Antonio Gracias
Gracias is a longtime Musk financial associate who leveraged two decades of venture capital relationship-building into direct government access through DOGE. His significance lies in the structural conflicts his participation created: a private equity manager overseeing $1.8 billion in public pension money while volunteering inside the agency that serves 70 million beneficiaries; an investor in FDA-regulated companies while DOGE had staff embedded at the FDA; and a political donor who used government data to make voter fraud claims that aligned with the political interests of his closest business partner. He represents the path from investor-operator relationship to government access channel, with fiduciary obligations to pensioners, shareholders, and the public pulling in incompatible directions.
Antonio J. Gracias is the founder and CEO of Valor Equity Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm managing $17.5 billion in assets, including approximately $1.8 billion from public employee pension funds 1. A first-generation Mexican-American who rose from Detroit through Georgetown and the University of Chicago Law School, Gracias became one of Elon Musk’s earliest and closest financial backers, serving on the Tesla board of directors from 2007 to 2021 — eight of those years as lead independent director — and currently sitting on the SpaceX board 2.
In January 2025, Gracias volunteered as a DOGE volunteer at the Social Security Administration, placing two additional Valor employees alongside him 3. Over the next six months, he used that access to make public claims about noncitizen voter fraud drawn from SSA data — claims he later substantially downgraded — while simultaneously negotiating the takeover of a pharmaceutical company whose FDA application was overseen by the same government he was advising 4. After the AFL-CIO and AFT questioned whether his DOGE activities violated fiduciary duties to pension fund investors, Gracias resigned from DOGE on July 4, 2025 5. Records and disclosures indicate overlapping financial, regulatory, and political interests throughout his DOGE tenure, with pension fund obligations, FDA-regulated investments, and political donor activities running concurrently with government advisory work.
Career Arc and the Musk Relationship
Gracias was born in Detroit and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan 2. He earned a BSFS and MSFS with honors in international economics from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service in 1993, then a JD from the University of Chicago Law School in 1998 2. Between degrees, he worked as an associate in international equity at Goldman Sachs in New York. While still in law school, he founded MG Capital and built Connector Service Corporation from $5 million to $100 million in revenue before exiting in 2001.
Gracias founded Valor Equity Partners in 1995 and became one of the earliest outside investors in Tesla in 2005–2006. He joined the Tesla board of directors in 2007 and served until 2021, including eight years as lead independent director 2. He currently sits on the SpaceX board and has held board seats at SolarCity, PayPal, and X Corp 2. In 2015, President Obama appointed him a Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship. By December 2024, Valor managed approximately $17.5 billion in assets 1.
The depth of the Gracias-Musk relationship extends beyond board governance. Gracias manages AJG Growth Fund LLC — initials matching Antonio J. Gracias — a Wyoming entity registered at 3737 Collins Ave PH3, Miami Beach, that holds luxury residential assets and Tesla stock for Musk 6 6. A corresponding Delaware entity (No. 3216292) dates to 2000 6. A New York Times investigation identified Gracias as one of three key operators, alongside Jared Birchall and Steve Davis, managing Musk’s sprawling network of 90+ Texas entities. These arrangements position Gracias as a personal financial steward within Musk’s inner circle, beyond his formal board role.
Political Realignment and Major Donations
FEC records document a political realignment in Gracias’s giving 7. Before 2023, he was primarily a Democratic donor, contributing to the Biden Action Fund ($5,000), the DNC ($5,000), Biden for President ($2,800), Dianne Feinstein ($2,800), Mark Kelly ($5,000), and Tim Kaine ($5,000), with the bulk of his giving routed through ActBlue ($2,700+) 7.
