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The Silicon Valley exodus is real.

Since the onset of the pandemic, billionaires, venture capitalists, and even major tech firms like HP and Oracle have started to flee the Bay Area. What at first seemed like a one-off response to our new remote-work reality has become a trend: Tech's elite are leaving, and they're citing a mixture of high taxes, state regulations, and a homogenous, liberal culture as their reasons for decamping to Texas, Colorado, or Florida.

While the departures of Elon Musk, Larry Ellison, and Keith Rabois are new, the reasons that seem to have nudged them out the door date back years. The pandemic may have spurred a migration away from the West Coast, but the writing has been on the wall as far back as 2017.

Now, as we approach 2021, it seems that a long-simmering culture clash is finally coming to a head.

Read more: The tech elite are abandoning Silicon Valley in droves because of 'monoculture' and high taxes here's where they're headed

While it's likely that facets of Silicon Valley's culture had been starting to splinter for several years prior to 2017, the most public instance of a culture clash coincides, roughly, with the beginning of President Donald Trump's presidency.

In September 2016, Palmer Luckey, then the 24-year-old millionaire cofounder of virtual reality company Oculus, was discovered to be the main benefactor behind an anti-Hillary Clinton meme group. By that point, Luckey had already sold Oculus to Facebook for $2 billion and launched the Oculus Rift, the company's first major product.

According to reporting by The Daily Beast, Luckey had been financing a group called Nimble America, which described itself online as having proven "that s---posting is powerful and meme magic is real." The group had put up a billboard in Pittsburgh with Clinton's face that read "Too big to jail."

Luckey told The Daily Beast at the time that funding the group "sounded like a real jolly good time."

After the report came out, several female employees resigned from Facebook in protest and Luckey stayed out of the spotlight at Oculus events. By March 2017, he left Facebook in subsequent interviews, Luckey has said he was fired.

Luckey's departure was viewed, by some, as a politically motivated firing. In 2018, Sen. Ted Cruz asked Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg during a Senate hearing why Luckey was fired, implying it was over his politics, which Zuckerberg denied.

While that was the first and most public instance of ideological differences becoming a sticking point in Silicon Valley, it wasn't the last.

The same year, Google engineer James Damore made headlines for writing an anti-diversity manifesto that spread like wildfire through Google's ranks. Damore argued that the search giant shouldn't be aiming to increase racial and gender diversity among its employees, but should instead aim for "ideological diversity." Damore also argued that the gender gap in tech is due to biological difference between men and women, not sexism.

The memo resulted in Damore's firing, but it also sparked a groundswell of support among white, male engineers at Google who felt that conversations about diversity were offensive to white men and conservatives. Around the same time, far-right communities online began revealing the identities of Google employees who identified as part of the LGBTQ community. Damore then sued Google, alleging the company discriminated against white, conservative males (Damore later dropped the suit.)

Both Luckey and Damore ended up without a job. But the reactions to their situations and the support they both received highlighted that there was a growing population of tech workers fed up with the region's culture. At the time, Business Insider's Steve Kovach argued that Silicon Valley's "liberal bubble" had burst and that the culture wars had begun.

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. Patrick Pleul/picture alliance via Getty Images

More than three years later, it seems as though that undercurrent of dissatisfaction is coinciding with the secondary effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

In years past, those who felt disgruntled, overruled, or otherwise disenfranchised by Silicon Valley's predominately liberal culture had few options. They could leave, of course, but the tech world was still firmly rooted in the Bay Area. Those who wanted a career in tech still felt like they needed to put up with skyrocketing rents and hours-long commutes.

But when offices shut down and major tech companies asked their employees to work remotely, there was no longer as strong a tether to the Bay Area. Some companies, like Twitter and Slack, freed their workers to live wherever they wanted with no expectation to ever return to their San Francisco offices. Others, like Facebook, have said employees may work remotely forever with manager approval.

Read more: An inside look at how Slack is planning to readjust salaries and retrain managers so it can let employees work from home forever

These decisions seem to have encouraged a larger shift among Silicon Valley's elite.

