Tech moguls Altman, Bezos and Zuckerberg donate to Trump’s inauguration fund

1. Silicon Valley executives

Silicon Valley executives, some who have long had contentious relationships with President-elect Donald Trump, are pledging money and support to Trump’s incoming administration. Open AI CEO Sam Altman intends to make a $1 million personal donation to Trump’s inauguration fund, the company confirmed to NPR on Friday.

2. It follows news that Meta

It follows news that Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, has already contributed $1 million to the fund. And Amazon has also promised a $1 million infusion into Trump’s inauguration coffers.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai has an upcoming meeting scheduled with Trump. And Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff recently said of his relationship with Trump, “We are turning the page.” Soon after, the publication he owns, Time, declared Trump “Person of Year.”

Taken together, the donations and other celebratory gestures showcase an industry kissing the ring of an incoming president in hopes of something in return, says Margaret O’Mara, a Silicon Valley historian at the University of Washington.

“It’s just a recognition that there’s not much to be gained in outspoken opposition, but perhaps there is something to be gained by being very clear about your support and hope that Trump does well,” she says. To a multi-trillion-dollar company, O’Mara says, a $1 million donation amounts to “a rounding error.” But companies are eager for Trump not to regulate sectors like artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency, where “many of them have made personal, and as businesses, major investments.”

3. Many in Silicon Valley

Many in Silicon Valley view billionaire Elon Musk’s role as an adviser in the Trump administration as a line into the White House. Musk, who spent more than a quarter-billion dollars to help Trump win reelection, has vowed to drastically cut government regulations, which has been celebrated by many in the tech industry.

But questions remain over whether Musk’s priorities for federal support of tech will benefit the industry overall or give an advantage to the six companies he operates, Patching relationships, hoping for fewer regulations Other tech leaders are already signaling their intentions.

In a statement to NPR, Altman said: “President Trump will lead our country into the age of AI, and I am eager to support his efforts to ensure America stays ahead,” he said.

4. For others, it’s about patching up a once-rocky relationship.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg — who once banned Trump from Facebook — dined with the former president at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida at the end of November. It comes just months after Trump threatened to throw Zuckerberg in prison over Trump’s belief that Zuckerberg interfered in the 2020 election by making a significant investment in election infrastructure.

In addition to Amazon’s committed $1 million to the inauguration fund, the tech giant plans to stream Trump’s inauguration in January on its Prime Video platform, The Wall Street Journal first reported. Amazon has not responded to NPR’s request for comment.

It’s not unusual for Silicon Valley companies to support an incoming presidential administration — but that support is no longer being back-channeled in closed-door meetings and through industry associations. Instead, the University of Washington’s O’Mara says tech moguls are leaning into their Trump cheerleading.

5. “And that is something new,” she says.

It is also an attempt to avoid a repeat of Trump’s first term, when tensions between the White House and tech leaders ran high. Back then, Trump frequently rebuked The Washington Post, which is owned by Bezos, for the paper’s coverage of his presidency. The conflict escalated in 2019 when the Pentagon awarded a $10 billion contract to Microsoft instead of Amazon. The company later accused Trump of using the military budget to pursue a personal agenda.

The dynamic shifted in the 2024 election, when Bezos blocked the Post from endorsing Vice President Harris for president. The move was viewed as an attempt to curry favor with Trump, especially as Bezos’ other company, Blue Origin, has a multi-billion dollar contract with NASA.

Similarly, Zuckerberg was once known for imposing one of the the harshest penalties a social network has taken against Trump when Facebook banned him days after the Capitol insurrection. The ban lasted two years.

But during the 2024 campaign, Zuckerberg seemed to soften his stance — calling Trump “badass” after the former president survived an attempted assassination attempt. Last month, Zuckerberg met with Trump and other members of his team for dinner, a Meta spokesperson confirmed.

The details of their conversation have not been shared, and the spokesperson only disclosed, “It’s an important time for the future of American Innovation.”

Amazon contributed $276,000 to Biden’s inauguration fund in 2021 and $58,000 to Trump’s in 2017. Biden’s inauguration was also streamed on Prime Video. Meanwhile, Facebook reportedly did not contribute to either Biden’s 2021 or Trump’s 2017 inaugural funds.

At the end of the day, O’Mara says, all the powerful tech companies want is to keep growing their size, influence and profits, and executives are hoping Trump will not interfere with the industry’s expansion.

“The tech industry wants to get the regulatory threat off their backs and go back to self-regulating. … [I]t’s how these companies got so big,” she says. “I think that’s something that they see as being in their interest and the interest of their shareholders.”