History of Chamath Palihapitiya in Timeline

September 1976

Chamath Palihapitiya (born 3 September 1976) is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian-American venture capitalist and entrepreneur. He is the founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Social Capital, and previously served as an early senior executive at Facebook from 2007 to 2011. Palihapitiya is known for his venture capital investments, work with special-purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), his minority ownership in the Golden State Warriors, and as a co-host of the business and technology podcast All-In.

1986

Born in Sri Lanka to a family from Galle, Palihapitiya moved to Canada at age five when his father was posted to the High Commission of Sri Lanka in Ottawa. In 1986, when his father's diplomatic posting came to an end, the family sought asylum in Canada due to his father's criticism of violence against Tamils during the Sri Lankan Civil War.

1999

Growing up in difficult economic circumstances, Palihapitiya's father struggled with alcoholism and unemployment while his mother worked housekeeping jobs. At age 14, Palihapitiya began working at Burger King to support his family. He attended Lisgar Collegiate Institute and later graduated from the University of Waterloo in 1999 with a degree in electrical engineering.

2004

After graduation, Palihapitiya worked as a derivatives trader at BMO Nesbitt Burns before joining Winamp in California. Following AOL's acquisition of Winamp, he became AOL's youngest vice president, heading its instant messaging division in 2004. He briefly worked at Mayfield Fund before joining Facebook in 2007.

2010

In 2010, Palihapitiya acquired a 10% stake in the Golden State Warriors; he sold his stake in the team in June 2023. Palihapitiya has donated consistently to his alma mater, the University of Waterloo, including a $25 million donation to the engineering department in 2018. In 2021, he pledged to donate $7 million to provide clean drinking water to 1,000 families in California's Central Valley through hydropanels technology.

2011

In 2011, Palihapitiya donated $7,500 to U.S. Senate candidate Ted Cruz. In March 2020, Palihapitiya told The New York Times that he would like to see Michael Bloomberg at the top of the Democratic ticket in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries, paired with Amy Klobuchar or Elizabeth Warren. In 2023, he hosted a $50,000-per-plate fundraiser for presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, and in 2024 co-hosted a $12 million Trump fundraiser with his All-In Podcast co-host David O. Sacks in the Democrat Party bastion of San Francisco. He was a co-host, along with Jacqueline Sacks, David Sacks's wife, of the fundraising event, which raised $12 million and was held on 6 June 2024 at Sacks's Pacific Heights home.

April 2013

Palihapitiya was listed as one of the "Founders" of the lobbying group FWD.us. The group launched on 11 April 2013, and its goals include immigration reform, improving education, and enabling technological innovation, all in a United States context. An article in The New Republic stated that Palihapitiya received a weekly report about FWD.us and also quoted him as saying, in response to controversy around the FWD.us political lobbying strategy: "The folks that are actually people that run that day to day are sophisticated and understand the nuances of how to affect it ... It's a really gnarly, gnarly thing having to deal with Washington. And to be honest with you, my perspective was, it's a really good investment because it's a good way to pay it forward, and I'm really glad there are other people other than me who are dealing with it who have the patience and resolve to figure it out."

2017

In 2017, Palihapitiya sparked discussion about social media's societal consequences, drawing from his experience at Facebook. He argued that while social platforms could be "a force for good," their design created "dopamine-driven feedback loops" that could harm social discourse and behavior. This perspective extends to his personal life, where he actively limits his children's screen time and social media exposure, emphasizing direct engagement over technological dependence.

2018

After graduating from the University of Waterloo, Palihapitiya followed his future wife Brigette Lau to California. They had three children before divorcing in 2018.

2018

In 2018, Social Capital underwent significant changes, transitioning from a multi-LP venture capital fund to a family office structure. Since then, Social Capital has made investments in three areas: climate science, life sciences, and biotechnology, and the decentralization of the digital economy through platforms such as blockchain, crypto, and digital assets. Palihapitiya manages from a balance sheet of permanent capital.

2019

Palihapitiya became a prominent figure in the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) movement. According to The New Yorker, Palihapitiya "gained notoriety by telling seductive stories of quick riches". Notable deals include taking Virgin Galactic public in 2019, Opendoor and Clover Health in 2020, and SoFi in 2021. Palihapitiya was criticized for his promotion of these SPACs, as many of their share prices fell sharply in 2021 and 2022. Palihapitiya's SPAC shares were down over 50% on average in 2021, and some were down nearly 90% by 2022. Palihapitiya was sued by investors in many of his SPAC deals, and received scrutiny from lawmakers, who expressed concern over "the misaligned incentives between SPACs’ creators and early investors on the one hand, and retail investors on the other".

2020

Palihapitiya purchased a $75 million Bombardier Global 7500 in 2020.

January 2021

On 25 January 2021, Palihapitiya announced he would challenge incumbent California Governor Gavin Newsom in the event Newsom was recalled. If elected, Palihapitiya said he would cut the state income tax rate from 16 to 0 percent, provide free education vouchers, allow for a two thousand dollar credit for every child born in California, and work to make California the center of climate and technology jobs. He shared a campaign website that was created by a supporter.

February 2021

In February 2021, however, Palihapitiya declared he would not run for governor.

January 2022

In January 2022, Palihapitiya said on the All-In podcast to co-host Jason Calacanis that the alleged persecution of Uyghurs in China does not concern him: