Who are these billionaires, besides Reid Hoffman?

I thought sponsored protests had to have permits and I recall some protests did not occur when they could not get permits or insurance. If someone is being paid to protest and they commit a crime can the sponsors be sued? It is one thing to have peaceful protests but if you are actually paying people are they technically an "employee"? It seems like there is a mix (paid people and people who are simply expressing their opinion and probably are peaceful protestors.