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David Sacks is a South African-born entrepreneur who was chief operating officer of PayPal, founded Yammer, cohosted the All-In Podcast, and became White House AI and cryptocurrency czar under the second Trump administration. | 1972-05-25 | Cape Town, South Africa (born) | 2026-06-18 | 2026-10-15 |
David Sacks (born May 25, 1972, in Cape Town, South Africa) is a PayPal Mafia principal who served as chief operating officer of PayPal, founded Yammer (the enterprise social network, acquired by Microsoft in 2012 for 1.1 billion dollars in cash)1, produced the film Thank You for Smoking (2005), and was appointed Special Advisor on Artificial Intelligence and Cryptocurrency (the "AI and crypto czar") under the second Donald Trump administration. Sacks cohosted the All-In Podcast, which became a media channel for the PayPal Mafia cohort's political positions during the 2022-2025 period.23
The PayPal COO Role and the Post-PayPal Ventures
Sacks joined PayPal in November 1999. The company's registration statement of September 2001 describes him as executive vice president of product since May 2000.4 Sacks became chief operating officer of PayPal in February 2002.5 He served in that role through the 2002 eBay acquisition, managing the company's operations alongside Peter Thiel (chief executive) and Max Levchin (chief technology officer). The COO role placed Sacks in operational control of the company's day-to-day execution during the period when the anti-fraud architecture was built and the PayPal Mafia cohort was formed. After the eBay sale, Sacks founded Yammer, the enterprise social network that applied consumer-social-networking patterns to corporate communications. Microsoft acquired Yammer in 2012.2
Sacks subsequently founded Craft Ventures, a venture capital firm whose portfolio overlaps with the PayPal Mafia and Thiel-network commercial ecosystem. Sacks also produced the film Thank You for Smoking (2005), an adaptation of the Christopher Buckley satirical novel about tobacco-industry lobbying.2
The All-In Podcast and the Trump AI/Crypto Role
The All-In Podcast, cohosted by Sacks with Chamath Palihapitiya, Jason Calacanis, and David Friedberg, became a media channel for the PayPal Mafia cohort's political positions during the 2022-2025 period. The podcast's audience overlaps with the Dialog invitation list and the Founders Fund portfolio community. Sacks used the platform to advance the positions on AI regulation, cryptocurrency policy, and defense procurement that he subsequently entered the government to implement.3
In the second Trump administration, Sacks received the Special Advisor on Artificial Intelligence and Cryptocurrency appointment. The role covers federal AI policy, cryptocurrency regulation, and the broader technology-policy agenda. Sacks's appointment placed a PayPal Mafia principal in the executive branch with authority over the technology sectors that the Thiel-network commercial infrastructure operates in.3
Footnotes
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Microsoft Corporation, Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2013, Item 1 (acquisition of Yammer, Inc. "for $1.1 billion in cash"). https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/789019/000119312513310206/d527745d10k.htm ↩︎
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For Sacks's PayPal COO role and the post-PayPal ventures, see the PayPal Mafia page and the contemporaneous Silicon Valley press. ↩︎
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For the All-In Podcast and the Trump AI/crypto czar role, see the contemporaneous press coverage of the second Trump administration appointments. ↩︎
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PayPal, Inc. Form S-1 registration statement, filed September 28, 2001, "Management," biography of David O. Sacks. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1103415/000091205701533855/a2059025zs-1.htm ↩︎
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PayPal, Inc. Form 10-K405 for fiscal 2001, filed March 13, 2002, "Management": "David O. Sacks has served as our Chief Operating Officer since February 2002." https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1103415/000091205702009834/a2073071z10-k405.htm ↩︎