Elon Musk backed away from a plan to hire Rudy Giuliani as a political fixer to help him turn PayPal into a bank in 2001 after he and his aide found the then New York mayor “surrounded by cronies” in an office that looked “like a businessman’s.” Mob scene.”
“This guy lives on a different planet,” Musk, who would become the world’s richest man, said of Giuliani, who was then approaching the peak of his fame.
Giuliani left office At the end of 2001 After leading New York during the September 11 attacks, he then ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008, a campaign that quickly collapsed.
He became a lawyer and ally of Donald Trump, but missed a Cabinet appointment when Trump won the presidency in 2016.
Trump’s first impeachment was prompted by Giuliani’s action in Ukraine, where he sought to politically discredit opponents. Giuliani, now 79, has pleaded not guilty to 13 felony counts of racketeering and conspiracy, in connection with his work to support Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia.
The irony of the former New York mayor and US Attorney being indicted on charges often used against organized crime figures has been widely noted. As a prosecutor, Giuliani made his name by going after Mafia bosses.
The latest portrayal of Giuliani as a gangster is included in Elon Musk, a new biography of the 52-year-old Tesla, SpaceX, and
Isaacson’s book was widely quoted in the US media before its publication on Tuesday.
Isaacson writes that the brief encounter between Musk and Giuliani came as Musk sought to turn PayPal, the online payments company he co-founded, into “a social network that would disrupt the entire banking industry” — a vision he now holds for Twitter, which it bought in October 2022 and rebranded. To X this year.
“We have to decide whether or not to aim big,” Isaacson wrote, adding that some “thought Musk’s wording was flawed.”
“Focus groups showed that the name
Such discussions prompted Musk and investor Michael Moritz to go to New York “to see if they could recruit Rudy Giuliani, who was about to end his term as mayor, to be a political aide and guide them through the next phase,” Isaacson says. The politics complexities of being a bank.
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But as soon as they entered his office, they knew it wasn’t going to work.
“It was like walking into a mob scene,” Moritz says. Giuliani was “surrounded by cronies. He had absolutely no idea what Silicon Valley was, but he and his followers were eager to line their pockets.”
“They asked for 10% of the company, and that was the end of the meeting. This guy lives on a different planet,” Musk told Moritz.
Giuliani managed to line his pockets after leaving City Hall, Make millions As a lawyer, consultant and paid speaker around the world.
That picture has changed, too. Facing mounting legal costs stemming from his work for Trump and other cases including a $10 million lawsuit from an ex-partner alleging sexual assault, Giuliani’s lawyers said he is struggling to pay his bills. In New York, his luxury apartment was put up for sale.
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