Bits: Daily Report: A Venture Capitalist and His Famous Father

If you work in the tech industry, it’s a good bet you know who Ben Horowitz is: Venture capitalist. Entrepreneur. Netscape veteran. Serious fan of hip-hop music.

What you may not know is that his father is David Horowitz, the left-wing intellectual and friend of the Black Panthers who turned into a right-wing intellectual who some would argue has provided the philosophical underpinnings of the Trump administration.

The two men, who couldn’t be more different, are nonetheless still very close and, as David Streitfeld writes, speak admiringly of each other — even if it’s likely there are few things they would agree on.

Ben is one of the most influential technology investors of his generation and has steered clear of politics. That suits David just fine.

“I liked it when there were fringes on the left and the right and a somewhat rational center,” David said. “We’ve lost the center. Normal people are wary of politics, with good reason. It’s a very dirty business.”