Uber and its CEO have donated $1 million to Donald Trump’s inaugural fund, joining a growing list of tech companies and executives seeking to foster a favorable relationship with the incoming administration.
An Uber Technologies spokesperson confirmed to Wall Street Journal Tuesday that both Uber and its CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, each donated $1 million to Trump’s fund. Uber did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Guardian.
Uber previously donated $1 million to President Biden’s inauguration in 2021, but Khosrowshahi did not donate to that event, according to the Wall Street Journal. The $1 million donation to Trump’s fund, the newspaper claims, is Khosrowshahi’s largest donation to a political candidate or inauguration fund.
The donations from Uber and Khosrowshahi join a growing list of tech companies and executives who have donated or said they intend to donate $1 million to the president-elect’s inaugural fund.
Last week, Meta confirmed that it had donated $1 million to the fund. OpenAI also confirmed that its CEO, Sam AltmanHe planned to make a personal donation of $1 million to the fund. Amazon is also preparing a $1 million donation to Trump’s fund.
Uber and Khosrowshahi don’t have the same historically fraught relationship with Trump as companies and executives like Mark Zuckerberg, Meta and Jeff Bezos, which is what made those donations particularly significant.
Notably, as the Journal notes, Uber’s chief legal officer, Tony West, is the brother-in-law of Vice President and former Democratic candidate Kamala Harris. West took a leave of absence to volunteer for Harris’ presidential campaign. He has since returned to his position at Uber.
Donations to inaugural committees are not uncommon among large companies seeking to establish better relationships with new administrations.
Amazon contributed $57,746 to Trump’s first inaugural fund in 2017, according to Open secrets. Other companies also made donations, including Google, which donated $285,000, and Microsoft, which donated $500,000. Meta confirmed to The Guardian that he made no contributions that year.
The donations from companies and technology executives in the past month come as the incoming administration reportedly offers benefits to top donors to the president-elect’s inaugural fund. It’s also the same time that Trump has met and dined with several tech executives since winning the election.
In the last month, Trump dined at his Mar-a-Lago estate with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg; Apple CEO Tim Cook; and from google Sundar Pichai and Sergey Brin; Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is scheduled to have dinner with Trump this week.