Crypto CEO Chris Larsen Donates $500,000 to Support Political Moderate in Supervisors Race
Crypto billionaire Chris Larsen poured a record $500,000 into the campaign to elect Theo Ellington, a moderate Democrat, to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors this week, according to new finance filings.
The donation is believed to be the largest in San Francisco history to a third-party supporting a single candidate.
Larsen made the contribution, first reported by The San Francisco Standard, through a newly created political action committee called From the Neighborhood, For the City, Supporting Theo Ellington for District 10 Supervisor 2026.
While individuals are limited to donating just $500 directly to a single candidate, donors routinely pour larger amounts into PACs. Ahead of the June election, billionaire Michael Moritz donated $250,000 to a GrowSF political action committee supporting District 4 supervisor Alan Wong.
Ellington, a lobbyist and executive director of the Ruth Williams Bayview Opera House, is running to replace progressive supervisor Shamann Walton, who will term out in November. The race is among a few that could determine whether Mayor Daniel Lurie is able to maintain a moderate majority on the board — a voting bloc that’s been key to passing a number of his policy proposals over the last two years.
As of Sept. 4, Larsen’s donation has eclipsed the direct funding contributions in the race to represent just under 80,000 residents in the Bayview, Potrero Hill, the Dogpatch and Central Waterfront. Ellington has more than $470,000 in the bank, while opponents J.R. Eppler has just over $150,000 and Dion-Jay “DJ” Brookter trails with $129,000.
Eppler said in a statement that District 10 residents “deserve to choose their representative without record-breaking outside money.”
“Billionaires don’t simply give away half a million dollars,” he said. “They invest it and expect a return.”
Larsen declined to comment on the donation, and Ellington and Brookter did not respond to a request for comment Friday.
Larsen, the founder of cryptocurrency company Ripple Labs, has in the past given millions to local races, including Lurie’s 2024 mayoral campaign, as well as charter reform and policing initiatives earlier this year. Larsen also contributed $100,000 to Loren Taylor’s unsuccessful campaign against Mayor Barbara Lee in the Oakland mayoral race last year, according to reporting from The Oaklandside.
Larsen and Ripple have contributed more than $2 million to committees supporting various ballot measures this fall.
Sean McMorris, a transparency, ethics and accountability program manager with California Common Cause, said that the rise of artificial intelligence has been a significant influence in the “new era” of political spending by big tech.
He pointed specifically to the industry’s push to build data centers, which have become unpopular with voters across the political spectrum.
“You’re seeing a lot of local jurisdictions do outright moratoriums or bans on them,” McMorris said. “This has become a much bigger political fight than I believe even Big Tech thought it would be. They are beginning to hedge their bets and funnel obscene amounts of money into local races.”
Menlo College political science professor Melissa Michelson, who studies elections, said the influx of large donations raises questions about whether individual donors or companies may unfairly impact election results.
“This is far beyond what we normally see,” Michelson said. “Any time you see a large donation — especially when it seems like it’s overly large, given the size and competitiveness of a race — it raises questions about whether somebody is having or could potentially have undue influence.”
She said that’s especially a concern for “low-information races” like supervisor races, in which voters are generally less informed and rely more on name recognition.
“You’re just more able to tell people that you’re running and get out there and advertise your campaign,” Michelson said.
“Money doesn’t always win, but money almost always wins,” she continued.
KQED’s Sydney Johnson contributed to this report.