Apple Chips In for Trump’s White House Ballroom—Here’s Who Else Is Paying

Apple is one of several major tech companies contributing to the construction of a new $300 million ballroom at the White House, a project championed by President Donald Trump and financed entirely through private and corporate donations.

The ballroom, spanning about 90,000 square feet, is being built on the site of the now-demolished East Wing — despite Trump’s earlier assurance that the area would remain untouched, reports CNBC. The White House says taxpayer money won’t be used, and Trump claims he’s contributing personal funds along with outside donors.

The list of contributors includes Amazon, Alphabet (Google’s parent company), Apple, Microsoft, and Meta, among others including T-Mobile. Alphabet’s $22 million share reportedly stems from a legal settlement related to Trump’s prior ban from YouTube, redirected to the Trust for the National Mall to support the ballroom’s construction.

Here’s all the big tech donors: Amazon, Alphabet (Google), Apple, Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Palantir Technologies, Micron Technology, Coinbase, HP Inc., T-Mobile, Ripple, and Comcast Corporation.

White House officials say Trump will disclose the size of his personal contribution later, while corporate partners describe the project as a “gift to the American people.” The ballroom’s expansion marks one of the largest structural changes to the White House in decades.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has been playing his hand well with Trump to favour the iPhone maker. Back in August, Apple announced an extra $100 billion in investment in the U.S., pushing a total pledge of $600 billion US over four years. In September at a dinner at the White House with other big tech leaders, Cook praised Trump for helping American companies around the world.