Sean Parker is a technology entrepreneur who founded the file sharing network Napster and served as the first president ofFacebook. Parker met Facebook co-foundersMark Zuckerberg and Eduardo Saverin in 2004; he later became the company’s president in summer 2004.¹ In 2005, Parker was asked to leave Facebook as president after being arrested for cocaine possession.²

Political Funding

Parker has donated to both Democrats and Republicans but leans towards Democrats on issues like campaign finance reform and a Nevada gun control initiative.^3 4

In 2010, Parker donated $100,000 to the CaliforniaProposition 19 campaign, which would have legalized marijuana throughout the state.⁵ In 2016, he donated $400,000 toProposition 63 campaign which would have required background checks for all ammunition purchases in California.⁶

Parker played an instrumental role in adding provisions for Opportunity Zones in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.⁷

1. Kirkpatrick, David. “ With A Little Help From His Friends”.Vanity Fair. September 6, 2010. Accessed May 1, 2019. https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2010/10/sean-parker-201010
2. Eaton, Kit. “Why You Should Care About Sean Parker: The Man Behind Napstar, Facebook, and Chatroulette”.Fast Company.  September 8, 2010. Accessed May 1, 2019.https://www.fastcompany.com/1687619/why-you-should-care-about-sean-parker-man-behind-napster-facebook-and-chatroulette
3. Sutton, Scott. “Former Facebook President Sean Parkers backs Nevada gun-control initiative with $250,000”.Las Vegas Sun. January 20, 2015. Accessed May 1, 2019https://web.archive.org/web/20151118164228/http://lasvegas.suntimes.com/las-news/las-politics-government/7/104/76502/sean-parker-gun-control/
4. Zakrewski, Cat. “Silicon Valley Moguls Push for Campaign Finance Reform”.TechCrunch. Accessed May 1, 2019. https://techcrunch.com/2014/06/24/silicon-valley-moguls-push-for-campaign-finance-reform/
5. The Guardian. “Facebook co-founder gives $100,000 to push to legalize cannabis in California.”The Guardian. Accessed May 1, 2019.https://web.archive.org/web/20151118164228/http://lasvegas.suntimes.com/las-news/las-politics-government/7/104/76502/sean-parker-gun-control/
6. Winton, Kate. “Sean Parker and 4 Other Billionaires Back Winning California Gun Control Proposition”.Forbes. November 9, 2016. Accessed May 1, 2019.https://www.forbes.com/sites/katevinton/2016/11/09/five-billionaires-donate-1-million-to-support-california-gun-control-ballot-proposition/#387a11ea14be
7. Tankersley, Jim. “Tucked Into The Tax Bill, a Plan to Help Distressed America”.New York Times. January 29, 2018. Accessed May 1, 2019https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/29/business/tax-bill-economic-recovery-opportunity-zones.html