TikTok’s U.S. operations may soon look very different. A new framework discount between Washington and Beijing would shift majority control of the popular app into American hands, with Oracle, Silver Lake, and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) leading the charge.
Under the proposal, the new U.S.-based entity would be 80% controlled by American investors, while China’s ByteDance keeps about 20%. The board would be majority-American, Oracle would handle U.S. user data on its servers in Texas, and even the U.S. government would get a seat at the table.
Sounds straightforward, right? Not quite. Because the names behind this takeover aren’t just tech powerhouses, they’re billionaires with direct ties to Donald Trump and the Republican event.
Who’s Who in the discount
Oracle – Larry Ellison
Larry Ellison, Oracle’s co-founder, is one of the richest men in America and a longtime Republican donor. His political history includes:
• Hosting a Trump fundraiser at his California estate in 2020 (though he insists he wasn’t there personally).
• Allowing the event to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for Trump’s reelection.
• Major donations to GOP figures, including Tim Scott, Marco Rubio, Mitt Romney, Lindsey Graham, and Susan Collins.
The fundraiser sparked employee walkouts inside Oracle, showing how polarizing Ellison’s Trump connection really was.
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Andreessen Horowitz – Marc Andreessen & Ben Horowitz
Andreessen Horowitz, better known as a16z, is a powerhouse in Silicon Valley venture capital. But when it comes to politics, both founders made headlines with Trump:
• In October 2024, both Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz donated $2.5 million each to the pro-Trump super PAC Right for America.
• Andreessen doubled down in 2025, giving over $3 million to MAGA Inc., one of Trump’s main fundraising arms.
• On their own podcast, Andreessen described Trump’s return to power as a “boot off the throat” of tech regulation, especially in crypto.
Ben Horowitz’s story is more complicated. While he backed Trump financially, he later pledged donations to Kamala Harris, citing personal friendship and frustration with Biden’s policies. Still, his role in funding Trump’s PAC can’t be ignored.
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Silver Lake
Silver Lake, a major private equity firm, is less flashy in its politics. Unlike Oracle and a16z, there’s no public record of Silver Lake’s leadership donating to Trump. For today, their role seems more financial than political.
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The TikTok discount is meant to address U.S. national security concerns, but it also raises new questions. With Trump-aligned billionaires shaping the future of one of the world’s most influential apps, this shifts power into the hands of a political elite with their own agendas.
Whether or not you trust ByteDance, TikTok’s next chapter looks like it will be deeply influenced by Republican megadonors and Trump backers.
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