Palantir has moved its headquarters to Colorado and HP and Oracle moved to Texas. Palantir CEO Alex Karp told Axios in May that the company wanted to move away from the West Coast and described what he saw as an "increasing intolerance and monoculture" in the tech industry. Karp, for his part, had been living in New Hampshire for much of the pandemic.

Since then, venture capitalist Joe Lonsdale, Dropbox CEO Drew Houston, and Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk have moved to Austin Lonsdale tweeted that the region was "more tolerant of ideological diversity," and Musk made the move after warring with California over the state's coronavirus lockdown measures.

Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison has left the region for Lanai, the island he mostly owns in Hawaii, and investor Keith Rabois is decamping for Miami, citing high taxes in San Francisco and a political culture he abhors as his reasons for leaving.

And of course, all of these moves follow venture capitalist and PayPal founder Peter Thiel's famous departure for Los Angeles in 2018, a move seemingly spurred by his dislike of Silicon Valley's liberal ideology.

Notably, Lonsdale, Musk, Rabois, and Karp all have ties to Thiel and PayPal, and Ellison is close friends with Musk and sits on Tesla's board.

So while the wave of departures from arguably the most famous tech hub in the world are, for better or worse, being spurred by the pandemic, the exodus didn't being out of the blue it's a direct result of political and ideological differences that have been building just below the surface for years.

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How the Silicon Valley exodus relates to ongoing culture wars - Business Insider - Business Insider

In congratulating president-elect Joe Biden on Monday, former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton publicly called for the Electoral College to be abolished and advocated for the presidential election to be decided by the popular vote.

"I believe we should abolish the Electoral College and select our president by the winner of the popular vote, same as every other office," Clinton tweeted Monday. "But while it still exists, I was proud to cast my vote in New York for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris."

The Electoral College upheld Biden's victory over President Donald Trump on Tuesday, as he received the expected 306 electoral votes he won in the 2020 election. Clinton served as one of the 29 electors from the state of New York who cast their vote for Biden on Monday.

Trump defeated Clinton in the 2016 presidential election by winning 306 electoral votes to Clinton's 232. However, Clinton beat Trump in the popular vote by nearly 3 million votes.

Clinton ran up vote totals in liberal-leaning states like New York and California but narrowly lost Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin by a total of about 100,000 votes.

Since 2000, Democrats have won the popular vote in five of six presidential elections. But in that span, the Democratic candidate has only won three times.

The growing political divide in the electoral college has prompted some Democrats to call for an end to the electoral college and allow the president to be elected by popular vote.

President is the only political office in the United States where the winner was not determined by popular vote. Up until 1913, U.S. senators were chosen by state legislatures, but that changed with the ratification of the 17th Amendment.

In order to abolish the Electoral College, Democrats could pursue a Constitutional amendment similar to the 17th Amendment, though it would require the ratification of two-thirds of state legislatures a tall task, considering that Republicans control most state governments.

Some Democrats have also floated "packing" the Supreme Court with liberal justices and attempting to pass legislation that would abolish the Electoral College a Constitutional but norm-shattering option, and a scenario that would still require appointed justice's approval.

However, a number of states have already signed on to a third option the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC). It's a coalition of states who have promised to award Electoral College delegates to the winner of the electoral colleges only on the condition that enough states sign on to the agreement so that their electoral value reaches 270. It's a legal option, considering the Constitution says states are free to award their delegates as they see fit and wouldn't need approval from Congress or the Supreme Court.

So far, 15 states and D.C. have agreed to the NPVIC. However, those states' Electoral votes only total 196, meaning they need several states to come aboard before it could be enacted.

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Hillary Clinton calls for Electoral College to be abolished - The Denver Channel

Former Democratic presidentialnomineeHillary ClintonHillary Diane Rodham ClintonBiden's choice and the left's response GOP leaders pinched by pro-Trump bid to reverse election outcome Mormon church congratulates Biden after Electoral College vote MORE lambasted Republicans who have givencredence to President TrumpDonald TrumpTop Trump aide Derek Lyons to leave White House this month Judge rules Trump Org must turn over documents to NY AG as part of probe Longtime GOP strategist Steve Schmidt announces he's registering Democrat MORE's unfounded claims of voter fraud, accusing them of weakness and disrespect for democracy.

