Editing Michael Moritz

{{short description|Welsh businessman (born 1954)}}
{{for|the American theatrical producer|Michael J. Moritz Jr.}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2018}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix   = Sir
| name               = Michael Moritz
| honorific_suffix   = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|KBE}}
| image              = Michael Moritz 2013.jpg
| imagesize          = 
| alt                = 
| caption            = Moritz in 2013
| birth_name         = Michael Jonathan Moritz 
| birth_date         = {{birth date and age |df=yes|1954|9|12}}
| birth_place        = [[Cardiff]], Wales
| citizenship        = United Kingdom, United States<ref name="Forbes profile">{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/michael-moritz/ |title=Forbes profile: Michael Moritz |website=Forbes |access-date=11 October 2020}}</ref>
| education          = {{ubl|[[University of Oxford]] (BA)|[[University of Pennsylvania]] (MBA)}}
| occupation         = Former [[Partner (business rank)|Partner]] at [[Sequoia Capital]]<ref name="Sequoia" />
| known_for          = Venture capitalist
| spouse             = Harriet Heyman
| children           = 2
| website            = 
}}

'''Sir Michael Jonathan Moritz''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|KBE}} (born 12 September 1954)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nndb.com/people/151/000124776/|title=Michael Moritz|website=www.nndb.com}}</ref> is a Welsh billionaire [[venture capitalist]], [[Philanthropy|philanthropist]], author, and former journalist. Moritz works for [[Sequoia Capital]], wrote the first history of [[Apple Inc.]], ''[[The Little Kingdom]]'', and authored ''Going for Broke: Lee Iacocca's Battle to Save Chrysler''.<ref>Moritz, Michael, and Barrett Seaman. ''Going for Broke: Lee Iacocca's Battle to Save Chrysler''. Doubleday, 1984.</ref> Previously, Moritz was a staff writer at [[Time (magazine)|''Time'' magazine]] and a member of the board of directors of [[Google]].<ref>[https://www.google.com/intl/en/press/pressrel/moritz.html "Michael Moritz Will Not Seek Re-Election to Google's Board of Directors"], Google press release, 22 March 2007.</ref> He studied at the [[University of Oxford]] and the [[Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania]] and went on to found Technologic Partners before becoming a venture capitalist in the 1980s. Moritz was named as the No. 1 venture capitalist on the ''[[Forbes]]'' [[Midas List]] in 2006 and 2007.<ref name="forbes midas" />

==Early life and education==
Michael Jonathan Moritz was born to a Jewish family<ref>[http://www.timesofisrael.com/jewish-billionaire-michael-moritz-gives-115-million-to-oxford/ "Jewish billionaire Michael Moritz gives $115 million to Oxford – Funding a scholarship program in honor of his father who escaped Nazi Germany and studied at Oxford with similar financial assistance"], ''Times of Israel'', 16 July 2012.</ref> in [[Cardiff]], Wales, on 12 September 1954. His father, Ludwig Alfred Moritz (1921–2003), was a Jew who fled [[Nazi Germany]]. A professor of Classics at Cardiff University, in the 1970s, he became its Vice Principal (Administration).<ref>Personal knowledge of the editor, who worked with Alfred Moritz in the Registry of Cardiff University</ref> His mother, Doris (née Rath; 1924–2019), also fled Nazi Germany. Moritz attended [[Howardian High School]] in Cardiff.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-18809606|title=Profile: Michael Moritz|date=2012-07-12|work=BBC News|access-date=2018-11-13}}</ref>

Moritz earned a bachelor's degree in history at [[Christ Church, Oxford]], and in 1978, an MBA from the [[Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania]] as a [[Thouron Award|Thouron scholar]].<ref name="linkedin"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thouronaward.org/docs/thouronnewssu07.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=6 February 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140814043625/http://www.thouronaward.org/docs/thouronnewssu07.pdf |archive-date=14 August 2014  }}</ref>

