As a venture capitalist, Vance, now a U.S. senator from Ohio, worked with the likes of Peter Thiel and AOL founder Stephen Case
Ohio Senator J.D. Vance wasn’t much of a political figure until about eight years ago, when his memoir “Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis” hit the shelves. Now, he may become the next vice president of the United States of America.
Former President Donald Trump said Monday that Vance is the person “best suited” to be vice president, pointing to his memoir, legal background, and time as a venture capitalist working with the likes of Peter Thiel.
“J.D. has had a very successful business career in Technology and Finance, and now, during the Campaign, will be strongly focused on the people he fought so brilliantly for, the American Workers and Farmers in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota, and far beyond,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social, which is owned by his Trump Media Technology Group.
Vance, a 39-year-old veteran of the Iraq War, was elected to the Senate in 2022 thanks to the backing of Trump and the financial support of his former boss and ally, Peter Thiel. Vance first met Thiel during his first year at Yale Law.
After a nine-month stint at Sidley Austin LLP, Vance moved to San Francisco, where his work as a venture capitalist — and ties with some of Silicon Valley’s most powerful men — would begin to form. He briefly worked for Thiel’s Mithril Capital before joining AOL founder Stephen Case’s venture capital firm, Revolution, in Washington, D.C.
With Revolution, he closed deals involving both military technology and artificial intelligence, according to Business Insider. He also made a lot of connections, ranging from AI startup founders to Chase Koch, the billionaire son of the CEO of Koch industries. In 2019, he left to start Narya Capital, another venture capital fund, that drew investors like Thiel, Marc Andreeson, and Eric Schmidt.
Vance’s work at Narya became a major selling point during his Senate campaign in 2022, with Vance touting his firm’s creation of almost 1,000 jobs in Ohio. That number was later heavily disputed, with Politico reporting that Narya was one of 46 firms that contributed to the investments that created 750 jobs.
As a candidate in 2022, Vance’s connections paid off in a major way. Thiel donated $15 million to boost his campaign — the largest amount ever given to a single candidate for Senate.
Among Vance’s main priorities are dismantling the “Big Tech Oligarchy,” namely social media companies like Facebook $META and Google $GOOGL that he says have an unfair advantage in the marketplace. At a Y Combinator event earlier this year, Vance said he is a fan of strong antitrust rules. He noted that blockchain technology — such as that used by Bitcoin — will be necessary to challenge social media companies.
Vance is also an advocate for domestic natural gas and oil production and opposer of electric vehicles and solar power, as is Trump. Ohio is ranked sixth in the U.S. in gas production and is the eight-largest consumer of coal. Vance, who has denied climate change and called “the whole EV thing” a “scam,” has received more than $352,000 from oil and gas lobbies.
Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated how long J.D. Vance worked for Sidley Austin LLP. It was nine months, not three years.
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