The transition began in 2023–2024 with donations to Dave McCormick for Senate ($6,600) and the Republican Federal Committee of Pennsylvania ($5,000). It accelerated in 2024: $1 million to America PAC (Musk’s super PAC) on June 28, 2024; $2 million to Keystone Renewal PAC via the Antonio J. Gracias Revocable Trust on September 6, 2024; $100,000 total to Polaris National Security PAC in October and November 2024; and $1 million to MAGA Inc on January 13, 2025 8. He also gave $6,300 to Adam Schiff for Senate and $6,300 to Jim Himes for Congress in 2024, a residual bipartisan pattern. Total large donations in 2024–2025 exceeded $4.1 million 8. This trajectory mirrors Musk’s own shift from Democratic to Republican giving during the same period 7.
DOGE Deployment at the Social Security Administration
In January 2025, Gracias joined DOGE as a volunteer at the Social Security Administration. He brought two Valor Equity employees with him: Jon Koval, a vice president, and Payton Rehling, a senior associate data engineer who was also placed at USCIS 3. Three employees from the same private equity firm thus gained access to Social Security systems serving over 70 million beneficiaries. Three employees from the same Musk-allied private equity firm thus gained access to Social Security systems serving over 70 million beneficiaries.
The deployment raised immediate conflict-of-interest concerns. Gracias was a current SpaceX board member, a former Tesla board member, and the manager of Musk’s personal assets through AJG Growth Fund — all while volunteering inside a federal agency 3. Flight records showed a Valor private jet making 23 trips from the DC region between January and April 2025, indicating substantial time devoted to government work 9. Among ProPublica’s tracking of 100+ DOGE members, Gracias was identified as one of at least 23 who made cuts at agencies regulating their prior employers.
SSA Data and Voter Fraud Claims
On March 30, 2025 — ten days after a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order blocking DOGE access to SSA data on March 20 — Gracias appeared alongside Musk at a rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin, ahead of a state Supreme Court special election 10. He claimed that five million or more noncitizens had received Social Security numbers through an automatic system, and that thousands appeared on voter rolls in cooperative states, with many having voted 11. State audits have consistently found noncitizen voting to be extremely rare.
Gracias elaborated on these claims in an April 2 appearance on Fox & Friends and an April 4 appearance on the All-In Podcast. In the latter, he significantly downgraded the claim, stating that his team had referred only 57 cases to the DOJ for prosecution 10. Government lawyers subsequently stated that Gracias “never had access to SSA data or personally identifiable information,” leaving unresolved how the analysis was conducted and whether data was retained after the March 20 TRO 10.
A separate investigation revealed that in March 2025, a political advocacy group contacted DOGE SSA team members to analyze state voter rolls for evidence of voter fraud. One DOGE team member signed a “Voter Data Agreement” with the group, unknown to SSA leadership, which only learned of the agreement in November 2025 12. Gracias was identified as one of two SSA DOGE staffers implicated in a Hatch Act referral related to the voter data activities 13.
Pension Fund Conflicts and DOGE Resignation
Valor Equity Partners manages approximately $1.8 billion from nine public employee pension funds, including CalPERS (which alone paid Valor over $40 million in management fees in fiscal year 2024), CalSTRS, NYSTRS, the Teachers’ Retirement System of the City of New York, and the Teachers’ Retirement System of the State of Illinois 5. In June 2025, the AFL-CIO issued a report questioning whether Gracias’s DOGE involvement constituted an abdication of his fiduciary duties to these pension fund investors 1.
In July 2025, AFT President Randi Weingarten sent letters to all nine pension funds, invoking key person provisions in their limited partnership agreements — clauses that could potentially entitle funds to cash payouts if the named key person is no longer devoting adequate attention to fund management 5. The letters alleged that Gracias and Valor employees Jon Koval and Payton Rehling had abdicated fiduciary duties by diverting their time to DOGE. Gracias resigned from his DOGE role on July 4, 2025 5.
Lykos Therapeutics and the FDA Conflict
The most complex conflict-of-interest question in Gracias’s DOGE tenure involved the pharmaceutical sector 14. Gracias had donated $100,000 to MAPS (the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies) in 2020 and $100,000 to Harvard psychedelics research in 2023 14. In summer 2024, he met MAPS founder Rick Doblin at Burning Man, months after the FDA rejected Lykos Therapeutics’ MDMA therapy new drug application in August 2024 14. Doblin contacted Gracias about a potential takeover weeks after the encounter 14.
