Cari Tuna. (Twitter/@CariTuna)
Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz and his wife, Cari Tuna, announced late Thursday that they plan on donating $20 million to political action committees that support Hillary Clinton in order to make sure Donald Trump never becomes president. It is the first time that the Silicon Valley power couple have publicly endorsed a candidate, although Moskovitz wrote that they have always voted for Democrats.
Tuna and Moskovitz have used their fortune for philanthropic causes in the past. According to Forbes, Moskovitz has an estimated net worth of $10.5 billion thanks to his role in co-founding Facebook and a 7.6 percent stake in the company.
Here’s a look at Tuna’s career and their decision to publicly support Clinton.
1. Tuna & Moskovitz Will Spread the $20 Million Among PACs Supporting Hillary Clinton, & the Largest Single Donation Is $5 Million
Dustin Moskovitz. (Getty)
The 32-year-old Moskovtiz and Tuna announced their endorsement in a Medium blog post. Moskovitz wrote that the $20 million will be spread around several different PACs, but half of it will go to the LCV Victory Fund and For Our Future PAC, with each receiving $5 million.
The other groups on their list are the Hillary Victory Fund, the DSCC, the DCCC the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) Victory Fund, For Our Future PAC, MoveOn.org Political Action and Color Of Change PAC.
Moskovitz wrote that they understand that there will be critics who think they are trying to gain an unfair influence with politicians. He wrote:
We may be criticized by some for taking this action and there will be theories projected onto our reasons — but those who know us best will see the sincerity of our intentions, and can attest that the thoughts above represent the full scope of our motivations. We offer them humbly, and with the deepest love for America, and for the world.
On October 8, Moskovitz wrote another Medium post, where he announced plans to donate another $8 million to different PACs and $7 million to nonpartisan voter registration campaigns.
“The events of the past few weeks have only deepened my conviction that Hillary is the best choice for America. I hope that these contributions will help make that outcome a reality,” Moskovitz wrote.
2. Tuna Is a Yale Graduate Who Wrote for the Wall Street Journal
According to Tuna’s LinkedIn profile, she graduated from Yale University with a B.A. in Political Science in 2008. She wrote for the Yale Daily News. Almost immediately after graduation, she began reporting for the Wall Street Journal and was based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She remained with the paper until April 2011.
Inside Philanthropy reports that Tuna reported on Silicon Valley and met Moskovitz during that time.
3. Tuna & Moskovitz Were the Youngest Couple to Sign Bill Gates & Warren Buffett’s The Giving Pledge
Dustin Moskovitz & Cari Tuna. (GoodVentures.com)
In 2010, Moskovitz and Tuna became the youngest couple ever to sign the Giving Pledge, a campaign Warren Buffett and Bill Gates started to convince billionaires to use their wealth for good.
“I’m especially thankful to have found a partner in Cari who shares my priorities and commitment to this humbling work,” Moskovitz wrote in his letter. “Over the next few years, we will begin to identify the causes to which we can make the most leveraged contributions. We will donate and invest with both urgency and mindfulness, aiming to foster a safer, healthier and more economically empowered global community.”
A year after signing the pledge, Moskovitz and Tuna founded Good Ventures, with Tuna as President. In 2014, she also became the managing director for Open Philanthropy. She’s been responsible for handling philanthropy for the couple, as Moskovitz focuses on Asana, which he co-founded with Justin Rosenstein in 2008.
4. Good Ventures’ Only Goal Is to ‘Help Humanity Thrive’ & It Has Awarded Grants Around the World
In a 2014 Washington Post profile, the 31-year-old Tuna revealed that many in the Silicon Valley community suggested their philanthropic decisions be made based on a specific cause that they cared about. But Tuna couldn’t pick just one. She explained:
The conventional wisdom is to say, ‘What am I passionate about?’ and go for something in that area. That can be a great way to do things, but at the same time, I think that by just going with that, you’re leaving a lot of opportunity for impact on the table.
In 2011, the couple founded Good Ventures, which has a simple mission: “To help humanity thrive.” As she explained, this means that they can help solve a wide range of issues instead of just one.
For example, in August 2016, they awarded a $5,555,550 grant over five years to UC Berkeley to help the university establish the Center for Human-Compatible Artificial Intelligence. They also awarded a grant of $37,000 to ReFrame Mentorship. a mentorship program supported by the Center for Story-Based Strategy. Both of these grants were awarded through the couple’s Open Philanthropy Project.
The earliest grant in their database went to GiveWell, which received a $50,000 grant in December 2011.
5. Tuna Has Donated to Political Campaigns in the Past, Including $150,000 to Support California’s Proposition 47
Although the $20 million donation to Clinton-supporting PACs is the first time the couple have endorsed a presidential candidate, it’s not the first time Tuna has donated money to political causes.
In November 2014, Forbes reported that Tuna donated $150,000 to the campaign in support of California’s Proposition 47. The law made certain drug possession charges misdemeanors instead of felonies.
Gawker noted that she donated $26,000 to Sean Eldridge’s failed congressional campaign.