==Career==

===Journalist===
Moritz first worked for many years as a journalist. In the early 1980s, when he was a reporter for ''Time'', [[Steve Jobs]] contracted him to document the development of the [[Apple Macintosh|Mac]] for a book he was writing about Apple.<ref name="folk" /> According to [[Andy Hertzfeld]], in response to the fact that a history of another computer company had been published a year earlier, Jobs said: "Mike's going to be our historian." As he was close in age to many on the development team, he seemed to be a good choice.<ref name="folk"/>

By late 1982, Moritz was ''Time''{{'}}s San Francisco Bureau Chief and working on the special [[Time Person of the Year]] issue, which was initially supposed to be about Jobs. His research included a lengthy interview with Jobs' high school girlfriend, [[Chrisann Brennan]], in which she discussed the history of their child, [[Lisa Brennan-Jobs|Lisa]].<ref>Cocks Jay. Reported by Michael Moritz. "[http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,953633,00.html The Updated Book of Jobs]" in ''Machine of the Year: The Computer Moves in''. ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'',  3 January 1983.</ref> Moritz's follow-up interview with Jobs on the subject led to denial of paternity on his part.<ref name="machineofthe year1">Cocks Jay. Reported by Michael Moritz. "[http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,953633,00.html The Updated Book of Jobs]" in ''Machine of the Year: The Computer Moves in''. ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'',  3 January 1983:27.</ref><ref name=bite /><ref name="JobsBio1" /> The issue also contained negative commentary on Jobs from other Apple employees.<ref name="folk"/> The special issue was renamed ''Machine of the Year'' prior to publication,<ref name=bite/><ref name="JobsBio1"/> celebrated ''The Computer''<ref name="folk"/> and declared that "it would have been possible to single out as Man of the Year one of the engineers or entrepreneurs who masterminded this technological revolution, but no one person has clearly dominated those turbulent events. More important, such a selection would obscure the main point. TIME's Man of the Year for 1982, the greatest influence for good or evil, is not a man at all. It is a machine: the computer."<ref name="folk"/> Jobs cut off all ties with Moritz after the issue was published and threatened to fire anyone who communicated with him.<ref name="folk"/> According to Hertzfeld, "some of us talked with Mike again surreptitiously, as he was putting the finishing touches on his book around the time of the Mac introduction" and the resulting text, ''[[The Little Kingdom|The Little Kingdom: the Private Story of Apple Computer]]'', "remains one of the best books about Apple Computer ever written".<ref name="folk"/>

In 2009, 25 years after ''The Little Kingdom'', Moritz published a revised and expanded follow-up: ''Return to the Little Kingdom: How Apple and Steve Jobs Changed the World''.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.overlookpress.com/return-to-the-little-kingdom.html| title = Overlookpress.com| date = September 2022}}</ref> In the prologue to ''Return to the Little Kingdom'', Moritz states that he was as incensed as Jobs was about the ''Time Magazine'' special issue:
<blockquote>Steve rightly took umbrage over his portrayal and what he saw as a grotesque betrayal of confidences, while I was equally distraught by the way in which material I had arduously gathered for a book about Apple was siphoned, filtered, and poisoned with a gossipy benzene by an editor in New York whose regular task was to chronicle the wayward world of rock-and-roll music. Steve made no secret of his anger and left a torrent of messages on the answering machine I kept in my converted earthquake cottage at the foot of San Francisco's Potrero Hill. He, understandably, banished me from Apple and forbade anyone in his orbit to talk to me. The experience made me decide that I would never again work anywhere I could not exert a large amount of control over my own destiny or where I would be paid by the word. I finished my leave [and] published my book, ''The Little Kingdom: The Private Story of Apple Computer'', which I felt, unlike the unfortunate magazine article, presented a balanced portrait of the young Steve Jobs.<ref name=reissue /></blockquote>In 2015, Moritz collaborated with [[Alex Ferguson]] on his book, ''Leading: Learning from Life and My Years at Manchester United'', which draws on Ferguson's experience as a [[Association football|football]] manager, and provides lessons on achieving business and life success.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.hachettebooks.com/titles/alex-ferguson/leading/9781478935230/ |title=Leading |date=2017-06-27 |isbn=978-1-4789-3523-0 |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Venture capitalist===
In 1986, Moritz joined [[Sequoia Capital]] after co-authoring ''Going for Broke: The Chrysler Story'' with Barrett Seaman, ''Time''{{'}}s Detroit bureau chief. After leaving ''Time'', Moritz co-founded Technologic Partners, a technology newsletter and conference company.<ref name="linkedin"/>

