'The Dictator': Chamath Palihapitiya's Broken Professional Relationships
The inside story on Social Capital's two big breakups
Click
Use
to move to a smaller summary and to move to a larger one
Chamath Palihapitiya's Diminishing Fortunes and Challenges
- Chamath Palihapitiya purchased a $75 million private jet in late 2020.
- Palihapitiya's venture capital firm, Social Capital, has seen multiple departures, including the CFO and general counsel.
- His attempts to raise a new venture capital fund from outside limited partners were unsuccessful.
- Palihapitiya has experienced significant losses in investments, including Clover Health, ProKidney Corp, and Akili.
- Forbes has not referred to him as a billionaire since the SPAC frenzy in 2021, suggesting he may not be one.
- Palihapitiya has discussed belt-tightening and reducing household spending on his podcast.
- He sold his private jet last year, citing an "age of austerity."
- Critics believe his setbacks may have contributed to the departure of investors and employees from Social Capital.
- Social Capital's first three venture capital funds still have potential for returns, particularly through investments in Slack, Intercom, Netskope, and Swarm.
Palihapitiya's Pattern of Disloyalty to Core Lieutenants and Controversial Actions
- Lack of loyalty to core lieutenants, as seen with falling out with co-founders and firing partners.
- Retroactively capping how much carry former partners could receive from their investments at Social Capital.
- Palihapitiya's victory in private arbitration against Hamid and Maidenberg, who had alleged improper dilution of their carried interest.
- Termination of employees Zaveri and Ravi Tanuku, allegedly due to employee-specific circumstances.
- Hiring of law firm Wachtell to investigate issues at the firm, with unclear findings.
- Speculation that the termination of employees and issues with the Groq special purpose vehicle were pretexts to deny carried interest.
- Palihapitiya's approach to handling problems with employees involves seeking help from respected lawyers at third-party firms.
Resignations at Social Capital
- Goldstein and CFO Connor Nowinski have resigned from Social Capital.
Challenges and Changes at Chamath Palihapitiya's Social Capital
- Chamath Palihapitiya's venture capital firm, Social Capital, has experienced multiple departures, including the CFO and general counsel.
- His attempts to raise a new venture capital fund from outside limited partners were unsuccessful.
- Palihapitiya has faced significant losses in investments, including Clover Health, ProKidney Corp, and Akili.