Joe Lonsdale

Jeffrey Epstein Aetna-Epstein-Apollo corporate network (N722JE helicopter transaction) Silicon Valley Defense Complex
5 findings 14 connections 1 entities

All Connections

14 total
Peter Thiel corporate strong

Lonsdale is Palantir co-founder, Thiel mentee. Founded 8VC. Part of Thiel defense tech network.

8VC corporate strong

Lonsdale founded 8VC; Palantir co-founder; defense portfolio includes Epirus, Saronic, Overland AI

Lonsdale co-founded Palantir

Palmer Luckey corporate strong

Co-founders of Erebor Bank (Columbus, OH). Both from Thiel network: Luckey via Anduril/Founders Fund, Lonsdale via Palantir/8VC. Erebor positioned as bank for defense/crypto/AI ecosystem. $4.35B valuation.

Peter Thiel corporate strong

Lonsdale co-founded Palantir with Thiel in 2003. Later founded 8VC which invests in Thiel-network defense companies (Palantir, Anduril). Both back Erebor Bank. Lonsdale's 8VC employs sons of sanctioned Russian oligarchs.

8VC employment strong

Founder and Managing Partner of 8VC; sole executive officer on all Form D filings

Erebor Bank corporate strong

Co-founder of Erebor Bank. Also founder of 8VC, co-founder of Palantir, DOGE advisor. Fundraising memo cited co-founder's 'unique connectivity to banking regulators' — likely refers to Lonsdale's connections.

Palantir Technologies corporate strong

Co-founded Palantir in 2004 with Peter Thiel, Alex Karp, Stephen Cohen, Nathan Gettings

8VC owns strong

Founder and managing partner of 8VC; sole managing member of 8VC GP I LLC

Cicero Institute owns strong

Founded the Cicero Institute conservative think tank, also chairs Cicero Action and Cicero Research

Erebor Bank owns strong

Lonsdale co-founded Erebor Bank with Palmer Luckey. Also 8VC founder

Philippe Laffont financial medium

Co-investors in Blend Labs Inc (BLND). Lonsdale via 8VC, Laffont via Coatue Management.

Antonio Gracias financial medium

Both are defense-tech VC investors from the Thiel/Musk orbit. Gracias (Valor Equity Partners) and Lonsdale (8VC) have overlapping defense tech portfolios. Gracias served on Tesla board with Musk; Lonsdale co-founded Palantir with Thiel. Both now bridge private investment to government: Gracias via DOGE, Lonsdale via 8VC defense portfolio.

Richard Merkin social medium

July 19 2013 LA meeting with Epstein rep and Gary Winnick

All Findings

5 total
financial confirmed

8VC founding partner Joe Lonsdale (Palantir co-founder) donated $314K total (65% Republican). Top recipients: $60K WinRed, $50K One Team Senate Majority, $10K Cotton Majority Committee, $10K each to Friends of Mike Lee and Mike Lee Victory Fund. Defense oversight giving is particularly broad: Cotton (SASC, $12K), Dan Sullivan (SASC, $7K), Mullin (SASC, $5K), Tim Scott (SASC, $3.5K), Dan Crenshaw (HASC, $6K), Adam Smith (HASC Ranking Member, $4.3K). His $4.3K to Democratic HASC Ranking Member Adam Smith shows calculated bipartisan defense committee outreach. Also gave to Joni Ernst (SASC), Todd Young, Hagerty, Collins, Scalise, Womack, and Rounds — nearly a complete SASC rolodex.

financial high

Lonsdale FEC donations: 664K+ to Republican committees including Trump 47, RNC, Senate/House campaigns

FEC records show Joe/Joseph Lonsdale made 100+ contributions totaling over 664K. Major recipients include: Republican National Committee (103K), Trump 47 Committee (84K), One Team Senate Majority (50K), Grow the Majority (50K), NRCC (38K), NRSC (26.5K), Emmer Majority Builders (25K), Cornyn Victory (25K), Cotton Majority (10K), Mike Lee (10K), WinRed (57.3K via LittleSis data). Donations span 2024-2025, exclusively Republican. Also donated to bipartisan 'Problem Solvers' PACs. Connected to Mitch McConnell, Dan Crenshaw, Chip Roy, Tom Cotton, Mike Lee, Steve Scalise, Susan Collins.

relationship high

Joe Lonsdale: Palantir co-founder, 8VC managing partner, DOGE advisor, Reagan Foundation trustee, America PAC leader (1M donor), Apollo partnership (multi-billion); X/Twitter shareholder through 8VC

Lonsdale co-founded Palantir with Peter Thiel (2004), co-founded Formation 8 (2011), then 8VC (2015) with Drew Oetting and Jake Medwell. Also founded Addepar (wealth management), OpenGov (govt software), Resilience Bio. Board of Reagan Foundation. Advisor to Elon Musks DOGE panel. Led America PAC fundraising for Trump 2024 (personal 1M contribution). In Oct 2025, 8VC partnered with Apollo Global to deploy several billion dollars in defense, manufacturing, energy. 8VC appeared on unsealed X/Twitter shareholder list (Aug 2024). Austin TX based since relocating from SF.

intelligence low

Lonsdale's 8VC has reported ties to sanctioned Russian oligarchs per investigative reporting

Investigative outlet Money Down reported that US defense technology investor 8VC has ties to sanctioned Russian oligarchs. This warrants further investigation given 8VC's portfolio of defense-tech companies (Anduril, Saronic, Epirus) that receive classified government contracts. The specific oligarchs and nature of ties need to be verified through independent sources.

background high

Palantir co-founder, 8VC managing partner with major defense-tech portfolio

Joseph Todd Lonsdale V (b. 1982, Fremont, CA) co-founded Palantir Technologies in 2004 with Peter Thiel, Alex Karp, Stephen Cohen, and Nathan Gettings. Founder and managing partner of 8VC, early-stage VC firm managing over 6B in capital, headquartered in Austin TX (relocated from SF in 2020). Sole managing member of 8VC GP I LLC (SEC CIK 0001832823), with voting and dispositive power over all fund holdings. Also founded Cicero Institute (conservative think tank), Cicero Action, Cicero Research, and is president of Arpinum Inc. 8VC portfolio includes defense-tech: Anduril, Saronic, Epirus, Joby Aviation, Senti Biosciences, Palantir.

Full Timeline

2 events
July 19 2013 LA meeting with Epstein rep and Gary Winnick
2013-07-19
Lonsdale co-founded Erebor Bank with Palmer Luckey. Also 8VC founder
2025 to present