Person

Tench Coxe

Nationality:

American

Occupation:

Philanthropist (retired)

Residence:

West Lake Hills, TX

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Tench Coxe is a billionaire Democratic Party donor, philanthropist, venture capitalist, and board member of technology firm Nvidia. In 2024, he was estimated to have approximately $5.6 billion in assets due to his ownership of about 1 percent of all available Nvidia stock. 1

Early Life

Tench Coxe received a bachelor of arts in economics from Dartmouth College, followed by an MBA from Harvard Business School. 2 Mr. Coxe was the managing director of Sutter Hill Ventures, a venture capital firm, from 1989 to 2020. 3 He has served as a member of the compensation committee of the Nvidia board of directors since 1993. 4 He is the third-largest shareholder of Nvidia stock behind Jensen Huang and Mark Stevens. 5

Political Contributions

National

In 2022, Tench Coxe and his spouse, Simone Otus Coxe, each contributed $1 million to former U.S. Representative Beto O’Rourke’s (D) Texas gubernatorial campaign. 6

In 2023 and 2024, Coxe donated exclusively to Democratic Party candidates and committees. 7

Coxe contributed to President Joe Biden’s presidential re-election campaign ($6,600); the Biden Victory Fund, a joint fundraising committee authorized by the Joe Biden presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee ($6,600); the Democratic Party aligned Forward Majority Action Super PAC ($1,050,000); and the Democratic Party-aligned Republican Accountability PAC ($5,000). 8

Palo Alto

In 2016, Tench Coxe and his spouse, Simone Otus Coxe, made political contributions to Palo Alto City Council candidates that supported “slow-growth” and “residentialist” positions with respect to housing in Palo Alto, California. 9

Coxe listed traffic and parking as primary concerns that led him to support candidates who were more skeptical of immediate action to increase low-income housing in Palo Alto. 10 He stated that “we perceive the developers to be spending a lot of money (on other candidates) and not to have the best interests of the city in their focus.” 11 Coxe noted that he is not opposed to low-income housing, but argued the city must address how it intends to handle the increased traffic and parking first before expanding the city’s low-income and multi-dwelling housing. 12

References

  1. “Tenche Coxe.” Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/profile/tench-coxe/?sh=5baa52a353e8
  2. “Tench Coxe.” Equilar. https://people.equilar.com/bio/tench-coxe-nvidia-corporation/136139
  3. “Tench Coxe.” Equilar. https://people.equilar.com/bio/tench-coxe-nvidia-corporation/136139
  4. “Tench Coxe.” NVIDIA. https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/about-nvidia/board-of-directors/tench-coxe/
  5. “Tenche Coxe.” Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/profile/tench-coxe/?sh=5baa52a353e8
  6.  Svitek, Patrick.  “Beto O’Rourke gets $2 million, his largest campaign donation yet, from Austin couple.” Texas Tribune. July 12, 2022. Accessed June 6, 2024. https://www.texastribune.org/2022/07/16/beto-orourke-donor-simone-tench-coxe/
  7. Svitek, Patrick.  “Beto O’Rourke gets $2 million, his largest campaign donation yet, from Austin couple.” Texas Tribune. July 12, 2022. Accessed June 6, 2024. https://www.texastribune.org/2022/07/16/beto-orourke-donor-simone-tench-coxe/
  8. Svitek, Patrick.  “Beto O’Rourke gets $2 million, his largest campaign donation yet, from Austin couple.” Texas Tribune. July 12, 2022. Accessed June 6, 2024. https://www.texastribune.org/2022/07/16/beto-orourke-donor-simone-tench-coxe/
  9. Sheyner, Gennady. “Huge political contributions spark outcry, suspicion in Palo Alto’s council race.” Palo Alto Online. October 19, 2016. Accessed June 6, 2024. https://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/2016/10/19/huge-political-contributions-spark-outcry-suspicion-in-palo-altos-council-race/
  10. Sheyner, Gennady. “Huge political contributions spark outcry, suspicion in Palo Alto’s council race.” Palo Alto Online. October 19, 2016. Accessed June 6, 2024. https://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/2016/10/19/huge-political-contributions-spark-outcry-suspicion-in-palo-altos-council-race/
  11. Sheyner, Gennady. “Huge political contributions spark outcry, suspicion in Palo Alto’s council race.” Palo Alto Online. October 19, 2016. Accessed June 6, 2024. https://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/2016/10/19/huge-political-contributions-spark-outcry-suspicion-in-palo-altos-council-race/
  12. Sheyner, Gennady. “Huge political contributions spark outcry, suspicion in Palo Alto’s council race.” Palo Alto Online. October 19, 2016. Accessed June 6, 2024. https://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/2016/10/19/huge-political-contributions-spark-outcry-suspicion-in-palo-altos-council-race/
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