Uber and its CEO have donated $1m to Donald Trump’s inaugural fund, becoming a member of a rising listing of tech corporations and executives searching for to foster a positive relationship with the incoming administration.
A spokesperson for Uber Applied sciences confirmed to the Wall Avenue Journal on Tuesday that each Uber and its CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, every donated $1m to Trump’s fund. Uber didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark from the Guardian.
Uber beforehand donated $1m to President Biden’s inauguration in 2021 however Khosrowshahi didn’t donate to that occasion, in response to the Wall Avenue Journal. The $1m donation to Trump’s fund, the newspaper states, is Khosrowshahi’s largest donation to a politician or inauguration fund.
The donations from Uber and Khosrowshahi add to a rising listing of tech corporations and executives who’ve donated or have mentioned they intend to donate $1m to the president-elect’s inaugural fund.
Final week, Meta confirmed that it had donated $1m to the fund. OpenAI additionally confirmed that its CEO, Sam Altman, was planning to make a $1m private donation to the fund. Amazon can also be making ready a donation of $1m to Trump’s fund.
Uber and Khosrowshahi wouldn’t have the identical traditionally tense relationship with Trump as corporations and executives similar to Mark Zuckerberg, Meta and Jeff Bezos, which is what made these donations significantly important.
Notably, because the Journal factors out, Uber’s chief authorized officer, Tony West, is the brother-in-law of vice-president and former democratic nominee Kamala Harris. West took a depart of absence to volunteer for Harris’s presidential marketing campaign. He has since returned to his place at Uber.
Donations to inaugural committees are not unusual amongst massive companies aiming to set up higher relationships with new administrations.
Amazon contributed $57,746 to Trump’s first inaugural fund in 2017, in response to OpenSecrets. Different corporations additionally made donations, together with Google, which donated $285,000, and Microsoft, which donated $500,000. Meta confirmed to the Guardian that it didn’t make any contributions that 12 months.
The donations from tech corporations and tech executives within the final month come because the incoming administration is reportedly providing perks to the highest donors to the president-elect’s inaugural fund. It’s additionally on the similar time that Trump has been assembly and eating with a number of tech executives since successful the election.
Within the final month or so, Trump has dined at his Mar-a-Lago property with Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg; Apple’s CEO, Tim Prepare dinner; and Google’s Sundar Pichai and Sergey Brin; Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is slated to dine with Trump this week.
Supply hyperlink
