Silicon Valley billionaires are showering President-elect Donald Trump with cash and goodwill ahead of his inauguration. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund just weeks after meeting with the president at Mar-a-Lago, while Amazon founder Jeff Bezos pledged a similar amount. Sam Altman, OpenAI’s co-founder and CEO, also announced a personal donation of $1 million.
The donations come despite past tensions between Trump and these billionaires. In 2019, Amazon sued the Trump administration over a canceled defense contract, with Bezos alleging he was targeted due to his political views. However, it appears that some have put aside their differences in favor of business opportunities under Trump’s presidency.
Media outlets owned by Silicon Valley billionaires are also supporting Trump. Time magazine, which named Trump its Person of the Year for 2024, is owned by Salesforce co-founder Marc Benioff. The Los Angeles Times’ billionaire owner, Patrick Soon-Shiong, and Bezos, who owns the Washington Post, blocked their respective papers from endorsing Kamala Harris over Trump.
The influx of donations suggests that some tech billionaires are willing to compromise on liberal values in favor of financial gain under a new administration. As Trump prepares to take office, he will be “bathing in not merely his own gold coins,” but also those of the robber barons who have backed him with their money and influence.
Source: https://slate.com/technology/2024/12/silicon-valley-ceo-donald-trump-mark-zuckerberg-jeff-bezos-millions-donations.html