Amazon has stepped into the spotlight by pledging $1 million to President-elect Donald Trump’s inaugural fund, a move that came on the heels of a similar donation from Meta, which also contributed $1 million.
Donation Details
On Thursday, the tech giant confirmed the funding to several news outlets, revealing that Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s founder, had a hand in deciding the donation amount.
According to sources who spoke to the Wall Street Journal, Bezos was orchestrating this through the company’s resources.
These contributions to the inaugural fund are crucial for offsetting the costs linked to the presidential transition.
Records from the Federal Election Commission show that Microsoft made a notable stride with a $500,000 contribution for both Trump’s inauguration in 2017 and Biden’s in 2021.
Notably, while Amazon chose not to donate in 2021, it had previously given around $58,000 during Trump’s initial inauguration ceremony.
Streaming Contribution
In addition to the cash donation, Amazon is set to provide another significant contribution: it plans to stream the inauguration through Prime Video, which is estimated to be worth about $1 million, according to the Wall Street Journal.
In a related turn of events, Trump is preparing for a meeting with Bezos at his Mar-a-Lago estate next week in Palm Beach, Florida.
This meeting follows Trump’s recent discussions with other prominent figures in the tech world, including Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk.
Future Perspectives
Talking to CNBC’s Jim Cramer, Trump expressed his intention to glean knowledge from these industry leaders.
He emphasized their contributions to job creation and the importance of providing high salaries for workers, sharing his hope for their continued success.
Recently, Bezos has also shown a favorable perspective on Trump’s potential second term, noting that the former president appears to be more composed, confident, and settled than during his prior administration.
Source: Entrepreneur