In the Beaux-Arts mansion of venture capitalist Peter Thiel, a blowout organized by the hosts of the popular tech podcast “All-In” at a brand-new members-only club, and a viewing ceremony hosted by an ascendant, Silicon Valley-inflected network of wealthy donors. The most sought-after parties during President-elect Donald J. Trump’s inaugural weekend will be hosted by the Silicon Valley donors who are flush with power at the dawn of his second administration. The tech industry, which has embraced Mr. Trump over the past year, is set to revel in its newfound influence over a series of festivities that will highlight the tech donors as the stars of the show. Deep-pocketed corporations and donors seeking access to the incoming administration that will oversee their industries and interests have descended on the inauguration. Mr. Trump’s official inaugural committee has shattered fundraising records. Companies, including Fortune 500 stalwarts like Ford and General Motors; tech giants like Amazon and Google; cryptocurrency upstarts like Ripple and Robinhood; and traditional G.O.P. megadonors like coal billionaires Joseph W. Craft III and Kelly Knight Craft, who donated $1 million each, have been given tickets to exclusive official events, including intimate dinners with Mr. Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance, and VIP access to the swearing-in ceremony on Monday. However, the action is mostly off the official program. Across Washington, dozens of big-money events are planned at the city’s most exclusive hotels and restaurants, rooftops and ballrooms, on land and aboard yachts, mostly catering to corporations and wealthy executives hoping to usher in a new term that they hope will free American business. Downtown steakhouses and Georgetown sushi spots are planned for clients and associates of lobbying firms with ties to the incoming Trump administration, including Chartwell Strategy Group, which raised $3 million for the inauguration and represents clients like Hyundai, which donated $1 million through its U.S. subsidiary; and Ballard Partners, the firm of top Trump fundraiser Brian Ballard, representing corporations that collectively donated millions to the inaugural committee, including Amazon and Ripple.
Read from: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/16/us/politics/trump-tech-inauguration-parties.html