Key Takeaways
- • Bill Draper, a pioneering Silicon Valley venture capitalist and longtime Atherton resident, died at his Atherton home on Sept. 8, 2026, at age 98, according to the Mountain View Voice.
- • Draper co-founded Sutter Hill Ventures in 1965 after forming Draper & Johnson Investment Company in 1962, and early backed companies including Yahoo, Skype and Tesla.
- • Draper's father founded the West Coast's first venture capital firm, Draper, Gaither and Anderson, in 1959, and Draper began his own VC career there that year.
- • Draper headed the Export-Import Bank of the United States from 1981 to 1986 and the United Nations Development Program from 1986 to 1993, overseeing nearly 10,000 international aid projects.
- • The National Venture Capital Association praised Draper's founder-partnership philosophy, and his son Tim Draper, a prominent venture capitalist, announced the death.
Summary
Bill Draper, a Silicon Valley venture capital pioneer, died at his Atherton home on Sept. 8, 2026, at age 98, according to the Mountain View Voice. Born William H. Draper III on Jan. 1, 1928, in White Plains, New York, he was the son of William Henry Draper Jr., a banker, military general and diplomat who founded the first West Coast venture capital firm, Draper, Gaither and Anderson, in 1959 and later served as the first U.S. ambassador to NATO.
Draper began his venture career in 1959 at his father's firm, moving with his wife Phyllis from Chicago to Palo Alto. He left in 1962 to form Draper & Johnson Investment Company with partner Pitch Johnson, and three years later founded Sutter Hill Ventures. Per his oral history, the early work involved knocking on doors in the fruit orchards of Sunnyvale and Santa Clara to find technology companies. Draper was an early investor in companies including Yahoo, Skype and Tesla, and his 2011 book, "The Startup Game," recounted his investments in Skype, Apollo Computer, Hotmail and OpenTable.
Draper also held significant public roles. He led the Export-Import Bank of the United States as president and chairman from 1981 to 1986, and headed the United Nations Development Program from 1986 to 1993, where he oversaw almost 10,000 international aid projects. He ran for Congress in 1967 against actress Shirley Temple Black. Through the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, which he founded, he made more than 280 early-stage information technology investments in India and the U.S. over three decades. In 2018 he helped found The Mission Within, a supervised psychedelic therapy program for veterans.
The National Venture Capital Association said Draper embodied "drive, determination, leadership qualities, intelligence and vision paired with unyielding integrity," and emphasized his belief in founder partnership. His son Tim Draper, a venture capitalist who co-founded Draper Fisher Jurvetson, announced the death on X. Draper is survived by his children Polly, Tim and Rebecca, along with grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his wife Phyllis, to whom he was married for almost 65 years.
Draper began his venture career in 1959 at his father's firm, moving with his wife Phyllis from Chicago to Palo Alto. He left in 1962 to form Draper & Johnson Investment Company with partner Pitch Johnson, and three years later founded Sutter Hill Ventures. Per his oral history, the early work involved knocking on doors in the fruit orchards of Sunnyvale and Santa Clara to find technology companies. Draper was an early investor in companies including Yahoo, Skype and Tesla, and his 2011 book, "The Startup Game," recounted his investments in Skype, Apollo Computer, Hotmail and OpenTable.
Draper also held significant public roles. He led the Export-Import Bank of the United States as president and chairman from 1981 to 1986, and headed the United Nations Development Program from 1986 to 1993, where he oversaw almost 10,000 international aid projects. He ran for Congress in 1967 against actress Shirley Temple Black. Through the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, which he founded, he made more than 280 early-stage information technology investments in India and the U.S. over three decades. In 2018 he helped found The Mission Within, a supervised psychedelic therapy program for veterans.
The National Venture Capital Association said Draper embodied "drive, determination, leadership qualities, intelligence and vision paired with unyielding integrity," and emphasized his belief in founder partnership. His son Tim Draper, a venture capitalist who co-founded Draper Fisher Jurvetson, announced the death on X. Draper is survived by his children Polly, Tim and Rebecca, along with grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his wife Phyllis, to whom he was married for almost 65 years.
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