But Tan's passion, as it is for a growing number of tech industry leaders, is San Francisco politics. He's part of a love-'em-or-hate-'em group of tech executives and investors with lots of opinions on the town and endless piles of cash to, as they say in the tech industry, move fast and break things. (His critics would say it's more like they're trying to buy City Hall.)
To some members of San Francisco's political establishment, Tan, 43, has become the most annoying in a parade of wealthy tech executives. He has created a bombastic online persona while spending around $400,000 on local politics in recent years, and potentially much more to come. And on the social media site
Just after midnight on Jan. 27, he posted on X, formerly Twitter, that seven left-leaning members of the city's Board of Supervisors, listed by name, should “die slowly,” punctuated with an insult. It was a subtle reference to rap legend Tupac Shakur's famous song “Hit 'Em Up,” released 28 years ago as an insult to his musical rivals. But to some people it seemed like a threat.
Mr Tan, he admitted when asked by an X fan, was drunk.
A few hours after his post was published, Mr Tan deleted it and apologized. But many people had already seen it.
A couple of days later, some supervisors received anonymous letters at their homes with Mr. Tan's face and the words: “Garry Tan is right! I wish a slow and painful death for you and your loved ones.” Aaron Peskin, a supervisor who is considering challenging London Breed, the mayor of San Francisco, in the November election, was one of the few supervisors who filed police reports based on Mr. Tan's post.
