Top CEOs and their companies are pledging to donate millions of dollars to President-elect Donald Trump’s inaugural committee, as they seek to get on his good side and make inroads before he takes office. Some of the planned donations include $1 million each from Jeff Bezos’ Amazon, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and Facebook parent company Meta, led by Mark Zuckerberg. Others include $2 million from Robinhood Markets and $1 million each from both Uber and its CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi.
Ford is reportedly coupling its own $1 million donation with a fleet of vehicles. Hedge fund manager Ken Griffin also said he plans to give $1 million to the tax-exempt inaugural committee, Bloomberg reported. Other donations from finance leaders are reportedly in the works.
Empowered by a decisive electoral victory, Trump has vowed to revamp U.S. economic policy in a way that could have outsized benefits for a few favored industries, like fossil fuels. At the same time, he has telegraphed the value, both personal and political, that he places on face-to-face meetings and public praise from chief executives of the world’s largest companies.
Trump’s inaugural committee presents a “unique opportunity” for CEOs to curry favor with the incoming administration, said Brendan Glavin, director of research for the money-in-politics nonprofit OpenSecrets. While the money is ultimately benefiting a recent political candidate, it doesn’t carry the same connotation as a donation to a super PAC, which can fund partisan political activities that risk stoking controversy.
Unlike a direct contribution to a candidate’s campaign, there are no limits on how much an individual or corporation or labor group can give to an inaugural committee. Moreover, since Trump already won the election, an inaugural contribution carries no risk for a high-profile executive of backing a losing candidate.
The boost in funding for Trump’s second inaugural committee comes in part from tech giants, many of whom largely steered clear of supporting his first inauguration. However, this time around, Bezos, who also owns The Washington Post, a frequent target of the president-elect’s ire, has made a $1 million donation. Other tech leaders, including OpenAI’s Altman, who is currently embroiled in a breach-of-contract lawsuit brought by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, have also donated.
The total amount of donations to Trump’s inaugural committee is on pace to shatter the previous record of $107 million, set during his first inauguration. The committee’s fundraising goal is reportedly already surpassed, with pledged contributions totaling over $150 million.