WASHINGTON — It was a magical night in a glass pavilion lit by 1,000 candles on the South Lawn of the White House at the very elegant, very glam state dinner for President William Ruto of Kenya. Not one, not two, but three U.S. presidents were in attendance.
Among the A-list invitees: Fort Worth billionaire David Bonderman, 81, a founding partner and chairman of the board of TPG Capital and his partner, Christa Campbell, 51, a Hollywood producer, actress and former Playboy model.
Boldfaced names from politics at the May 23 black tie event included former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former President Barack Obama, who did not stay for the entire dinner.
From the entertainment world, country star Brad Paisley, who also performed; his wife, Kimberly Williams-Paisley; and actors LeVar Burton, Wilmer Valderrama and Sean Penn were in attendance.
From sports: NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, NBA commissioner Adam Silver.
From Texas: U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee; U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso.
President Biden opened his toast by telling the 500 guests, “Well, welcome to the White House. The White House never looked this good.”
The striking decor in the temporary pavilion erected for the dinner, as seen in photos and described in press reports, was made up of floral displays of fuchsia and purple African orchids and red American roses.
The three-course menu featured chilled tomato soup, short ribs, poached lobster with baby kale and sweet corn puree, and for dessert, a white chocolate basket with a banana ganache, raspberries and peaches.
But, of course, the evening’s center stage featured the pomp and circumstance of diplomacy on display.
Biden, hosting the sixth state dinner of his presidency, remarked that the first state dinner honoring Kenya was held when Jimmy Carter was president. At that time, Biden noted, the Kenyan leader said the U.S. and his country were “neighbors.”
“And like neighbors, he said, we do not share borders but share beliefs,” Biden said, quoting Ruto. “We share the belief in freedom, democracy, dignity and equality,” Biden said. “And for ourselves, and for everyone else, we want to share that with everyone here. The fact is these are shared beliefs that give both our nations’ strength.”
Ruto in his toast, said, “We are proud of the robust social, economic, security, technological, and the people-to-people ties between our two nations and the shared values which form a very strong bond of friendship between us.”
State dinners are one of the most coveted invitations in American society — no matter who is in power — and the guest list typically consists of a mix of accomplished people from the political, cultural and economic worlds. It has historically also included guests who are donors to the party in power.
Bonderman has given to both parties in the past and in this election cycle has contributed $36,500 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee; $36,500 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee; and $3,300 to Biden, according to opensecrets.org, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization.
On the GOP side, he donated $8,750 to the National Republican Senatorial Committee; $1,500 to U.S. Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Irving, who represents portions of Tarrant County; and $2,500 to U.S. Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Lubbock.
With an independent streak as a political donor, Bonderman’s record as an investor and philanthropist most likely got him the notice that resulted in the White House invitation.
The key to Kenya being in the spotlight now is Meg Whitman. The former business executive, who made eBay a household word and headed Hewlett Packard, has been the U.S. ambassador to Kenya since 2022.
According to Politico, “Whitman has become an evangelist for the idea that American businesses should consider her host country and continent as a business destination.”
Whitman, who was at the dinner, has invested in Expa, a startup for entrepreneurs, as has Bonderman.
Bonderman is also a passionate conservationist for African wildlife who founded the Wildcat Foundation, which funds programs to protect wild cats and other wildlife in the continent. In an interview in 2021 with Mongabay, an environmental website, he talked about investing in conservation.
Asked how he applied his business experience to conservation, he said, “Well, some of it is environmental-related impact investment and some of it is just a personal interest.
“I do a lot of support for anti-poaching in Africa, for example, which is not a business issue at all, at least not for us. I spend a fair amount of time on philanthropic issues where I think that I can be helpful, not because it has some impact on the business side of life.”
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