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
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
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.
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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