Key Takeaways
- • Rick Perlstein, author of Nixonland, recounts a 2017 dinner at Marc Andreessen's Atherton, California mansion, which was hosted through a book club and included fellow investment figures, a life-extension researcher, and a British former journalist turned technology tycoon who had been awarded a peerage.
- • Perlstein's account centers on Andreessen's 2023 manifesto published on the Andreessen Horowitz website, which calls the Precautionary Principle "perhaps the most catastrophic mistake in Western society in my lifetime" and argues that markets and technology should drive progress.
- • Perlstein describes Andreessen's reported net worth as an estimated $1.7 billion and cites property holdings including a $33.75 million Atherton listing, a $177 million Paradise Cove home, a $34 million adjacent property, and a $44.5 million home at Escondido Beach.
- • The guests reportedly dismissed concerns about "disruption" and criticized Sen. Elizabeth Warren for opposing "innovation in the banking sector," a stance Perlstein links to the 2008 financial crisis.
- • The piece is a first-person opinion essay, not a reported investment story, and its content is anecdotal and critical in tone.
Summary
Writer Rick Perlstein, author of Nixonland, describes a 2017 visit to the Atherton, California home of venture capitalist Marc Andreessen. Perlstein, who was invited to speak to a book club that Andreessen also belonged to, recounts that the trip included a free flight and hotel. He opens by referencing a report that Andreessen had listed the 12,000-square-foot Atherton mansion for $33.75 million, alongside other properties he owns, including a $177 million home in Paradise Cove, a $34 million property next door, and a $44.5 million home at Escondido Beach. Perlstein cites a 2015 New Yorker profile when describing Andreessen's estimated $1.7 billion net worth and his past roles as a major Facebook shareholder and member of a civilian board that advised the Central Intelligence Agency.
Perlstein devotes significant attention to a manifesto Andreessen published on the website of Andreessen Horowitz, which he says received broad attention the previous year. He quotes its assertions that "we believe everything good is downstream of growth" and that "there is no material problem... that cannot be solved with more technology." He characterizes the document's central argument as a rejection of the Precautionary Principle, which Andreessen describes as "perhaps the most catastrophic mistake in Western society in my lifetime." Perlstein argues that the manifesto is fundamentally an assertion of power by technology leaders to make decisions without outside interference.
The account also describes the dinner itself, including guests he identifies as investment figures, a woman researching life extension, and a British former journalist turned technology executive who had been awarded a peerage. Perlstein reports that the group discussed a range of political and historical works, and that participants dismissed his views on Silicon Valley's emphasis on disruption. He recounts that the group criticized Sen. Elizabeth Warren for opposing what they called innovation in the banking sector, and he states that this stance has been widely associated with the 2008 financial crisis. Perlstein's essay is written as a personal opinion piece, and its characterizations of the attendees are his own.
Perlstein devotes significant attention to a manifesto Andreessen published on the website of Andreessen Horowitz, which he says received broad attention the previous year. He quotes its assertions that "we believe everything good is downstream of growth" and that "there is no material problem... that cannot be solved with more technology." He characterizes the document's central argument as a rejection of the Precautionary Principle, which Andreessen describes as "perhaps the most catastrophic mistake in Western society in my lifetime." Perlstein argues that the manifesto is fundamentally an assertion of power by technology leaders to make decisions without outside interference.
The account also describes the dinner itself, including guests he identifies as investment figures, a woman researching life extension, and a British former journalist turned technology executive who had been awarded a peerage. Perlstein reports that the group discussed a range of political and historical works, and that participants dismissed his views on Silicon Valley's emphasis on disruption. He recounts that the group criticized Sen. Elizabeth Warren for opposing what they called innovation in the banking sector, and he states that this stance has been widely associated with the 2008 financial crisis. Perlstein's essay is written as a personal opinion piece, and its characterizations of the attendees are his own.
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