Donald Trump's Inaugural Fund Set To Break $107 Million-Mark As Sam Altman, Jeff Bezos, Others Pledge Big Bucks


(MENAFN- Live Mint) United States President-elect Donald Trump's inaugural committee fund is poised to break its previous level of $107 million in 2017, as billionaires and top corporates donate their share to the trump administration, reported the news portal The Guardian on Thursday, December 26.

Among the top billionaires were OpenAI's chief executive officer (CEO) Sam Altman, Amazon's CEO Jeff Bezos , and Meta's CEO Mark Zuckerberg. All of them pledged a million dollar each, reported the news portal.

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According to the news report, top corporates like Uber and its CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, from the automakers industry Toyota , General Motors, and Ford, have also donated $1 million to the inaugural fund. American automaker Ford has also added a fleet of vehicles along with its monetary donation.

Donations which are not restricted by the campaign finance laws of the US come from business leaders and companies seeking favour from the upcoming administration, according to the news report.

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Brendan Glavin, director of research for the money-in-politics nonprofit OpenSecrets, told the news portal CNBC last week that the inaugural committee presents a“great opportunity for them to curry favour with the incoming administration.”

“Everyone wants to be my friend!!!” said Trump in a post on Truth Social on Thursday, cited the report.

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Many senior executives in US industries and finance have visited Trump's transition team headquarters, or are planning to, according to media reports.

The news portal also cited ABC News and said the fund has already exceeded a $150 million level. Barak Obama 's administration raised $53 million in 2009 and $42 million in 2013. The Joe Biden administration raised $63 million in 2021, as per the news report.

“One of the oldest adages in Washington is that if you're not at the table, you're on the menu, and the price of admission to have a seat at the table keeps going up,” Michael Beckel, director of the political reform advocacy group Issue One told the news portal.

Trump aides have indicated that the fundraising isn't about money but a symbolic means of exacting an apology for any previous perceived lapse of loyalty, reported the news portal.

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Live Mint

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