"The election was not close. There was no evidence of fraud. The states have certified the results," Clinton said in a tweet on Thursday. "Yet Trump continues to try to overturn the election at the expense of our democracy."

"The emperor has no clothes," she added. "Republican electeds who continue to humor him have no spines."

The election was not close. There was no evidence of fraud. The states have certified the results.

Yet Trump continues to try to overturn the election at the expense of our democracy.

The emperor has no clothes.

Republican electeds who continue to humor him have no spines.

Since President-elect Joe BidenJoe BidenDeVos urges Education Dept. staff to 'resist' when Biden takes office LGBTQ groups celebrate Buttigieg pick for Transportation secretary Biden administration needs bipartisan solutions for older Americans, lawmakers say MORE was projected as the winner of November's election, Trump and his allies on Capitol Hill and in state legislatures have alleged that widespread voter fraud tipped the race in Biden's favor.

The Trump campaign has sued in several states Biden won, cases that have largely been tossed out by judges based on a lack of evidence or merit.

Still, some Republicans in states Trump won have pressed on with legal challenges to the election's outcome. In Texas,state officials have sued other states that have already certified election results.

Atleast one Republican in the House has also talkedabout contesting theElectoral College's vote once Congress meets after the first of the year to formally certify it.

In the run-up to the 2016 election, in which Trump defeated Clinton, the real estate mogul expressed concern that election would be "rigged" against him as well.

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Hillary Clinton: Republicans that 'humor' Trump election claims 'have no spines' | TheHill - The Hill

Hillary Clinton slammed Republicans as spineless Thursday for sticking beside President Trump instead of denouncing his unproven claims of the recent White House race being riddled with fraud.

Mrs. Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee in the 2016 race won by Mr. Trump, took issue on Twitter with elected members of the GOP for doing what she described as humoring his baseless claims.

The election was not close. There was no evidence of fraud. The states have certified the results. Yet Trump continues to try to overturn the election at the expense of our democracy, said Mrs. Clinton.

The emperor has no clothes, Mrs. Clinton tweeted. Republican electeds who continue to humor him have no spines.

Mr. Trump and some fellow Republicans supportive of his recent campaign for reelection allege Democratic rival Joseph R. Biden won the race due to fraud, but their claims have not been corroborated.

A survey of all 249 Republicans in the House of Representatives and Senate found that roughly one-in-ten publicly acknowledged Mr. Biden defeated Mr. Trump, The Washington Post reported Saturday.

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Hillary Clinton: Republicans humoring Donald Trump's claims of election fraud 'have no spines' - Washington Times

The Clinton Family Foundation has a New York address, but its giving continues to benefit several nonprofit groups across Arkansas, Internal Revenue Service records show.

The charitable organization, which is funded entirely by the former first family, distributed more than $1.6 million last year to dozens of educational and charitable institutions across the country.

The largest amount -- $602,027, was given to the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton Foundation, a separate nonprofit group that supports the Clinton Presidential Center while also promoting economic opportunity, global health and public service. The organization has offices in Little Rock and New York City.

The Chappaqua, N.Y.-based family foundation routed another $227,000 to a variety of Arkansas groups.

The Thea Foundation in North Little Rock received $100,000. The organization, which promotes arts education, honors the memory of Thea Kay Leopoulos. Her father, Paul, has been friends with Bill Clinton since grade school.

Since Thea Kay Leopoulos' death in 2001, Clinton has been one of the organization's biggest benefactors, serving for years on its board of directors and helping it raise money.

For a small nonprofit, "those kinds of gifts are very, very few and far between, so we are extremely grateful," said Nick Leopoulos, Thea's brother and the organization's executive director. "We count ourselves very lucky to have that kind of support."

