Who helped Musk acquire Twitter? There’s a Russian connection

Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter in 2022 involved many financial institutions, banks, and investment funds – but also, indirectly, two Russian oligarchs, closely tied to the Kremlin.

The Wall Street Journal has already called Musk’s $44 billion Twitter takeover one of the worst ever for the banks that the billionaire borrowed money from.

Still, Musk also enlisted the aid of multiple investors, who are now all shareholders in X Holdings Corp. Because a federal judge ordered X to unseal the list of the shareholders, we now know who has invested in the social media platform.

To some, the document makes for eye-opening reading. The investors include entities linked to Sean “Diddy” Combs, a rapper who has been accused of rape, assault, and forcible drugging, venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, and Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal al Saud, among others.

Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz recently announced that they were backing Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election – as is Musk. Another venture capital firm, Sequoia Capital, is also on the list and is donating hundreds of thousands to Trump’s campaign.

The most interesting name on the list, though, is 8VC, a venture capitalist company co-founded by Joe Lonsdale, co-founder of intelligence contractor and data analysis platform Palantir.

8VC, as it turns out, employs Jack Moshkovich and Denis Aven, two children of sanctioned Russian oligarchs, Vadim Moshkovich and Petr Aven, respectively.

The older Aven is the president of Alfa Group, one of Russia’s largest financial and industrial conglomerates. He is sanctioned by the European Union, the United Kingdom, and the US Treasury.

Vadim Moshkovich, founder of the agriculture conglomerate Rusagro, was also sanctioned by Western states (but not the US) after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. He served in Russia’s Federation Council, the upper chamber of parliament, from 2006 to 2014.

There is, to be sure, no indication that the sanctioned fathers have any financial relationship with 8VC. But the US government is now paying more attention to foreign connections to the tech industry.

In July, the National Counterintelligence and Security Center issued a bulletin warning Silicon Valley startups about foreign adversaries using investment firms to gain access to sensitive data and threaten national security.

“If you're hiring the children of people that are reasonably assumed to be supporting the Russian regime – even if they might have had private doubts at one point – you better have done due diligence,” Daniel Fried, a former sanctions coordinator at the US State Department, told Forbes.

In a long post on X, Lonsdale defended the decision to hire Denis Aven and Jack Moshkovich, calling the latter “a superstar” and Aven “a talent.”

After it came out that I’m supporting Trump this election, it was no surprise to be attacked by lefty journalists on multiple topics. The far-left Rolling Stone’s hit piece on me a few days ago based on our policy org Cicero’s success - we’re helping several states reduce…

undefined Joe Lonsdale (@JTLonsdale) August 16, 2024

Lonsdale also described the elder Moshkovich – who met with Russian president Vladimir Putin the day Ukraine was invaded – as “a successful agricultural leader.”

However, to Ukrainian experts, the very fact that 8VC, a firm that employs children of sanctioned Russian individuals, has invested in X, explains a lot.

“Comrade Musk was forced to reveal that two sanctioned Russian oligarchs helped him to purchase Twitter! What a twist. I cannot believe it. Oh wait, but wasn’t it obvious?” said Roman Sheremeta, chairman of Ukrainian American House, a non-profit based in California.

“The guy who literally sabotaged the Ukrainian army by deliberately disabling Starlink and disrupting the Ukrainian attack on the Russian Black Sea fleet. The guy who constantly pushed Ukraine to stop its ’futile fight’ and get to the ceasefire.”