Silicon Valley's gala: Tech titans celebrate Trump era
During the inauguration, the advanced technology and cryptocurrency sectors will be celebrating both Donald Trump's victory and their own, according to the "New York Times" on Thursday. American media highlight that the barons of Silicon Valley have gained influence over the fate of their industry and broadly understood US policy.
During Donald Trump's second-term inauguration, many VIP seats will be occupied by the heads of large technology companies or those investing in the sector. Among those set to attend are Elon Musk, Amazon's Jeff Bezos, and executive directors of Apple and Meta - Tim Cook and Mark Zuckerberg. The latter will be one of the four hosts of a grand reception, serving as a celebration of the inauguration of President Donald J. Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance, as the invitation announces.
A euphoric tech industry is ready to celebrate Trump and itself, according to the "NYT".
Throughout the inaugural weekend, the hosts of the most coveted parties in Washington will be major donors from Silicon Valley who financially supported Trump's election campaign and now "revel in their new clout," continues the New York newspaper.
Trump: "The Crypto President"
On Friday evening, there will be a Crypto Ball sponsored by barons from the cryptocurrency sector, described in the invitation as a celebration of the "first crypto president."
The most prominent representatives of the technology sector, such as Musk and billionaire investor Peter Thiel, "are poised to shape not only technology policy but also the broader direction of the nation," comments "Newsweek".
Individuals like Musk, or tech-investing billionaires Thiel and David Sachs, who supported Trump in the elections, will use their influence on the government's actions and decisions to "secure policy shifts favoring deregulation and aggressive technological innovation".
Thiel, whose protégé is J.D. Vance, has long invested in Trump; it is now believed that Vance will be a liaison between the president's administration and the technology sector, the magazine writes. Many other Thiel protégés are being considered as potential candidates for important positions in the government.
Professor of political science at George Washington University, Casey Burgat, believes that some of these tech barons, such as Bezos and Zuckerberg, are trying - by "maintaining good relations with a government that has openly threatened their business models" - to prevent the implementation of unfavourable regulations, especially those aimed at combating monopolists.
The high tech industry currently accounts for about 10% of the US GDP and a third of the S&P 500 stock index value. It can afford colossal contributions to politicians; entrepreneurs specialising in cryptocurrencies account for nearly half of the corporate donations that fuelled the 2024 election campaign through the so-called super PACs, and the entire tech sector is now one of the essential political business sponsors in America.
However, the political ambitions of these businessmen match their generosity. Sector leaders aim to wield considerable influence in Washington as they do in Silicon Valley, according to the magazine "The New Yorker" last summer.