His [[Dot-com company|internet company]] investments include [[Google]], [[Yahoo!]], [[Skyscanner]], [[PayPal]], [[Webvan]], [[YouTube]], [[eToys.com|eToys]], and [[Zappos]].<ref name="observer" /> He currently sits on the boards of [[24/7 Customer]], Earth Networks, [[Gamefly]], [[HealthCentral]], [[Green Dot Corporation]], [[Klarna]], [[Kayak.com]], [[LinkedIn]], [[Stripe (company)|Stripe]] and [[PopSugar]]. Moritz previously served on the boards of [[A123 Systems]], [[Aricent Group]], Atom Entertainment, CenterRun, [[eGroups]], [[Flextronics]], Google, [[ITA Software]], [[Luxim]], PayPal, [[Plaxo]], [[Pure Digital Technologies|Pure Digital]], Saba Software, Yahoo!, and [[Zappos.com|Zappos]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.sequoiacap.com/us/michael-moritz/info|title=Michael Moritz|publisher=Sequoia Capital|access-date=4 June 2015|archive-date=7 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150607190411/http://www.sequoiacap.com/us/michael-moritz/info|url-status=dead}}</ref> Google was one of several co-investments with [[John Doerr]] of rival venture capital firm [[Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers]],<ref>[https://www.google.com/press/pressrel/pressrelease1.html "Google Receives $25 Million in Equity Funding"], Google press release, 7 June 1999.</ref> and the [[initial public offering]] of the company in 2004 made Moritz one of Wales' richest men.<ref name="bbc" /> His investment in Google helped him achieve the number-one listing in ''[[Forbes]]''{{'}} "[[Midas List]]" of the top dealmakers in the technology industry in 2006 and 2007,<ref name="forbes midas" /> and a place on the 2007 "TIME 100".<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070505050506/http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/time100/article/0,28804,1595326_1615737_1616199,00.html "Builders & Titans: Michael Moritz"], [[Eric Schmidt]], ''TIME'', May 2007</ref> He ranked number two on the Midas List for 2008<ref>[https://www.forbes.com/lists/2008/99/biz_08midas_Michael-Moritz_1YIC.html "#2 Michael Moritz"], Forbes.com Midas List 2008, 24 January 2008.</ref> and 2009.<ref>[https://www.forbes.com/lists/2009/99/midas09_Michael-Moritz_1YIC.html "#2 Michael Moritz"], Forbes.com Midas List 2009, 29 January 2009.</ref>

In July 2023, Moritz stepped down from Sequoia after nearly four decades. He remains on the boards of Stripe, Klarna and Instacart, but Sequoia said that those seats would be replaced over time. Moritz announced that he would focus on Sequoia Heritage—a wealth-management fund that he helped launch, now independent of Sequoia Capital.<ref>{{cite news |last=Bradshaw |first=Tim |date=19 July 2023 |title=Michael Moritz leaves Sequoia Capital after almost 40 years |url=https://www.ft.com/content/964f5f50-97b2-4f67-b9b7-4c9bf8b25808 |work=Financial Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Hu |first=Krystal |date=19 July 2023 |title=Sequoia Capital partner Michael Moritz to exit firm after 38 years |url=https://www.reuters.com/business/sequoia-capital-partner-michael-moritz-exit-firm-after-38-years-2023-07-19/ |publisher=Reuters}}</ref>

