Joe Lonsdale, managing partner of venture capital firm 8VC, is also one of the founders of the University of Austin.
Palantir
Austin billionaire Joe Lonsdale has built a network of influence that reaches deep into the Trump administration, helping shape the White House’s approach to homelessness and other major policy issues, according to a recent Washington Post report.
Lonsdale, who co-founded Palantir and the University of Austin among other tech and political ventures, moved his family from California to the Austin area in 2020. He settled in Austin a year later and founded the Cicero Institute, a public policy organization that says it works to “restore liberty.”
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Through Cicero and his relationships with Vice President JD Vance and other Trump administration officials, Lonsdale has helped push policy proposals from the think tank into statehouses and the federal government, the Post reported.
Lonsdale’s relationship with Vance dates to Vance’s time working for fellow Palantir co-founder and billionaire Peter Thiel.
The American-Statesman contacted the Cicero Institute and Lonsdale’s representative for comment.
Trump administration adopts homelessness approach backed by Cicero
The Cicero Institute proposed making it a crime to sleep outside and moving people experiencing homelessness into temporary shelters or treatment facilities, with jail as an alternative for those who refused either option.
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The proposal initially gained little traction, according to the Post. It has since become the Trump administration’s official policy, the newspaper reported.
Versions of Cicero’s proposal have become law in 15 states, including 11 that have made sleeping outside a crime, according to the Post.
Cicero’s influence extends to Texas and other states
Since 2021, Cicero has worked to advance 214 pieces of legislation that became law in 29 states, covering public safety, education, artificial intelligence and healthcare.
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States passed 85 Cicero-backed bills in 2025, twice the number passed in 2024, according to the think tank.
One of the most notable measures in Texas prohibits colleges and universities from maintaining diversity, equity and inclusion offices or conducting DEI training.
The Post reported that experts from Lonsdale’s organization hold weekly calls with White House officials. Lonsdale has also consulted federal agency leaders over lunch and communicated with Vance by text, according to the newspaper.
Lonsdale also shared ideas about eliminating government inefficiency and fraud with Elon Musk, the Texas-based Tesla and SpaceX CEO. Those ideas reportedly helped form the premise of Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
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Lonsdale’s connections to Trump administration officials are also reflected in the guest list for “American Optimist,” a podcast he hosts from his Austin home.
Guests have included Michael Kratsios, Trump’s top science adviser and a former Thiel employee; Ben Black, who runs the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation; and Emil Michael, the Defense Department’s chief technology officer.
After moving to Texas, Lonsdale also cultivated relationships with prominent political and business figures in the state, according to the Post. They include Houston billionaire and Republican megadonor Dick Weekley, Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas first lady Cecilia Abbott, as well as Michael and Susan Dell.
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Lonsdale has also drawn attention for controversial public statements. He has called for the return of public executions in the United States.
In a since-deleted social media post, Lonsdale attributed the relatively small number of Black people who have succeeded in venture capital to what he called “average Black culture,” citing factors including “out-of-wedlock births” and a devaluing of education.