Jan 4
Openly Gay Apple CEO Tim Cook to Personally Donate $1 Million to Trump's Inauguration Fund
READ TIME: 2 MIN.
Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple and one of the most visible gay men in the tech and corporate worlds, is opening up his wallet to personally hand over $1 million to President-elect Donald Trump's inaugural fund, according to a report from Axios.
Apple is not expected to donate to Trump's inaugural committee but a source told the outlet that Cook is "a proud Alabama native, believes the inauguration is a great American tradition, and is donating to the inauguration in the spirit of unity."
Cook, who visited Trump last month as his compound Mar-a-Lago in Florida, isn't the only big tech company to shell out big bucks for Trump's inauguration. Both Amazon and Meta donated $1 million and Sam Altman, of OpenAI, plans to donate an unspecified amount.
Nevertheless, Cook was one of the first CEOs in America to congratulate Trump on winning the 2024 presidential election, writing on X, "We look forward to engaging with you and your administration to help make sure the United States continues to lead with and be fueled by ingenuity, innovation, and creativity."
Just two years ago, Cook made headlines for expressing concern over the rash of anti-LGBTQ+ laws that popped up around the country in 2022. "As a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community, I am deeply concerned about laws being enacted across the country, particularly those focused on our vulnerable youth," Cook wrote on X on March 10.
"I stand with them and the families, loved ones, and allies who support them," Cook added.
Cook's tweet came two days after Florida state Republicans approved the so-called "Don't Say Gay" bill, a measure that was intended to squelch classroom discussion of LGBTQ+ topics in classrooms through third grade.
