A significant political divide is emerging within the U.S. tech industry as workers overwhelmingly support Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, while many of their top bosses are throwing their weight behind her Republican rival, Donald Trump.
According to data compiled by political watchdog OpenSecrets, employees at major tech companies such as Alphabet, Amazon, and Microsoft have donated millions of dollars to Harris’s campaign, far surpassing the contributions made to Trump’s re-election efforts.
The data, which includes donations from company employees, owners, and their immediate family members, highlights a stark contrast between the rank-and-file employees and tech billionaires like Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk and venture capitalists Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, who are rallying behind Trump.
Despite the growing discontent among some tech leaders with Democratic President Joe Biden’s business policies, including tighter regulations on mergers and data privacy, several prominent figures in the industry remain supportive of Harris. Indian American tech billionaire Vinod Khosla, venture capitalist Reid Hoffman, and entrepreneur Mark Cuban are among those backing Harris’s White House bid.
The data reveals that employees at Alphabet and its subsidiaries, including Google, have donated $2.16 million to Harris’s campaign, nearly 40 times the amount Trump has received from the same group. Amazon and Microsoft employees and their family members have contributed $1 million and $1.1 million, respectively, to Harris, while Trump’s campaign has garnered only $116,000 from Amazon workers and $88,000 from Microsoft employees.
Amazon employees, particularly those in corporate positions, are leading the charge in political contributions, far outpacing donations from workers in other retail sectors. For instance, Walmart employees have donated a total of $275,000 to both campaigns, with contributions nearly evenly split between Harris and Trump.
Sarah Bryner, director of research and strategy for OpenSecrets, noted that campaign donations typically come from corporate employees with higher disposable incomes, such as those at Amazon, who earn an average annual salary of $133,000. In contrast, Walmart’s corporate employees, based mostly in Bentonville, Arkansas, have an average salary of $85,000, which limits their capacity to contribute as much.
Even employees at Meta and Apple, who have yet to reach the $1 million donation mark for Harris, are contributing significantly more to her campaign than to Trump’s. Meta employees have donated $835,000 to Harris compared to $25,000 to Trump, while Apple employees have given $861,000 to Harris and $44,000 to Trump.
Silicon Valley has traditionally leaned left, and this trend continues as more than 100 venture capitalists recently pledged their support for Harris, viewing her as a pro-innovation candidate with a favourable stance on business and technology.
As the U.S. presidential election draws nearer, the political divide within the tech industry is becoming increasingly evident. While tech workers are rallying behind Kamala Harris, their bosses’ support for Donald Trump reflects broader tensions over the future direction of U.S. business and technology policies.
