Gawker
Accel Partners' Joe Schoendorf has asserted in the past that betting against venture capitalist Vinod Khosla is a good way to lose money. One reason why is because Khosla covers his bets — in the primary election cycle, Khosla donated the maximum amount allowable for an individual, $2,300, to the campaigns of Hillary Clinton, John McCain and Barack Obama. Since 1986, the India-born venture capitalist has given a total of $63,800 to Democrats and $19,400 to Republicans. But now that the primary season is over and Obama and McCain are due to be coronated by their parties at the summer conventions, which horse will Khosla be riding?
Obama. He's joined the Democratic senator's "India Policy Team." But there's more to it than just ties to India. Khosla is also a big investor in ethanol production, and is pictured here with General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner, and Bill Roe, president of ethanol manufacturer Coskata. Obama has taken large donations from ethanol lobbyists and pandered to corn growers as a strategy to boost support in conservative southern Illinois during his run for the senate. Obama can certainly turn to Khosla to argue the merits of turning food into fuel by proxy. Personally, I'm just surprised Khosla has offered no support for presumptive American prime minister Amitabh Bachchan. (Photo by AP/Gary Malerba)
