Josh Raffaelli, a prominent Silicon Valley investor known for backing several of Elon Musk’s companies, has launched a high-profile lawsuit against his former employer, Brookfield Asset Management, according to recent reports.
The lawsuit, filed by Raffaelli, accuses the giant asset management firm—which oversees approximately a trillion dollars in assets—of fraud and bribery. It specifically highlights how Brookfield allegedly handled pandemic-related losses in its real estate holdings. According to the filing, Raffaelli claims he was unjustly fired after submitting a whistleblower complaint to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Brookfield has firmly rejected his allegations, insisting the accusations lack merit.
Earlier this year, in a separate development, Brookfield had quietly closed its venture capital group managed by Raffaelli, reorganizing some of its assets into different units. One significant point in Raffaelli’s suit alleges that Brookfield refused to fully capitalize on investment opportunities he had negotiated in Musk-led enterprises including SpaceX, xAI, and the Boring Company. The fund Raffaelli oversaw at Brookfield had previously played a pivotal role in Elon Musk’s high-profile acquisition of Twitter.
Before joining Brookfield, Raffaelli was a partner at the well-known venture capital firm formerly known as Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ). During his tenure there, he helped guide major investments into Musk-related companies such as Tesla, SpaceX, and SolarCity, the latter subsequently absorbed into Tesla.
The court proceedings represent a significant escalation for Raffaelli and promise to shed further light on Brookfield’s internal operations and investment strategies during a highly challenging economic landscape.
