Such gatherings – liberal politicians dancing and partying with left-leaning celebrities and tech moguls – were typical of the Horowitzes, who became influential figures in Silicon Valley through Ben’s role at the influential venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. And their guest list made sense: The Horowitzes were committed Democratic donors who ran a family foundation that supported a range of social justice issues, from recidivism to Diversity, equity and inclusion.
Today, Ben Horowitz publicly showed his support for Donald Trump and plans – in partnership with co-founder Marc Andreessen – to donate a “significant” amount of money to his campaign. Felicia seems to agree with the decision, retweeting her husband’s support for Trump and deleting all photos with liberal politicians from her social media. As of May 2024, she has donated 25 times to Republican politicians and PACs, including Trump’s running mate, Senator JD Vance.
How the Horowitzes got to this point is a bit of a mystery, though, and close friends and longtime supporters of the couple have been left baffled by this astonishing turnaround.
Both have been Democratic donors for decades, pledging nearly $300,000 between 2008 and 2023 to left-wing candidates including Barack Obama, Senator Kristen Gillibrand and Senator Cory Booker. Felicia donated $2,000 to Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign; Ben donated more than $66,000 to Obama-affiliated organizations in 2015.
The couple’s philanthropic foundation, the Horowitz Family Foundation, donated more than $1 million to the American Jewish World Service, a human rights organization with which Felicia traveled to advocate for sex workers in Cambodia and the transgender community in Uganda, and to the TD Jakes Foundation, a self-described “DEIA” (diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility) organization founded by a prominent Texas pastor. The foundation also donated more than $500,000 to organizations working on recidivism and prison education.
Felicia took a particular interest in Glide, a nondenominational church in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood known for its services to the homeless and commitment to social justice. Horowitz donated nearly $1 million to the organization and was a familiar face in both the prep kitchen and at its star-studded galas. In 2016, she received one of the church’s highest honors, named after the late co-founder Janice Mirikitani and honoring a “local changemaker who embodies Janice’s spirit and commitment to changing lives.” Mirikitani and her husband, the late Glide co-founder Cecil Williams, were also guests at Horowitz’s 2018 CEO BBQ.
