Silicon Valley Is Full of Wealthy Men Who Think They’re Victims, Says Nick Clegg

THE GUARDIAN: Former Lib Dem leader and Meta strategist writes in new book that power in tech capital is interlaced with ‘self pity’

Silicon Valley is full of hubris and hugely wealthy and macho men who think they are victims, the former politician and Facebook executive Nick Clegg has said.

The former leader of the Liberal Democrats makes the claim in a new book chronicling his three careers as an MEP in Brussels, an MP and deputy prime minister in Westminster and as a communications and public policy strategist in San Francisco.

In an interview with the Guardian, Clegg heaped praise on his former boss, Mark Zuckerberg, the founder and chief executive of Meta, but was scathing of the culture fostered in the tech capital of the world where he said wealth and power was interlaced with “self pity”.

“In Silicon Valley, far from thinking they’re lucky, they think they’re hard done by, [that] they’re victims. I couldn’t, and still can’t, understand this deeply unattractive combination of machismo and self-pity.

He said: “It is a cultural thing, through from Elon Musk’s chainsaw-wielding stuff to any Silicon Valley podcast. If you’re accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression.”

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His new book, How to Save the Internet, goes behind the scenes at Meta and provides insight into how Silicon Valley’s insularity has blinded it to its missteps. “Everyone wears the same clothes, drives the same cars, listens to the same podcasts, follows the same fads,” Clegg said. “It’s a place born of immense sort of herd-like behaviour.” » | Lisa O’Carroll and Gaby Hinsliff | Saturday, August 23, 2025

‘If the people who ran Facebook were monsters, I wouldn’t have worked there’: Nick Clegg on tech bros, Trump and leaving Silicon Valley »

Twitter, Meta, Amazon, Netflix… Dans la Silicon Valley, la fin d’une période d’expansion sans précédent

LE MONDE : Les géants de la tech, qui paraissaient intouchables, enregistrent depuis le début de l’année des pertes monumentales en Bourse et licencient à tour de bras.

Dans la Silicon Valley, la vague de licenciements dans les industries technologiques a été accueillie avec un certain fatalisme. Le ralentissement était inévitable, estiment les experts. Pour l’industrie technologique, la situation marque néanmoins un tournant. La fin d’une période de vingt ans d’expansion sans précédent.

Les géants de la tech, qui paraissaient intouchables, ne le sont plus. Leur puissance était sortie renforcée de la crise sanitaire, lorsque le numérique était devenu l’unique échappatoire vers le monde extérieur. Le travail à distance, le commerce en ligne semblaient promis à devenir la norme ; le tout-numérique, à dominer l’économie post-pandémie. La chute n’en est que plus spectaculaire. » | Par Corine Lesnes (San Francisco, correspondante) | vendredi 18 novembre 2022

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The Fall of Elizabeth Holmes: How Silicon Valley's Trial of the Century Unfolded

Jan 5, 2022 • Elizabeth Holmes, founder of the collapsed blood testing company Theranos, is facing decades in prison after being found guilty of conspiring to defraud her investors out of billions. The Guardian’s Rupert Neate explains how she went from "the next Steve Jobs" to convicted fraudster

Elizabeth Holmes: From Silicon Valley’s Female Icon to Disgraced CEO On Trial

Elizabeth Holmes was the Theranos CEO who claimed her technology could perform a large range of tests with a small amount of blood. Photograph: Stephen Lam/Reuters
THE OBSERVER: Once the world’s youngest female self-made billionaire, the former head of Theranos is facing fraud charges and possible jail time

The rise and fall of the blood testing startup Theranos turned the tech world upside down and captured the attention of millions beyond Silicon Valley, inspiring multiple books, documentaries and a television series.

Theranos set out to revolutionize the medical testing space, reaching a valuation of $10bn before the capabilities of its core technology were revealed to be largely fabricated. Now, its founder and former leader, Elizabeth Holmes, is about to face the music.

Holmes, 37, is facing trial in a California courtroom, charged with defrauding Theranos’s patients and investors. She could spend up to 20 years in prison, and has pleaded not guilty.

“This is a bellwether case,” said Jason Mehta, a Florida attorney with expertise in federal fraud cases in the health industry. “It has emerging technology and the typical marketing bravado of a startup, all in the crosshairs of the federal criminal justice system.” » | Kari Paul | Sunday, August 29, 2021

‘People wanted to believe’: reporter who exposed Theranos on Elizabeth Holmes’ trial »

Prince Harry Joins $1bn Silicon Valley Startup as Senior Executive

THE GUARDIAN: Duke of Sussex’s first formal role since ending royal duties involves ‘meaty role’ as chief impact officer at BetterUp

Prince Harry has been given a job by a $1bn (£730m) Silicon Valley startup which provides professional coaching, mental health advice and “immersive learning” as its chief impact officer.

The Duke of Sussex said he hoped to be able to “create impact in people’s lives” by working with BetterUp to provide “proactive coaching” for personal development, increased awareness and “an all-round better life”.

It is the Duke’s first formal position at a private company since he stepped down from being a working member of the royal family a year ago.

Harry and his wife, Meghan, have also signed multimillion-dollar deals to provide content for Spotify and Netflix.

As chief impact officer at BetterUp Prince Harry will be expected to help with product strategy decisions, charitable collaborations, and advise on topics related to mental health. Harry has already worked closely with mental health charities. » | Rupert Neate | Tuesday, March 23, 2021

Britain's Spy Chief Says US Tech Firms Aid Terrorism

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: New GCHQ director Richard Hannigan accuses some Silicon Valley companies of becoming 'the command and control networks of choice' for terrorists

Technology giants such as Facebook and Twitter have become "the command and control networks of choice" for terrorists and criminals but are "in denial" about the scale of the problem, the new head of GCHQ has said.

Robert Hannigan said that Isil terrorists in Syria and Iraq have "embraced the web" and are using it to intimidate people and inspire "would-be jihadis" from all over the World to join them.

He urged the companies to work more closely with the security services, arguing that it is time for them to confront "some uncomfortable truths" and that privacy is not an "absolute right".

He suggested that unless US technology companies co-operate, new laws will be needed to ensure that intelligence agencies are able to track and pursue terrorists. » | Steven Swinford, Senior Political Correspondent | Monday, November 03, 2014