===''San Francisco Standard''===
''The [[San Francisco Standard]]'' is a for-profit San Francisco-centric news web site, funded by Michael Moritz, with offices in the [[Mission District, San Francisco|Mission District]], using Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.<ref name="sfstandard.com-about">{{cite web |title=About Us |url=https://sfstandard.com/about/ |website=The San Francisco Standard |access-date=17 February 2022}}</ref><ref name="48hills-SF-Standard">{{cite news |title=Flush with significance: Why reopening a BART bathroom is a very big deal |url=https://48hills.org/2022/02/flush-with-significance-why-reopening-a-bart-bathroom-is-a-very-big-deal/ |access-date=17 February 2022 |work=48 hills |date=3 February 2022 |quote=As the CEO of SF Standard, the new online media company funded by billionaire venture capitalist Michael Moritz, tweeted, "Feels very on brand for a single bathroom reopening to receive this much fanfare."}}</ref> Griffin Gaffney is the [[CEO]] of the ''SF Standard''<ref>{{cite web |title=Griffin Gaffney |url=https://sfstandard.com/author/griffin-gaffney/ |website=The San Francisco Standard |access-date=17 February 2022}}</ref><ref name="sfstandard-staff">{{cite web |title=Staff |url=https://sfstandard.com/staff/ |website=The San Francisco Standard |access-date=17 February 2022}}</ref> as well as co-founder of ''Here/Say Media'' and ''TogetherSF'', Moritz-funded [[501(c)4]] organizations.<ref name="vox.com/recode-crankstart">{{cite news |last1=Schleifer |first1=Theodore |title=How a $25 million donation to help students got ensnared in politics |url=https://www.vox.com/recode/2021/3/27/22351181/san-francisco-philanthropy-summer-school-crankstart |access-date=17 February 2022 |work=Vox |date=27 March 2021 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="linkedin-griffingaffney">{{cite web |title=Griffin Gaffney - CEO and Co-Founder - The San Francisco Standard |url=https://www.linkedin.com/in/griffingaffney |website=LinkedIn |access-date=17 February 2022 |quote=Harvard University, B.A.Social Studies; worked in Korea; Nutmeg, Product Management, 2012; LinkedIn, Associate, 2013; Stripe, Sales Team Member, 2014-2018; Humu, Account Management, 2018-2020 TogetherSF, Co-Founder, March 2020; CEO and Co-Founder, The San Francisco Standard, January 2021;}}</ref><ref name="missionlocal-Selig-here-say-media">{{cite news |last1=Selig |first1=Kate |title=New venture Here/Say Media won't disclose who its donors are. Experts say that's concerning. |url=https://missionlocal.org/2021/01/who-is-funding-here-say-media-the-founders-refuse-to-say/ |access-date=17 February 2022 |work=Mission Local |date=29 January 2021}}</ref> Griffin Gaffney is also a co-founder of ''PossibleSF''.<ref name="possiblesf.org">{{cite web |title=Our Mission |url=https://possiblesf.org/our-mission<!-- https://web.archive.org/web/20220217020156/https://possiblesf.org/our-mission --> |website=Possible SF |access-date=17 February 2022}}</ref><ref name="bloomberg-Lauerman-Gaffney">{{cite news |last1=Lauerman |first1=John |title=Harvard Students Forced to Withdraw in Cheating Scandal |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-02-01/harvard-students-forced-to-withdraw-in-cheating-scandal |access-date=17 February 2022 |work=Bloomberg |date=February 1, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151027210351/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-02-01/harvard-students-forced-to-withdraw-in-cheating-scandal |archive-date=27 October 2015 |quote=Griffin Gaffney, a Harvard senior majoring in social studies, said he's seen stronger, more detailed directives on collaboration in his course materials. "It's a paragraph or half a page rather than a sentence, and the professor always says something about it in class," he said in an interview.}}</ref><ref>Griffin Gaffney (Social Studies 99), "[https://www.academia.edu/44076009/Deckman_CV_Sept_2020 The normal gay male: Understanding the same-sex orientation disclosure]." Harvard University (2013).</ref>

