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Person

Michael Moritz

Nationality:

American
Born:

1954
Organization(s):

Sequoia Heritage and Crankstart

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Michael Moritz is a Welsh-born American billionaire investor best known for his work with Sequoia Capital. As of March 2024, Moritz had an estimated net worth of $5.7 billion. 1

In April 2012, Moritz and his wife, Harriet Heyman, signed the Giving Pledge and promised to give away half of their wealth. 2 Moritz has made hundreds of millions of dollars in donations through his nonprofit foundation, Crankstart, mostly to San Fransisco-based groups, including organizations that advocate left-of-center views.

Moritz generally supports the Democratic Party but has been critical of the Democratic leadership of San Francisco.

Early Life and Education

Michael Moritz was born in Wales to a Jewish family that fled Germany during World War II. He graduated from Christ Church College, Oxford in 1976. Soon after, Moritz moved to the United States. 3 4

Career

Michael Moritz started his career as a journalist in the early 1980s. While working at Time, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs asked Moritz to document the development of the Macintosh computer. In 1982, Moritz worked on Time’s “Man of the Year” article which was originally slated to honor Jobs but was rewritten as “Machine of the Year” to honor “the computer.” Jobs was so displeased with the change that he severed ties with Moritz. 5

In the mid-1980s, Moritz co-wrote Ruin: The History of Chrysler. 6

In 1984, Moritz published a history of Apple, titled The Little Kingdom: The Private Story of Apple Computer. 7

In 1986, Moritz joined Sequoia Capital, a venture capital firm based in Menlo Park, California. Around the same time, Moritz co-founded Technologic Partners, a newsletter and conference company. 8

At Sequoia, Moritz oversaw investments in Yahoo!, Google, Skyscanner, PayPal, Webvan, YouTube, eToys, and Zappos. 9

In 2010, Moritz launched Sequoia Heritage, a subsidiary focused on wealth management, with $150 million of his own funds and $400 million in additional investment. 10

In 2012, Moritz announced that he was stepping down from his active management role at Sequoia Capital because he had been diagnosed with a “rare medical condition which can be managed but is incurable.” However, he retained his role as a partner at the firm, continued sitting on numerous board seats, and played active roles in some of Sequoia’s investments. 11 12

From April 2018 to April 2023, Sequoia Heritage’s assets under management grew from $4.2 billion to $16.4 billion. 13

In July 2023, Moritz announced that he was leaving Sequoia Capital entirely, though he would remain active in Sequoia Heritage. 14

Moritz sits on the boards of Earth Networks, Gamefly, the Green Dot Corporation, PopSugar, Stripe, LinkedIn, Kayak.com, Client 24/7, and HealthCentral. As of March 2024 he was expected to transition out of these roles over the following few years. 15

Crankstart

In 2005, Michael Moritz founded Crankstart, a non-profit foundation based in San Fransisco. 16 At the end of 2022, Crankstart had $3.8 billion in assets. 17

From 2020 to mid-2023, Moritz contributed $336 million to San Fransisco-based groups through Crankstart and the San Francisco Standard, a local media outlet. Recipient groups included SF Parent Action, a PAC that funded a recall of multiple city school board members; TogetherSF Action, which funded anti-drug billboards; Enterprise Community Partners, a “housing a racial equity nonprofit;” the Boys and Girls Clubs of San Francisco; and Earthjustice. 18

In 2019, Moritz and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg contributed to the Rockefeller Brothers Fund’s Funder Collaborative on Oil and Gas, a fund that pressured the Biden administration to halt permits on the construction of liquified natural gas (LNG) export facilities. The right-of-center Washington Examiner has questioned Moritz’s motivation in supporting LNG export limits while maintaining a close relationship with numerous Chinese companies that have indirectly benefited from the limits. The outlet found that Moritz, Sequoia Capital, and Crankstart were all the beneficiaries of Chinese financing around the time Moritz made his donation to the Funder Collaborative on Oil and Gas. 19 20

Politics

Michael Moritz has identified as a Democrat and generally supports Democratic policies, though he has publicly criticized the Democratic Party, particularly in its management of San Fransisco. In 2023, Moritz wrote an op-ed for the New York Times condemning the Democratic leadership of San Fransisco for the city’s alleged failings. 21 In the piece, he wrote,

“Like it or not, San Francisco has become a prize example of how we Democrats have become our own worst enemy. Causes that we have long espoused — respect for human rights, plenty of housing that’s within reach for most people, care for the mentally ill, fair pay, high-quality public education, a dignified retirement — have all been crippled by a small coterie who knows how to bend government to its will. This astonishing city that I have been lucky enough to call home for more than 40 years has become subject to the tyranny of the minority.” 22

In 2018, Moritz wrote an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal criticizing San Fransisco’s Proposition C, a proposal to raise taxes on commercial properties to fund services for the homeless. Moritz considered Proposition C, which narrowly passed, to be “without a solid plan or clear goals.” 23 24

In 2016, Moritz wrote an op-ed for the Financial Times condemning then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Moritz criticized Trump’s business record, calling him “little more than a hustler who takes from the rich (lenders he has short-changed, partners he has sued) and also takes from the poor (hapless students of Trump University, tenants whom he has allegedly bullied).” 25

