Few have benefited more from Governor Greg Abbott’s never-ending disaster declarations than Matthew Michelsen, a longtime venture capitalist who’s palled around with everyone from 50 Cent and Lady Gaga to right-wing financier Rebekah Mercer.
Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, Michelsen and his newly founded company Gothams LLC uprooted from California and moved to Austin. Soon, his disaster logistics firm had become one of the largest contractors for Texas’ COVID-19 response—and, later, for Abbott’s multi-billion dollar border security scheme Operation Lone Star.
Now, Michelsen has joined the ranks of Abbott’s big donors, giving his campaign a total of $250,000 in August, September, and November, according to state campaign finance records.
