Tom Perkins certainly has taken heat for his recent letter to the editor in The Wall Street Journal. If he was trying to turn down the temperature, however, his interview with Bloomberg Television on Monday wouldn’t quite cut it.
The interview, conducted by the host of the program “Bloomberg West,†Emily Chang, entered a bizarre new dimension of television.
Where to begin? Mr. Perkins apologized for his comparison of attacks on San Francisco’s wealthy to Kristallnacht. After all, he spoke with Abe Foxman, the head of the Anti-Defamation League, and repeatedly acknowledged that his use of the “awful†comparison was inappropriate.
But he then resolutely stood by his point: that a majority was intimidating a minority. He added that his late partner Eugene Kleiner, a refugee from Nazi Germany, would have agreed with the letter to the editor.
“When you start to use hatred against a minority, it doesn’t go well,†he said on the program.
Mr. Perkins doesn’t count himself among the richest Americans. He noted that he’s not a billionaire, only a multimillionaire. But he defended the wealthy as helping to lift the so-called 99 percent. Recent targets of class criticism, including high-rise buildings in San Francisco and Google’s shuttles, are actually part of the solution to helping spur the economy.
“I don’t feel personally threatened,†he said. “But I feel that an important part of America, namely the creative 1 percent, are threatened.â€
He later added: “It’s absurd to demonize the rich for being rich and doing what the rich do, which is get richer by creating opportunities for others.â€
Not even his old firm avoided criticism. When asked how he felt about Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers’s efforts to distance itself from the affair, the investor noted that he didn’t bring the investment shop into the equation. Then he added: “They didn’t need to say anything, but I guess they chose to throw me under the bus.â€
He also added that since he left full-time work at the firm that bears his name several a while ago, the venture capital concern has suffered a decline. (His last investment at the firm was made in the 1990s).
Should Kleiner Perkins change its name to avoid any further association with him? “I think that’s a real issue for them to decide,†he said. (The firm already calls itself “KPCB†on second reference in its press materials.)
Mr. Perkins said that he didn’t come from wealth, and noted that some members of his family, but not close relatives, live in trailer parks. But he resolutely didn’t apologize for being rich, a conviction he demonstrated in sometimes strange ways. When Ms. Chang asked if the venture capitalist was wearing a Rolex, he responded:
“This isn’t a Rolex. I could buy a six-pack of Rolexes for this.â€
In defending his ex-wife, the novelist Danielle Steel, Mr. Perkins said that he was sometimes a little zealous in his chivalry, a condition perhaps intensified by his awards.
“I’m a literal knight of the kingdom of Norway,†he said. (According to this piece in The San Francisco Chronicle, he was indeed knighted for his philanthropy in that country.)
Though Mr. Perkins was dropping truth bombs for most of the 45 minutes that he was on, he didn’t appreciate others providing similar candor. When asked about Marc Andreessen, the founder of a rival venture capital firm, criticized him in language unsuitable for this family publication, he responded: “I don’t think he’s entitled to his opinion.â€
Mr. Perkins said that he acknowledged much of the pain of the less wealthy, thought he blamed overly oppressive regulations and taxes. But does he think he’s connected to reality?
His response: “Yeah, I think I’m connected to reality.â€