References

  1. “Michael Moritz.” Forbes. Accessed March 12, 2024. https://www.forbes.com/profile/michael-moritz/?sh=39faf0af6439.
  2. “Michael Moritz and Harriet Heyman.” Giving Pledge. Accessed March 12, 2024. https://givingpledge.org/pledger?pledgerId=251.
  3. “Michael Moritz: Cardiff-born billionaire from ‘ordinary comprehensive’.” BBC. July 12, 2012. Accessed March 12, 2024. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-18809606.
  4.   “Michael Moritz.” Golden. Accessed March 12, 2024. https://golden.com/wiki/Michael_Moritz-YX8N9W.
  5. “Michael Moritz.” Golden. Accessed March 12, 2024. https://golden.com/wiki/Michael_Moritz-YX8N9W.
  6. “Michael Moritz.” Golden. Accessed March 12, 2024. https://golden.com/wiki/Michael_Moritz-YX8N9W.
  7. Lesnes, Corine. “Silicon Valley billionaires’s new utopia: Sir Michael Moritz’s city from scratch.” Le Monde. September 21, 2023. Accessed March 12, 2024. https://www.lemonde.fr/en/opinion/article/2023/09/21/silicon-valley-billionaires-s-new-utopia-sir-michael-moritz-s-city-from-scratch_6138317_23.html
  8. “Michael Moritz.” Golden. Accessed March 12, 2024. https://golden.com/wiki/Michael_Moritz-YX8N9W.
  9. “Michael Moritz.” Golden. Accessed March 12, 2024. https://golden.com/wiki/Michael_Moritz-YX8N9W.
  10. [1] Loizos, Connie. “Michael Moritz moves on, book-ending a long chapter at Sequoia Capital.” Tech Crunch. July 20, 2023. Accessed March 12, 2024. https://techcrunch.com/2023/07/19/michael-moritz-moves-on-bookmarking-a-long-chapter-at-sequoia-capital/.
  11. Loizos, Connie. “Michael Moritz moves on, book-ending a long chapter at Sequoia Capital.” Tech Crunch. July 20, 2023. Accessed March 12, 2024. https://techcrunch.com/2023/07/19/michael-moritz-moves-on-bookmarking-a-long-chapter-at-sequoia-capital/.
  12. “Michael Moritz.” LinkedIn. Accessed March 12, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelmoritz/.
  13. Loizos, Connie. “Michael Moritz moves on, book-ending a long chapter at Sequoia Capital.” Tech Crunch. July 20, 2023. Accessed March 12, 2024. https://techcrunch.com/2023/07/19/michael-moritz-moves-on-bookmarking-a-long-chapter-at-sequoia-capital/.
  14. Loizos, Connie. “Michael Moritz moves on, book-ending a long chapter at Sequoia Capital.” Tech Crunch. July 20, 2023. Accessed March 12, 2024. https://techcrunch.com/2023/07/19/michael-moritz-moves-on-bookmarking-a-long-chapter-at-sequoia-capital/.
  15. “Michael Moritz.” Golden. Accessed March 12, 2024. https://golden.com/wiki/Michael_Moritz-YX8N9W.
  16. “Michael Moritz.” LinkedIn. Accessed March 12, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelmoritz/.
  17. Kaminsky, Gabe. “How a billionaire Democrat fueled the Biden anti-LNG pressure campaign while placing lucrative bets in China.” Washington Examiner. February 22, 2024. Accessed March 12, 2024. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/energy/2865494/how-billionaire-democrat-fueled-biden-anti-lng-pressure-campaign-china/.
  18. Council, Stephen. “Billionaire investor has poured a reported $336M into San Francisco agenda over 3 years.” SF Gate. November 16, 2023. Accessed March 12, 2024. https://www.sfgate.com/tech/article/michael-moritz-crankstart-togethersf-investor-18494635.php.
  19. [1] Kaminsky, Gabe. “How a billionaire Democrat fueled the Biden anti-LNG pressure campaign while placing lucrative bets in China.” Washington Examiner. February 22, 2024. Accessed March 12, 2024. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/energy/2865494/how-billionaire-democrat-fueled-biden-anti-lng-pressure-campaign-china/.
  20. Kaminsky, Gabe. “Biden took checks from left-wing climate activists who pressured him to halt LNG exports.” Washington Examiner. March 4, 2024. Accessed March 12, 2024. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/energy-and-environment/2895813/biden-left-wing-climate-activists-halt-lng-exports/.
  21. Moritz, Michael. “Even Democrats Like Me Are Fed Up With San Francisco.” New York Times. February 26, 2023. Accessed March 12, 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/26/opinion/san-francisco-democrats-board-of-supervisors.html?searchResultPosition=1.
  22. Moritz, Michael. “Even Democrats Like Me Are Fed Up With San Francisco.” New York Times. February 26, 2023. Accessed March 12, 2024. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/26/opinion/san-francisco-democrats-board-of-supervisors.html?searchResultPosition=1.
  23. [1] Moritz, Michael. “Brother, Can You Spare Three Billion Dimes?” Wall Street Journal. October 28, 2018. Accessed March 12, 2024. https://www.wsj.com/articles/brother-can-you-spare-three-billion-dimes-1540770256.
  24. “San Francisco, California, Proposition C, Commercial Rent Tax for Childcare and Early Education (June 2018).” Ballotpedia. Accessed March 12, 2024. https://ballotpedia.org/San_Francisco,_California,_Proposition_C,_Commercial_Rent_Tax_for_Childcare_and_Early_Education_(June_2018)#:~:text=Share%20this%20page-,San%20Francisco%2C%20California%2C%20Proposition%20C%2C%20Commercial%20Rent%20Tax%20for,and%20Early%20Education%20(June%202018)&text=A%20commercial%20rent%20tax%20for,It%20was%20approved.
  25. Chmielewski, Dawn. “Sequoia Capital’s Michael Moritz calls Donald Trump ‘little more than a hustler’.” Vox. June 16, 2016. Accessed March 12, 2024. https://www.vox.com/2016/6/16/11954290/sequoia-capital-michael-moritz-donald-trump-hustler.
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