a formal position.

“Laurene is one of a small number of philanthropists who has both made significant investments in educational innovation and is also actively engaged in Democratic politics,” Marc Porter Magee, an education-reform advocate, told NYT. “If Harris wins, she and her staff could emerge as important players in an administration that has yet to define its K-12 [Kindergarten to Class 12] agenda.”

Connecting the Dots:

Laurene Powell Jobs was a director at the New America Foundation and married to Steve Jobs.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the New America Foundation.

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Eric E. Schmidt is the chairman of the New America Foundation, was a funder for the New America Foundation and a director at Apple Inc.

Steve Jobs was a co-founder & chairman for Apple Inc., married to Laurene Powell Jobs and

a director at the Walt Disney Company.

Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP was the lobby firm for the Walt Disney Company.

Vernon E. Jordan Jr. is a senior counsel for Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP and an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank).

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Trevor Potter was a fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and a chairman for the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

William Oldaker was a general counsel for the Federal Election Commission (FEC), a fundraiser for Joseph R. Biden Jr. and is a co-founder of the Oldaker Law Group.

R. Hunter Biden is a co-founder of predecessor company Oldaker Law Group and Joseph R. Biden Jr’s son.

Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s fundraiser was William Oldaker, spent Thanksgiving with David Rubenstein, is R. Hunter Biden’s father and a regent at the Smithsonian Institution

Shirley Ann Jackson is a regent at the Smithsonian Institution and a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).

David M. Rubenstein is a regent at the Smithsonian Institution, a co-chairman for the Brookings Institution (think tank) and spent Thanksgiving with Joe Biden.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Brookings Institution (think tank).

George Soros was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Harold H. Koh is a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank) and a lawyer at Covington & Burling LLP.

Robert Lenhard is a partner at Covington & Burling LLP and was a chairman for the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

Eric H. Holder Jr. is a partner at Covington & Burling LLP, was a board member for the American Constitution Society and an intern at the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund.

Open Society Foundations was a funder for the American Constitution Society.

George Soros is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations and was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund.

Resources: Past Research

CA Measles Outbreak Expands: 51 People Confirmed Sick (Past Research on Laurene Powell Jobs)

Sunday, January 18, 2015

https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2015/01/ca-measles-outbreak-expands-51-people.html

Federal Election Commission (FEC) (Past Research on the Federal Election Commission (FEC))

Monday, December 28, 2015

https://thesteadydrip.blogspot.com/2015/12/federal-election-commission-fec.html

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