Another $50,000 went to the Arkansas Arts Center Foundation in Little Rock. During his time as governor, Clinton and his family regularly visited the Arts Center. Daughter Chelsea also participated in its Summer Theatre Academy, according to the organization's website.

Thrive Inc., a nonprofit design and economic development firm based in Helena-West Helena, was given $40,000. The organization is led by Will Staley, whose mother, Carolyn Staley, grew up next door to Bill Clinton in Hot Springs.

Thrive recently celebrated its 10th anniversary. It seeks to train and equip young people while also promoting the Delta and working to foster improvements, such as street murals and hiking trails, Will Staley said.

The Clinton family's support was crucial, particularly at the start, Staley said.

"If it wasn't for them with their initial backing over the years, then we certainly wouldn't be here," he said. "They believed in us early on, and it really opened a lot of doors for us."

"We're lucky because Bill Clinton, especially, and Hillary have always had a huge heart for the Delta," he said.

Philander Smith College in Little Rock received $5,000. The donation honors the memory of one of its alumni, Carol Willis, who died on Sept. 4, 2018. Clinton had called Willis "one of my most effective and trusted campaign aides and advisers." The foundation made a similar donation in 2018, as well.

Other gifts benefited the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service ($25,000); the Clinton Birthplace Foundation in Hope ($5,000) and the University of Arkansas at Monticello Foundation Fund ($1,000), as well as Little Rock's Sculpture at the River Market Inc. ($1,000). That gift helped pay for artwork marking the centennial of women's suffrage.

"We were absolutely thrilled that the secretary [of state] wanted to be a part of this important sculpture for the city of Little Rock," said Jane Rogers, the group's president.

The Clinton Family Foundation received $988,806 in securities last year from the former president and from the former secretary of state.

The former Arkansas governor serves as its president, his wife is its secretary-treasurer, and their daughter is its director.

As of Dec. 31, it showed net assets of $1.13 million.

None of the Clintons are paid for their service.

Between 2014 and 2019, the family foundation donated roughly $11.5 million to charity, according to their most recent 990-PF form.

A family spokesman said the former president and his wife have consistently given 10% of their income to charitable causes.

Since its launch in 2001, the foundation has consistently supported educational institutions that helped pave the way for the Clintons' success.

That pattern continued in 2019, with $100,000 going to Yale Law School, where both Clintons studied. Hillary Clinton's undergraduate alma mater, Wellesley College, received $50,000, while $50,000 was directed to Americans for Oxford Inc. (Bill Clinton is a former Rhodes scholar.) Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C., where Chelsea Clinton studied, received $10,000.

The family also earmarked $200,000 for the George Washington University Medical Faculty Associates, a nonprofit physician group affiliated with the school. The Rodham Institute, which seeks to "achieve health equity in Washington, D.C.," is named in honor of the former secretary of state's mother, Dorothy E. Rodham, and is housed within George Washington's School of Medicine and Health Sciences.

Several of the gifts benefited institutions in Chappaqua, the Clintons' adopted hometown roughly 35 miles north of Manhattan, including $20,000 for First Congregational Church of Chappaqua; $5,000 for the Chappaqua Volunteer Ambulance Corps; and $5,000 to the Making Headway Foundation, which assists the families of children with spinal cord or brain tumors.

Two organizations in Mount Kisco, which borders Chappaqua, also benefited: Neighbors Link, which serves immigrant families, and the town's United Methodist Church. Each received $5,000 contributions. Another $5,000 went to Friends of the Rockefeller State Park Preserve, also in Westchester County, N.Y.

The list of other beneficiaries ranged from Boston to Belleveue, Wash., and featured several New York City institutions that were also 2018 recipients: The Africa Center ($50,000); the American India Foundation ($20,000); the School of American Ballet ($35,000); the Girl Scouts of Greater New York ($5,000); and New York Public Radio ($1,200).

Bill and Hillary Clinton donated securities valued at $988,806 to their family foundation last year. This chart breaks down some of the giving by the Clinton Family Foundation.

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Self-funded foundation of Clintons' gives $1.6M - Arkansas Online