Billionaires, Trump and the big political pivot

As Trump’s power grows, tech elites must choose: stand by principles or shift towards profit-friendly policies with fewer regulations. By Steven Boykey Sidley

- Steven Boykey Sidley

Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Elon Musk of X and Tesla, Mark Zuckerberg of Meta and Marc Andreessen of Andreessen Horowitz have all shed blue cloaks since US President Donald Trump's ascendance and donned bright red ones.

Some others have shifted more quietly and pragmatically, perhaps making some allowance for the new winds of politics and a vengeful president.

These are not normal times, of course. Trump is slashing and burning any entity that does not toe his thick red line. A large pair of balls is required if you want to refuse to pay obeisance there are real consequences, as we have seen.

It is with this in mind, and catalysed by the stunning success of self-declared socialist Zohran Mamdani in the New York Democratic mayoral candidate race last week, that I set out to find some tech bros who continue to talk about climate change and renewables, as well as diversity, equity and inclusion and trans and immigrants' rights, as though Maga had never happened. It turns out that there are still quite a few — some more vocal and others keeping quiet.

No-man's vs open defiance

Let's dispense with those who have been careful to stay in no-man's land. Tim Cook of Apple has stayed partially out of the fray.