Ohio has become the new destination for Big Tech data centers and AI infrastructure. The state owes much of its rapid transformation into the so-called “Silicon Heartland” to the now vast array of public-private partnerships pioneered by the state’s richest man, Leslie Wexner, and his former money manager and fixer, Jeffrey Epstein.
Early last year, shortly after Donald Trump took office for his second term, former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy announced he was departing the recently-formed Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E) after reports of conflict with the department’s co-head, Elon Musk. Ramaswamy joined Fox News to clarify these rumors, and to tease his next endeavor –– holding public office. Ramaswamy noted Musk’s approach was “a technology approach,” whereas his was “focused more on a constitutional law, legislative-based approach.” He furthered, “when you’re talking about a constitutional revival, it’s not just done through the federal government, it’s done through federalism, where states also lead the way.” Despite their differences, Ramaswamy importantly remarked that they were both “on the same page” and that their attempts “in saving the country” required them to “divide and conquer.”
Towards the end of the interview, Ramaswamy mentioned he was flying back to Ohio that week, with an announcement regarding his expressed intention of pushing for reform at the state level coming shortly. The former presidential hopeful explained that when “we look at the country over the last 20 years, Silicon Valley was at the bleeding edge of the American economy. I think the Ohio River Valley can be at the bleeding edge of the American economy for the next 20 years.” A few weeks later, Ramaswamy’s gubernatorial campaign for Ohio was announced and the former D.O.G.E. co-head was promptly endorsed by President Trump. Over the course of that campaign, Vivek’s fortunes have quite literally soared. Since launching his campaign, he has not only come to command a massive campaign war chest filled by deep-pocketed donors, but his own net worth has doubled.
While many once labeled this campaign as a clear demotion for Ramaswamy, the reality of an emerging Ohio –– specifically as it relates to the technocratic goals of the Trump administration and its donors –– paints a vastly different picture. As noted in Iain Davis’ book The Technocratic Dark State, D.O.G.E. –– the agency Ramaswamy co-led –– is part of a larger effort led largely by a small group of the ultra-wealthy to completely privatize the public sector in the name of greater “efficiency” and have it ruled by “techno-kings” or dictator “CEOs.” Davis frames this as a modern iteration of technocracy, bolstered by tech billionaires with close ties to the Trump administration, such as Elon Musk and Peter Thiel. Thiel is the long-time benefactor of former Ohio Congressmen and current Vice President J.D. Vance. Notably, Ohio’s richest man Leslie Wexner, along with help from the infamous Jeffrey Epstein (a Thiel associate), has spent decades creating “partnerships” where private interests, including those he directly controls, dominate its state and local governments. In some cases, such as the Columbus suburb of New Albany, they have completely replaced them.
Quietly over the last decade, Ohio has become a state of incredible national importance, as it continues to attract data centers from American “royalty” and Big Tech stalwarts into its friendly regulatory borders. But long before Amazon, Meta, Anduril, Microsoft and others took their power-hungry –– literally and figuratively –– refuge in the Buckeye State, the most well-known financier of Jeffrey Epstein, Leslie Wexner, and his extensive crime-linked network were laying the foundation for the new Silicon Valley, now known as the Silicon Heartland, along the Ohio River. (more...)
Technate, Ohio: How Leslie Wexner and Jeffrey Epstein Built The Silicon Heartland
