Silicon Valley immigrants disprove privilege narrative, claims billionaire investor

Prominent billionaire tech investor David Friedberg argued that immigrants who succeed in Silicon Valley challenge the idea that privilege determines success in a recent exchange on X.

The Ohalo CEO was responding to New York Times finance columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin, who quoted former British politician and Meta executive Nick Clegg as saying, “If you’re accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression.”

Referring to Clegg, Sorkin asked, “I was almost stopped in my tracks by that line in a profile of him. What do you think? I’m very curious.” Friedberg replied: “I’d argue you’re too easily moved by the choice of words. ‘Privilege’ and ‘equality’ are selected because they confuse the notion of fairness.” He rephrased the line, writing, “If you’re accustomed to succeeding due to hard work, ingenuity, risk/sacrifice, and, sure, some amount of luck, having the outcomes reset so that everyone is rewarded more equally feels unfair.” He added that many of Silicon Valley’s most successful people are “immigrants with zero baseline privilege.”

Friedberg’s remarks came as the role of immigrants in the technology sector faces new uncertainty under President Trump’s Executive Order 14160, titled “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship.” The order seeks to end automatic birthright citizenship for children born to parents who are undocumented or temporarily present, including those on H-1B visas. Although the measure has been blocked in federal courts, it has heightened concerns for immigrant families whose legal status is closely tied to H-1B employment in Silicon Valley.