Saikat Chakrabarti Draws Dividends from Stripe, Blackstone

At Wednesday’s Congressional Candidate Forum, Senator Scott Wiener controversially remained neutral when asked if Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. The senator, already a lightning rod for criticism, joined Supervisor Connie Chan and candidate Saikat Chakrabarti for the debate. As for Ms. Chan and Mr. Chakrabarti, both answered “Yes” immediately, with Chakrabarti raising his paddle just a split-second faster. Witnessing Rep. Wiener’s blunder, supervisor Chan appeared to cringe while Chakrabarti, shaking his head, held his sign high and proud. 

But before you take Chakrabarti’s assertiveness on this matter as proof of his good-faith ethical alignment, first follow the money. 

Like forum moderator and Mission Local writer Ben Eskenazi wrote in October, Senator Wiener is many things. The District-11 representative, “6-foot-7 with the physique of an exclamation mark,” is a polarizing figure to right- and left-wingers alike. Saikat Chakrabarti however has what seems like a left-spangled résumé. In 2015, the Harvard graduate and Silicon Valley businessman joined Senator Bernie Sanders’ first presidential campaign. Two years later, “In 2017, Chakrabarti co-founded Justice Democrats, a progressive political organization that recruited Ocasio-Cortez to run for office. Ocasio-Cortez went on to defeat incumbent Rep. Joe Crowley and won a seat in Congress, a stunning upset that made her a political superstar.” (Politico, 2019) If you’re judging on the basis of politicians he’s supported, it would seem Mr. Chakrabarti keeps good company. I personally cannot help but wonder if Saikat Chakrabarti is who he says he is, and whether his wealth agrees with his image. 

Mr. Chakrabarti came to San Francisco hot off the campaign team of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a well-known Democratic Socialist. As such, it seemed he might dispense similar wisdom here, potentially restoring SF’s long-cherished identity as a liberal safe haven. That didn’t happen, and I doubt Chakrabarti would do this if given the chance. One publicly available financial disclosure report reveals where his interests really lie. 

If the name “Blackstone” makes you shudder, you’re right to. The private equity firm is notorious for snatching up residential properties, mainly single-family homes, to accumulate as much land as possible. Investing in land means retaining long-term control of a piece of real estate while it, optimally, appreciates in value. The larger Blackstone’s portfolio, the fewer competitors there are to fight or buy out. Holdouts can’t outbid Blackstone’s enormous funding; the company will chew through their community like sharks on USS Indianapolis survivors. Blackstone shows continued, outspoken support for Israel, even expressing sympathy and solidarity following the October 7th attacks. Blackstone President Jonathan Gray donated $125 million to Tel Aviv University’s health science and medical school.

And Saikat Chakrabarti has assets in Blackstone totaling up to $5 million. 

The document also lists income from payment processing company Stripe, headquartered here in the Bay Area at South San Francisco. 

You may remember when Stripe CEO Patrick Collison drew criticism for an apparently pro-Israel Twitter post in late November 2024. From Nov. 1–11, three WHO missions to healthcare centers in the Gaza Strip were prevented from reaching their destinations. WHO reported five attacks on healthcare efforts (three in North Gaza, one in Deir al-Balah, one in Rafah) between Nov. 6–12. A major turning point came November 14, when the UN formally declared Israel’s actions in Gaza a genocide. One week later, the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) called 2024 “the deadliest year on record for humanitarian personnel, with 281 personnel killed globally. Most of them were UNRWA staff killed in the Gaza Strip.” Then, heavy rains on Nov. 25 drenched the Gaza Strip, worsening a war-torn area already rife with illness and death. Collison made his post on November 27 from Tel Aviv, less than fifty miles from Gaza. 

Anti-Zionists were not alone in interpreting Collison’s Twitter posting as an oblique admission of support for Israel. “Pro-Israelis on social media deemed Patrick's post as a signal of his support for the state and thanked him for his solidarity.” (Middle East Eye, 2024) Even the official Twitter account for Israel welcomed the ginger CEO. Collison’s post curried calls for a boycott of Stripe’s payment service technology platform. Among those messages were screenshots of a Tweet by Collison from 2014 decrying terrorism on a UN-designated shelter in Gaza. 

Brothers Patrick and John Collison founded Stripe In 2010 with initial capital investments from Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, and others. By 2021, Stripe was valued at a reported $95 billion, literally the highest-valued private FinTech (Financial Technology) company worldwide. (FinTech.global) Musk, as you probably recall, famously delivered a Nazi salute this time last year. Palantir CEO Peter Thiel continues to support Israel, involving the defense and intelligence contractor almost immediately after October 7th. Stripe doesn’t just make blood money, it was born through it. 

Chakrabarti isn’t merely associated with Stripe; he was a founding engineer. "After I helped build the payment processing company Stripe, I became a centimillionaire — at least on paper.” (AOL via Business Insider, posted December 1, 2025) "It was a shocking and weird experience, and of course, I feel incredibly lucky. But it's also given me a window into how wealth inequality works in America and just how unfair it is." In December 2025, Mr. Chakrabarti’s net worth was at least $167 million, with much of his wealth coming from equity in Stripe.

If you’re wondering whether Chakrabarti’s relationship with Stripe is still fresh, that same report has you covered. Saikat Chakrabarti’s assets in Stripe last year totalled over fifty million dollars. This report spans January 1, 2024 to July 14, 2025. Chakrabarti’s campaign started in February 2025. Mr. Chakrabarti’s income just from Stripe and Blackstone is well, well beyond $51,000,000 annually. That’s what he calls a window into wealth inequality? 

I wrote this piece not to demonize Saikat Chakrabarti or exonerate Scott Wiener, but educate readers about the politicians asking for their vote. Interestingly, Wiener has also accepted funds from Stripe. Wiener however got less than $10k, orders of magnitude less than Saikat’s millions. If Senator Wiener hesitated to acknowledge the genocide because some of his financial backers are in Israel’s pocket, then sitting beside one of those backer’s founding partners probably didn’t help. But at least that would mean Scott Wiener was being true to himself. Quick though he was to denounce genocide in Gaza, Chakrabarti appears even quicker to profit off it. So who gets your vote? If Wiener is willing to backpedal on his views like he did Sunday evening, it looks like Chakrabarti will sacrifice his entire business.