In January 2025, Gracias and hedge fund manager Christopher Hohn began planning the Lykos recapitalization — the same month Gracias formally joined DOGE 14. DOGE had embedded staff at the FDA, which had jurisdiction over the Lykos NDA 4. On May 30, 2025, the Gracias Family Foundation (EIN 85-3941297, a Chicago-based 501(c)(3) holding $25.7 million in assets) led a $75 million Series B first close. The company rebranded as Resilient Pharmaceuticals in late August 2025 14. An ethics expert quoted in reporting on the deal stated: “You can’t be greasing the wheels and then say, OK, now I’m going to quit and go pursue that approval” 4.
This was not the only active FDA conflict. Valor IV Pharma Holdings LLC (EDGAR CIK 0001821186), a Valor subsidiary, holds a 10%+ beneficial ownership stake in Harmony Biosciences Holdings (NASDAQ: HRMY) per an SC 13G/A filed in November 2025. Harmony has multiple active FDA NDAs in its 2025–2026 pipeline, including the approved WAKIX product and five Phase 3 programs pending FDA action 15. Gracias personally holds a director seat on Harmony’s board 15.
Corporate Entity Network
Florida corporate registry and SEC EDGAR filings document Gracias’s entity network 16. He appears as an officer in five Florida entities: Valor Management Corp. (F15000000850, inactive, president, 875 N. Michigan Ave, Chicago), Valor Management LLC (M20000003053, active, manager, 320 N. Sangamon Street, Chicago), Kairos Building LLC (M20000001441, inactive, manager), Premise Data Corporation (F16000003281, inactive, director), and Enclave at OPF LLC (L25000519423, active, manager) 16. The principal Valor address is 320 N. Sangamon Street Suite 1250, Chicago, IL 60607.
Gracias’s EDGAR CIK is 0001495158, with 69 insider filings. Active insider positions include BitGo Holdings (BTGO) and Harmony Biosciences (HRMY) 16 16. The Valor portfolio includes investments in Anduril Industries and SpaceX, placing defense and aerospace alongside pharmaceutical holdings in a portfolio whose regulatory surface area overlapped substantially with DOGE’s agency footprint.
The SolarCity-era Mound Solar entities (2015) at 3055 Clearview Way, San Mateo, provide the earliest documented snapshot of the Musk inner circle investment syndicate: Gracias, Musk, JB Straubel, Lyndon Rive, Peter Rive, Nancy Pfund, Brad Buss, and others appeared as board members or entity members across at least four co-invested vehicles. This syndicate predates the political realignment by nearly a decade. Analysis of this pattern suggests the DOGE deployment may have been a continuation of a long-standing investor-operator relationship rather than a sudden political conversion.
Antonio Gracias
All Connections
15 total
All Connections
15 totalGracias (longtime friend) manages AJG Growth Fund LLC holding Austin Proper Hotel condos and Tesla stock. Registered as Delaware entity.
Both donated to America PAC. Gracias served on Tesla board 2007-2021. Parallel MAGA-aligned political spending patterns.
Long-time Musk associate; CEO of Valor Equity Partners managing 17.5B including public pension funds; DOGE operative; resigned DOGE July 4 2025 after AFL-CIO pressure over fiduciary conflicts
Valor Equity Partners founder, long-term Musk investor, former Tesla board member. Donated 1M to MAGA Inc. DOGE volunteer at SSA.
Valor Equity Partners CEO and VP, both assigned to SSA via DOGE
Gracias donated M to America PAC (Jun 2024), plus M to MAGA Inc (Jan 2025)
Gracias (Valor Equity Partners CEO) mirrors Musk's political realignment: both shifted from Democratic to Republican giving 2022-2024
Gracias led Series B recapitalization of Lykos; Muniz (former FDA reviewer, former MindMed VP R&D) appointed CMO of Resilient Pharmaceuticals (renamed Lykos) post-Series B June 2025
Manages AJG Growth Fund LLC (holds Musk luxury assets) while serving as DOGE operative at SSA.
