President-elect Donald Trump has won more than just the election. It appears he’s increasingly winning some unlikely support from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon Executive Chairman Jeff Bezos. To boost Trump’s inaugural funds, Zuckerberg gifted the soon-to-be president $1 million. According to The Wall Street Journal, Bezos plans to do the same.

These sizable donations stem from a string of statements and actions that seem to demonstrate these men have slowly been improving relations with the former president. Longtime liberal Bezos even offered Trump a “big congratulations” after his landslide victory in November. Whether these are mere strategic overtures to win favor with Trump as he prepares to take office has not been determined. Nonetheless, it’s notable that Bezos recently expressed his desire for his outlet, The Washington Post, to have more conservative columnists to balance out the news coverage. This announcement came shortly after he made the executive decision that the paper would not endorse then-presidential candidate Kamala Harris.

Meanwhile, Zuckerberg has been fine dining with Trump at the Mar-a-Lago resort. BBC News believed this to be “further evidence of the apparent thawing in their once frosty relations.” This comes despite the fact that Trump was barred from two of Zuckerberg’s platforms ­ — Facebook and Instagram — after his first term. The details concerning what the men discussed at dinner have not been made public, but considering the $1 million donation that followed, perhaps they found some common ground.

Throughout the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump and X owner Elon Musk seemed to grow closer. The two have worked hand-in-hand on a number of issues, and Musk is now set to be a part of the new Trump administration to help lead the brand-new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Bezos came out recently not merely to back the new program, but to express how he’s “very optimistic” and excited to help Trump achieve his aims.

It’s not just these billionaires warming up to Trump. As evidenced by the election results, other industries seem to be increasingly excited about the prospect of another Trump administration. On Thursday, Outkick reported, “the President-elect was met with thunderous applause as he opened the New York Stock Exchange.” People clapped and chanted “U-S-A” and “WE LOVE YOU DONALD” after he rang the NYSE bell.

In addition to this, Trump was recently named Time magazine’s Person of the Year. Many have argued, including the magazine itself, that America is watching as the former president makes a major historical comeback. They wrote:

“Trump’s political rebirth is unparalleled in American history. ... Trump cleared the Republican field, clinching one of the fastest contested presidential primaries in history. He spent six weeks during the general election in a New York City courtroom, the first former President to be convicted of a crime — a fact that did little to dampen his support. An assassin's bullet missed his skull by less than an inch at a rally in Butler, Pa., in July. Over the next four months, he beat not one but two Democratic opponents, swept all seven swing states, and became the first Republican to win the popular vote in 20 years. He has realigned American politics, remaking the GOP and leaving Democrats reckoning with what went awry.”

The “red wave” November election victory made at least one thing clear: Americans at large want Trump to lead our country again. And to many, it’s no wonder, considering that the country has been suffering from a border crisis, a poor economy, and a world on edge. But what do CEOs and executives, such as Zuckerberg and Bezos, have to gain (or lose) in their support of Trump? Matt Carpenter, Family Research Council’s director of FRC Action, took a stab at answering these questions.

“I think there are many reasons why you see figures like Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg contributing to the inaugural fund for president-elect Trump,” he told The Washington Stand. “For starters, both men own businesses that contract with the federal government to provide services. I don’t know how much of their revenue comes from those contracts, but given their contributions to the inaugural fund, I would assume it’s substantial.” Additionally, Carpenter believes “another reason is [that] they likely understand the public perceives … them [as] antagonistic towards conservatives and Republicans.”

To successfully run a major company, it’s clear that consumers want to feel represented and valued. Likely, Carpenter contended, Zuckerberg and Bezos are aware of this. As he concluded, “[G]iven the size of the Trump win, and the fact that he will have a Congress controlled by his party, they likely see there’s wisdom in hedging a bit from their past partisan alliances — whether real or perceived.”