Teddy Schleifer

Good news, people of the Internet. If you like what I write about — rich people, political shenanigans, Silicon Valley, philanthropy — you can now sign up to receive my articles right in your inbox. www.nytimes.com/newsletters/...

NEWS: Democratic mega-donors are debating plans to spend tens of millions of dollars on a range of influencer plans to "find the liberal Rogan." We've got pitch decks, investor meetings, and internal docs. One Democrat has a spreadsheet of 26 different proposals. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/20/u...

Here's a fun thing that a top donor to Andrew Cuomo's super PAC just told me.

NEW: Some people who are friends with Mr. Musk’s Republican advisers privately worry about those advisers’ career prospects should they attach themselves to an anti-Trump effort. The White House is watching. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/07/u...

NEWS: Meta is about to start a $65 million midterms push — its biggest political effort in its 20 years in business. Meta is standing up two super PACs that this week will drop money in races in Texas and Illinois to push A.I. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/18/t...

NEWS: Sergey Brin is making a $20 MILLION donation in California politics, his most significant and visible political investment ever. The Google co-founder is going to play in the 2026 midterms. Comes just after he left California over its wealth tax. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/28/u...

NEWS: Bernie Marcus, just before his death in 2024, made a $100 million donation to a new dark-money organization. The check went to a new 501(c)4 group called Forward America Inc. The Republican mega-donor will have influence long after his death.

It's an interesting time to be Trump's pick as Ambassador to Denmark. My profile of Ken Howery, the Elon friend that Trump asked to go get Greenland. www.nytimes.com/2025/01/16/u...

SCOOP — A new super PAC is afoot, funded by some people in the AI industry, to challenge the first super PAC from Andreessen Horowitz and OpenAI executives. $50 million is being raised, likely from Anthropic execs and AI safety advocates, to fight back. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/u...

ok, send me your Tokyo / Kyoto / Osaka / Hiroshima restaurant recs

NEW: Here come the big Democratic and Republican donors in the California redistricting fight. Lots of inside-the-room details on the $200 million campaign from billionaires. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/03/u...

Best place to stay for October hiking in Japan? Matsumoto Hakuba Nagano Takayama Kamikochi Advice please!

For all the Elon Musk coverage, it's kinda shocking how little scrutiny there is of the world's *second* richest person. Larry Ellison is spending hundreds of millions of dollars on for-profit companies that he is calling his new charitable project. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/12/b...

NEWS: Elon Musk 🤝 Curtis Yarvin The billionaire and right-wing thinker spoke late last week about Musk's third-party push, per sources briefed. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/09/u...