==Honours==
In July 2010, Moritz was awarded an honorary fellowship from [[Cardiff University]],<ref>[http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/graduation/fellows/2010/index.html]{{Dead link|date=April 2020|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}, Cardiff University Fellows 2010</ref> where his father Alfred had previously been Vice-Principal and Professor of Classics.<ref>{{cite web|title=Obituaries|url=http://library.icls.sas.ac.uk/PressArchives/Obituaries.pdf|publisher=Institute of Classical Studies, University of London|access-date=20 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170517130505/http://library.icls.sas.ac.uk/PressArchives/Obituaries.pdf|archive-date=17 May 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In July 2014 he was honoured as a fellow of [[Aberystwyth University]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aber.ac.uk/en/news/archive/2014/07/title-153278-en.html|title=Aberystwyth University – July|website=www.aber.ac.uk|access-date=28 July 2016}}</ref>

In November 2014, Moritz was awarded an honorary doctorate from the [[Hong Kong University of Science and Technology]].<ref>{{Cite news| url = http://www.ust.hk/about-hkust/media-relations/press-releases/22nd-cong-2/ |title=HKUST Holds 22nd Congregation Conferring Honorary Doctorates on Five Distinguished Academics and Community Leaders|publisher=[[Hong Kong University of Science and Technology]] |date = 11 July 2014}}</ref>

Moritz was appointed [[Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire]] (KBE) in the [[2013 Birthday Honours]] for services to promoting British economic interests and philanthropic work.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=60534|supp=y|page=25|date=15 June 2013}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Moritz lives in San Francisco with his wife, American novelist Harriet Heyman, and their two children.<ref name=linkedin/><ref name="bbc"/>

In May 2012, Moritz announced that he had been diagnosed with a rare, incurable medical condition and would step back from his day-to-day responsibilities at Sequoia Capital while also being elevated to the position of chairman.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://gigaom.com/2012/05/21/super-vc-mike-moritz-diagnosed-with-medical-condition-steps-back/|title=Super VC Mike Moritz diagnosed with rare medical condition, steps back|last=Malik|first=Om|date=2012-05-21|website=gigaom.com|language=en-US|access-date=2018-10-09|archive-date=22 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022132618/https://gigaom.com/2012/05/21/super-vc-mike-moritz-diagnosed-with-medical-condition-steps-back/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Philanthropy and political involvement==
Moritz is a signatory of [[The Giving Pledge]], committing himself to give away at least 50% of his wealth to charitable causes.<ref>[http://jewishvoiceny.com/index.php?view=article&catid=96%3Abusiness&id=995%3Ajewish-billionaires-join-group-pledging-majority-of-their-wealth-to-charity&tmpl=component&print=1&page=&option=com_content&Itemid=279 Jewish Voice New York: "Jewish Billionaires Join Group Pledging Majority of Their Wealth to Charity" by Sholom Schreiber] 25 April 2005</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://fortune.com/2012/04/19/12-more-billionaires-sign-on-to-buffettgates-pledge/|title=12 more billionaires sign on to Buffett/Gates pledge|work=Fortune|first=Carol J.|last=Loomis|author2=Miguel Helft|date=April 19, 2012|access-date=2018-10-09|language=en|archive-date=10 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181010060647/http://fortune.com/2012/04/19/12-more-billionaires-sign-on-to-buffettgates-pledge/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In June 2008, Moritz and his wife announced a donation of US$50&nbsp;million to Christ Church, his Oxford college, the largest single donation in the college's history.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/12/world/europe/oxford-gets-major-donation-for-student-aid.html|title=Oxford Gets $115 Million From Web Investor, Moritz|last=Guttenplan|first=D. D.|newspaper=The New York Times |date=July 11, 2012| access-date=2018-10-09|language=en}}</ref>

In July 2012, it was announced that Moritz had donated £75m to [[University of Oxford|Oxford University]] to provide £11,000 scholarships to students from families with an annual income below £16,000.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/education-18785041|title=Oxford donor cuts fees for poor|last=Coughlan|first=Sean|date=2012-07-11|work=BBC News|access-date=2018-10-09|language=en-GB}}</ref> The donation is the largest financial donation to an undergraduate university in European history.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-07-11 |title=Venture capitalist gives £75m for Oxford's poorest students |url=http://www.theguardian.com/education/2012/jul/11/venture-capitalist-75m-oxford-scholarships |access-date=2022-08-06 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref>

