“It’s right for Arnold to build real support, just like any other candidate,” says Draper, explaining why he volunteered to raise money for a candidate who initially said he would shun contributions.
Draper, founder of Redwood City, Californiabased Draper Fisher Jurvetson, has donated the legal maximum of $21,200 to the Schwarzenegger campaign, as has his wife, Melissa. They’re planning a $20,000-per-couple soiree September 22 at their home in affluent Atherton, and for individuals who, like the two Drapers, cough up the full $21,200, there will be a postelection “special dinner at Arnold’s home,” according to a note that Tim Draper posted on a Web log at alwayson-network.com.
Draper, 45, is no stranger to politics or to the Terminator. In 2000 he contributed more than $20 million to an unsuccessful campaign to pass Proposition 38, a school-voucher initiative. Draper has known Schwarzenegger since the late 1990s; the actor made a cameo appearance at a fundraiser for BizWorld, an organization Draper founded to teach children about business. Draper says he has no interest in running for office. “Now I’m really just focused on my business,” he says.