Both connected to Musk/Thiel network. Gracias's Valor portfolio includes Anduril and SpaceX. Gracias served on DOGE. Howery's direct Valor M33 III LP holding claimed but unverified from open sources.
SSA DOGE staffer who publicly used SSA data to make voter fraud claims. One of two staffers referred for Hatch Act violations related to voter data agreement with unnamed advocacy group.
Met at Burning Man Summer 2024. Doblin recruited Gracias for Lykos takeover weeks after meeting. Doblin backed Gracias control of Lykos and donated context: Gracias had donated M to MAPS 2020
All Findings
18 total
All Findings
18 totalfinancial (9)
Antonio Gracias (Valor Equity Partners, Tesla board 2007-2021) donated $1M to MAGA Inc Jan 2025, $1M to America PAC Jun 2024, $2M to Keystone Renewal PAC Sep 2024, $100K to Polaris National Security PAC Oct-Nov 2024. Also donated to bipartisan candidates including Schiff for Senate. Connected to Musk political network through Tesla board service and America PAC contributions.
Antonio Gracias (CEO Valor Equity Partners, long-time Musk associate) worked in DOGE while simultaneously managing 17.5B in assets including hundreds of millions from public employee pension funds. AFL-CIO report (June 24, 2025) questioned fiduciary responsibility; AFT sent letters to 9 pension funds re ~1.8B invested with Valor. Jon Koval (VP) and Payton Rehling (VP Data Engineer) also at DOGE while employed by Valor. Gracias resigned DOGE July 4, 2025 after AFL-CIO due diligence pressure.
DOGE operative: Antonio Gracias — Valor Equity Partners founder/CEO, self-described DOGE volunteer at SSA. Long-term Musk investor (former Tesla board member). FEC: donated 1M to MAGA Inc. (Jan 2025), 100K total to Polaris National Security PAC (Oct-Nov 2024). Corporate registry shows 5 IL entities including president/manager roles at 875 N Michigan Ave and 320 N Sangamon St, Chicago.
Antonio Gracias (CEO/CIO, Valor Equity Partners) shows a dramatic political realignment in FEC records. Pre-2023: primarily Democratic donor -- Biden Action Fund (K), DNC (K), Biden for President (.8K), Feinstein (.8K), Mark Kelly (K), Kaine (K), ActBlue (.7K). 2023-2024 transition: McCormick for Senate (.5K+.5K), Republican Federal Committee of PA (K), then M to Keystone Renewal PAC (from Antonio J. Gracias Revocable Trust, Sep 2024) and M to America PAC (Jun 2024). Post-2024: M to MAGA Inc (Jan 2025). Also: K to America For Everyone, K to Honor Pennsylvania, K to USA Freedom Fund, K to Polaris National Security PAC. Total political giving exceeds M.
DOGE Personnel: Antonio Gracias — Tesla/SpaceX board member volunteering at SSA
Antonio Gracias, age 54. Prior: Valor Equity Partners founder/CEO, Tesla board member, SpaceX board member. DOGE volunteer at Social Security Administration — involved in SSA data presentation. Also placed Jon Koval (age 27, Valor Equity VP) and Payton Rehling (age 27, Valor Equity senior associate data engineer) at SSA/USCIS. CRITICAL: Tesla/SpaceX board member Gracias has direct financial interest in Musk companies while volunteering inside SSA, which processes benefits for 70M+ Americans. His Valor Equity firm employees also placed at SSA suggests coordinated private equity penetration of benefits systems. Disposition: ACTIVE (volunteer).