In February 2013 he gave $5&nbsp;million for [[Juilliard School]]'s Music Advancement Program.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.juilliard.edu/community/music-advancement/index.php|title=MAP}}</ref>

In September 2013 he and his wife gave $30&nbsp;million to the [[University of California, San Francisco]] (UCSF) to create the UCSF Discovery Fellows Program, the largest endowed programme for PhD students in the history of the [[University of California]]; UCSF will raise $30 million in matching funds.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2013/09/109031/silicon-valley-investor-michael-moritz-and-harriet-heyman-form-largest-endowed|title=Michael Moritz, Harriet Heyman Form UC's Largest Endowed Program for PhD Students|website=UC San Francisco|first=Laura |last=Kurtzman|date=September 24, 2013}}</ref>

In February 2016 he and his wife gave $50&nbsp;million to the [[University of Chicago]] (UC), benefiting the Odyssey programme, which supports lower-income students with outstanding potential; UC will raise $50&nbsp;million in matching funds.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.uchicago.edu/story/100-million-initiative-enhances-uchicagos-commitment-lower-income-students|title=$100 million initiative enhances UChicago's commitment to lower-income students|website=University of Chicago News|date=February 17, 2016}}</ref>

In October 2016, ''[[The Guardian]]'' reported that Michael Moritz "donated $49,999 to a divisive ballot measure intended to clear San Francisco's streets of homeless encampments, according to campaign filings".<ref name=wong>{{cite news|last1=Wong|first1=Julia Carrie|author-link=Julia Carrie Wong|title=Wealthy San Francisco tech investors bankroll bid to ban homeless camps|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/oct/12/san-francisco-homeless-proposition-q-tech-investors|date=12 October 2016|newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref> Moritz later wrote an [[Op-Ed]] for the ''[[Wall Street Journal]]'' opposing a homelessness funding measure.<ref name=prop_c>{{cite news|last1=Michael|first1=Moritz|title=Brother, Can You Spare Three Billion Dimes?|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/brother-can-you-spare-three-billion-dimes-1540770256|website=The Wall Street Journal|date=October 28, 2018}}</ref>

In May 2018, Moritz donated $20 million to the [[American Civil Liberties Union]] (ACLU), the largest donation the organization has received.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Leuty |first=Ron |date=May 15, 2018 |title=Meet the S.F. venture capitalist who just gave the ACLU its biggest gift ever |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/news/2018/05/15/aclu-michael-moritz-sequoia-philanthropy-vc-gift.html |access-date=August 6, 2022 |website=San Francisco Business Times}}</ref>

He donated to the [[The Lincoln Project|Lincoln Project]], a Republican-led super PAC opposing the re-election of [[Donald Trump]] and Republican Senators who supported him.<ref>{{cite news |title=Six More Billionaires Donate To The Anti-Trump Lincoln Project |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/michelatindera/2020/07/15/six-billionaires-join-christy-walton-to-support-anti-trump-republican-group-that-sparked-trump-twitter-tirades/ |date=July 15, 2020}}</ref> [[SFGate]] notes that he also donated $336 million into various political and social causes in [[San Francisco]] over three years.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2023-12-11 |title=Billionaire who wants to change SF has put reported $336M into city |work=SFGATE |url=https://www.sfgate.com/tech/article/michael-moritz-crankstart-togethersf-investor-18494635.php |access-date=2024-02-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231211192828/https://www.sfgate.com/tech/article/michael-moritz-crankstart-togethersf-investor-18494635.php |archive-date=11 December 2023 |last1=Council |first1=Stephen }}</ref> These causes include organizations such as SF Parent Action, which, in 2022, advocated for a recall of members of the city's school board, and also TogetherSF Action, which is known for ads critical of San Francisco's drug policies that appeared all over the city in May 2023.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite web | url=https://tsfaction.org/fentalife | title=That's Fentalife! }}</ref>

