Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian slams racism against Indians on $460 billion-worth Elon Musk's social media site
Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, who is married to tennis great Serena Williams, has slammed racism against Indians on X (formerly Twitter). Many users on the platform have started targeting Indians after US President-elect Donald Trump decided to appoint several people of Indian origin to his cabinet.
Ohanian's comment came in response to a post by fellow entrepreneur JD Ross.
"Had no idea how many anon crazies on this site (X) hated Indians, what a weird thing," Ross observed. "Especially since Indian immigrants are pretty values aligned with traditional American values around family, hard work, pride."
Ross is a co-founder of Opendoor, an online service trying to streamline the process of selling a home.
Reacting to Ross's observation, Ohanian wrote, "Racism is a hell of a drug."
A row erupted recently after Trump announced his decision to appoint India-born Sriram Krishnan as his senior policy advisor for Artificial Intelligence (AI). Krishnan's appointment triggered an outcry from large swathes of Trump's anti-immigration base as he had previously called for removing country caps for green cards, which currently limit the influx of tech professionals from India. The existing 7% per-country cap has created a massive backlog, disproportionately affecting Indians.
Meanwhile, X owner Elon Musk, who played a key role in Trump's victory over Kamala Harris, has come out in support of increasing migration rates for skilled workers, to address engineering talent shortages. Criticizing the "fixed pie fallacy," Musk has argued that there is essentially infinite potential for job and company creation. "Think of all the things that didn’t exist 20 or 30 years ago," he wrote on his platform.
The Tesla CEO too has come under attack from the anti-immigration section of Trump's base following his stance favouring Indian visa seekers.
Notably, Musk, who will lead the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to downsize the US federal government, has seen his net worth skyrocket to $460 billion (via celebritynetworth.com) following the Republican candidate's victory.
Meanwhile, Alexis Ohanian too has lent his support to the idea of opening the door to import more skilled migrants to the US.
"If one really believes in “personal responsibility,” one should want the very best from all over the world here in USA to make themselves & Team America the best it can be. Iron sharpens iron," he wrote.
Notably, over a million Indians are waiting for green cards, as per US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) data.
Alexis Ohanian is known for championing causes supporting equality and inclusion
Alexis Ohanian, who rose to prominence by co-founding Reddit in 2005, has turned his attention to humanitarian causes in recent years.
Following George Floyd's death in 2020, Ohanian resigned from Reddit's board, demanding his replacement be Black. He committed his Reddit stock profits to supporting the Black community and combating racial hatred.
Through his venture capital firm Seven Six Seven, Ohanian focuses on investing in technology-driven ventures, with a special emphasis on promoting gender equality and women's sports.
In September, Alexis Ohanian through his firm organized the "Athlos NYC" athletics event exclusively for female athletes.
Recently, he pledged to donate $776,000 in each of the next four years to the women’s basketball team at his alma mater, where he started Reddit.
"Started @REDDIT at @UVA and after $RDDT IPO the dollars are coming back home to CVille (Charlottesville)," Ohanian wrote on X, explaining his decision.
The amount would be the largest donation in the program's history.