FEC donation record: Gracias donated ,000,000 to America PAC (Musk's super PAC) on 2024-06-28 (employer: Valor Equity Partners). Additionally donated ,000,000 to Keystone Renewal PAC via Antonio J. Gracias Revocable Trust on 2024-09-06. Donated ,000 total to Polaris National Security PAC (Oct and Nov 2024). Donated ,000,000 to MAGA INC on 2025-01-13. Also donated ,300 to Schiff for Senate and ,300 to Himes for Congress (Democratic candidates) in 2024 — bipartisan giving pattern. Total large donations 2024-2025: approx .1M.
Conflict of interest — Valor Equity managing pension funds while DOGE: Valor Equity Partners manages .5B in assets including .8B from 9 public pension funds. CalPERS alone paid Valor M+ management fees FY2024. AFL-CIO issued June 2025 brief questioning Gracias's fiduciary duty. AFT sent letters to 9 pension funds July 2025. Flight records show Valor private jet made 23 trips from DC region Jan-Apr 2025 indicating substantial time on government work. Valor acquired Lykos Therapeutics (May 2025, M Series B) while Gracias was DOGE volunteer — DOGE has embedded staff at FDA which regulates Lykos's MDMA therapy application.
Gracias negotiated Lykos Therapeutics Series B takeover in January 2025 — contemporaneously with joining DOGE — while DOGE had embedded staff at FDA, which has jurisdiction over Lykos MDMA therapy NDA. Gracias Family Foundation led M Series B first close May 30 2025. Ethics expert stated: 'You can't be greasing the wheels and then say, OK, now I'm going to quit and go pursue that approval.'
AFT President Randi Weingarten sent letter July 2025 to nine public pension funds with .8 billion invested in Valor Equity Partners: CalPERS, CalSTRS, NYSTRS, Teachers Retirement System of City of New York, Teachers Retirement System of State of Illinois, and four others. AFT alleged Gracias and Valor employees Jon Koval and Payton Rehling abdicated fiduciary duties by spending time at DOGE. Letter invoked key person provisions in LP agreements, potentially entitling funds to cash payouts. After letter, Gracias resigned DOGE role July 4 2025.
relationship (1)
Gracias holds Director seat on Harmony Biosciences Holdings (NASDAQ: HRMY), a pharmaceutical company with multiple active FDA NDAs in 2025-2026 pipeline. Valor IV Pharma Holdings LLC (Valor subsidiary, EDGAR CIK 0001821186) holds 10%+ beneficial ownership stake per SC 13G/A filed November 2025. HRMY has WAKIX approved FDA products and five Phase 3 programs pending FDA action. This represents a second active FDA conflict beyond Lykos/Resilient.
intelligence (7)
Antonio Gracias (CEO, Valor Equity Partners; DOGE SSA embedded operative) publicly claimed at a March 30 2025 Wisconsin rally with Musk that 5+ million noncitizens received Social Security numbers through an automatic system, and that thousands appeared on voter rolls in cooperative states with many having voted. These claims came 10 days after the March 20 TRO blocked DOGE access, raising questions about data retention and unauthorized use. State audits find noncitizen voting 'extremely rare.'
Antonio Gracias manages AJG Growth Fund LLC (WY 2023-001249608 and DE 3216292), which holds luxury residential assets for Elon Musk. Simultaneously served as DOGE operative at the Social Security Administration. AJG initials match Antonio J. Gracias. The Wyoming entity registered at 3737 Collins Ave PH3 Miami Beach FL was organized by Jeffrey A. Zaluda with CT Corporation as agent. The Delaware entity dates to 2000. Gracias also donated 1M to MAGA Inc.
Antonio Gracias (entity #913), DOGE SSA staffer, publicly used SSA data to push voter fraud narratives. On April 2 2025, appeared on Fox and Friends claiming DOGE found 5+ million noncitizens with Social Security numbers, with thousands on voter rolls who voted, using data obtained via court-restricted access. He later downgraded the claim to only 57 cases referred for prosecution. He is one of two SSA DOGE staffers implicated in the voter data agreement/Hatch Act referral.