In 2024 Moritz and TogetherSF backed the mayoral campaign of [[Mark Farrell (politician)|Mark Farrell]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/16/opinion/aaron-peskin-san-francisco-politics-housing.html | title=Opinion &#124; the Progressive Politicians Who Failed San Francisco | work=The New York Times | date=16 October 2024 | last1=Moritz | first1=Michael }}</ref>
===Crankstart===
In 2019, it was announced that his and his wife's charity Crankstart would be sponsoring the [[Booker Prize]] for novelists for the next five years.<ref>{{cite news|title=Booker Prize finds new funder in billionaire Sir Michael Moritz|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-47393880|work=BBC News|date=28 February 2019|access-date=28 February 2019}}</ref> The couple did not want the name of their charity to be attached to the prize, which subsequently reverted to its old name of the Booker Prize.<ref>{{cite news|title=Booker prize: Silicon Valley billionaire takes over as new sponsor|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/booker-prize-silicon-valley-billionaire-takes-over-as-new-sponsor-1.3809675|work=Irish Times|first=Alison|last=Flood|date=28 February 2019|access-date=20 July 2020}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
<!--unused<ref name="Forbes">{{cite web
| title = Michael Moritz – Forbes
| url   = https://www.forbes.com/profile/michael-moritz
| work  = [[Forbes]]
| date  = 9 March 2011
| quote = Net worth: $1.8 billion
}}</ref>-->

<ref name="Sequoia">{{cite web
| url        = http://www.sequoiacap.com/people/michael-moritz/
| title      = Michael Moritz Bio
| work = Sequoia Capital US/Europe
| access-date = 14 November 2007
}}</ref>

<ref name="folk">{{cite web
| url        = http://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?story=The_Little_Kingdom.txt
| title      = The Little Kingdom
| access-date = 28 January 2015
| last       = Hertzfeld
| first      = Andy
| publisher  = Folklore.org
}}</ref>

<ref name=bite>{{cite book
| last      = Brennan |first=Chrisann 
| title     = [[The Bite in the Apple|THE BITE IN THE APPLE: A Memoir of My Life with Steve Jobs]]
| publisher = St. Martin's Griffin
| page      = ebook 
}}</ref>

<ref name=reissue>{{cite book
| last  = Moritz |first=Michael 
| title = [[The Little Kingdom|Return to the Little Kingdom: Steve Jobs, the Creation of Apple, and How It Changed the World]]
|publisher=Overlook Press |page=ebook |date=2009 
}}</ref>

<ref name="linkedin">[http://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelmoritz Michael Moritz's profile], LinkedIn.com.</ref>

<ref name="JobsBio1">{{cite book|last=Isaacson|first=Walter | author-link =Walter Isaacson|title=[[Steve Jobs (book)|Steve Jobs]]|year=2011|page=ebook|publisher=Simon & Schuster}}</ref>

<ref name="observer">Heather Connon, [http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,,1922618,00.html "Gags-to-riches tale of the Welsh wizard who bet on YouTube"], ''[[The Observer]]'', 15 October 2006.</ref>

<ref name="bbc">[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/3676833.stm "Google investor to earn £1.3bn"], BBC News, 1 May 2004.</ref>

<ref name="forbes midas">[https://www.forbes.com/lists/2007/99/biz_07midas_Michael-Moritz_1YIC.html "#1 Michael Moritz"], Forbes.com Midas List 2007, 25 January 2007.</ref>
}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.sequoiacap.com/ Sequoia Capital Website]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moritz, Michael}}
[[Category:1954 births]]
[[Category:Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford]]
[[Category:American people of Welsh-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:21st-century American philanthropists]]
[[Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Cardiff]]
[[Category:Time (magazine) people]]
[[Category:British venture capitalists]]
[[Category:21st-century British businesspeople]]
[[Category:20th-century Welsh businesspeople]]
[[Category:Welsh billionaires]]
[[Category:Wharton School alumni]]
[[Category:Welsh people of German-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:Welsh emigrants to the United States]]