Wisconsin rally voter fraud claims and TRO issue: Gracias appeared at Green Bay Wisconsin rally March 30 2025 (ahead of state Supreme Court special election) alongside Musk. Made claims that 5+ million noncitizens received SSNs via EBE program and were on voter rolls. TRO issued March 20 blocked DOGE SSA data access — 10 days before rally. On April 2 Gracias elaborated on Fox and Friends; April 4 on All-In podcast claimed 'well over a thousand voted' and his team had referred 57 cases for DOJ prosecution. Government lawyers stated Gracias 'never had access to SSA data or personally identifiable information.' Analysis likely occurred before March 20 TRO, raising question of whether data was retained post-TRO.
DOGE voter data agreement: In March 2025, a political advocacy group contacted DOGE SSA team members to analyze state voter rolls to find evidence of voter fraud. One DOGE team member signed a 'Voter Data Agreement' with the group, unbeknownst to SSA. SSA only learned of this agreement in November 2025. This occurred around the same time Gracias made his Wisconsin rally claims (Mar 30). SSA obtained records in October 2025 and identified several instances where DOGE Team activities were potentially outside the bounds of the March 20 TRO.
Registry and EDGAR entities: Gracias appears as officer in FL registry for: VALOR MANAGEMENT CORP. (F15000000850, inactive, 875 N. Michigan Ave Chicago IL 60611, President), VALOR MANAGEMENT LLC (M20000003053, active, 320 N. Sangamon Street Chicago IL 60607, Manager), KAIROS BUILDING LLC (M20000001441, inactive, 320 N. Sangamon Street, Manager), PREMISE DATA CORPORATION (F16000003281, inactive, 875 N Michigan Ave Suite 3214, Director), ENCLAVE AT OPF LLC (L25000519423, active, 320 N Sangamon Ste 1250 Chicago IL 60607, Manager). Valor principal address: 320 N. Sangamon Street Suite 1250, Chicago IL 60607. EDGAR CIK for Gracias: 0001495158, 69 insider filings; active in BitGo Holdings (BTGO), Harmony Biosciences (HRMY).
DOGE-Lykos/FDA conflict timeline summary: Gracias donated to MAPS (2020), to Harvard psychedelics research (2023). Met Rick Doblin at Burning Man (Summer 2024, months after August 2024 FDA rejection). Doblin contacted Gracias about takeover weeks after Burning Man. January 2025: Gracias and Christopher Hohn began Lykos recapitalization planning, just before Gracias formally joined DOGE. DOGE had embedded staff at FDA. May 30 2025: Series B first close announced (Gracias Family Foundation lead). Late August 2025: Company rebranded as Resilient Pharmaceuticals. July 4 2025: Gracias resigned from DOGE. Gracias was not formally at DOGE at time of Series B close. DOGE and Lykos involvement overlapped by approximately Jan-May 2025.
identity (1)
Gracias full background: Born Detroit MI, raised Grand Rapids. Georgetown SFS (BSFS/MSFS honors, international economics 1993). U Chicago Law School JD 1998. Goldman Sachs associate NY (International Equity). Founded MG Capital while in law school; built Connector Service Corporation from M to M revenue before 2001 exit. Founded Valor Equity Partners 1995. Early Tesla investor (2005-06). Tesla board director 2007-2021, lead independent director 8 years. Current SpaceX board member. Board: Harmony Biosciences, Addepar, PayPal (historical), SolarCity (historical), Premise Data, X Corp. Assets under management: B (Dec 2024). Net worth: Forbes .2-2.3B. DOGE volunteer Jan-Jul 1 2025. Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship (Obama 2015).
Full Timeline
1 events
Full Timeline
1 events- 1.Finding #5471
- 2.Finding #6470
- 3.Finding #5985
- 4.Finding #6482
- 5.Finding #6486
- 6.Finding #5555
- 7.Finding #5603
- 8.Finding #6467
- 9.Finding #6469
- 10.Finding #6468
- 11.Finding #6412
- 12.Finding #6471
- 13.Finding #6451
- 14.Finding #6492
- 15.Finding #6485
- 16.Finding #6472