One of Google’s billionaire founders is the latest tech giant to cozy up to dinner with Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago home on Thursday night, according to multiple sources.
It’s a remarkable turnaround for Sergey Brin, who described Trump’s 2016 victory as “very insulting.”
But it shows how the online aristocracy must put aside its concerns to deal with a new reality.
Details of his visit emerged hours after Facebook’s parent company Meta and Amazon revealed they were donating $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund.
They’re all playing catch-up as Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, watches his fortune grow while attending meetings at Trump’s political headquarters.
Google was one of the companies Trump accused this year of being part of an election scheme against him.
A source familiar with Brin’s visit told DailyMail.com that it was set up by Jessica Reed Kraus, an Instagram influencer known as HouseInhabit, who is close to the Brin family.
“It was Sergey who reached out and wanted to have dinner with Trump,” the source said.
“Of course Trump said yes. These are the largest companies in the world and he takes them very seriously.
Google co-founder Sergey Brin became the latest tech mogul to seek a meeting with Donald Trump, dining with the newly elected president at Mar-a-Lago on Thursday night
Trump was in New York during the day, where he rang the bell at the New York Stock Exchange
Trump has holed up in Mar-a-Lago, where he held meetings and built his government
“But you can be sure he was always outspoken in his opinions of them.”
Trump returned to his home in Palm Beach on Thursday afternoon after a visit to New York, where he was named Time Man of the Year.
It was a rare public appearance. Trump has kept the media at arm’s length since winning the election, abandoning publicity in favor of building his administration with dozens of rallies and staff interviews every day.
On Thursday evening they started working again on Brin, who is estimated to be worth $146 billion.
Brin was previously married to Nicole Shanahan, who later became Robert F. Kennedy’s Jr. running mate. became.
The Wall Street Journal reported that their marriage ended after she had an affair with Trump’s self-proclaimed “first buddy” Musk, which could have created an awkward atmosphere, although all parties deny that
Brin’s visit to Mar-a-Lago marks an extraordinary turnaround from Trump’s last victory in 2016.
Then Brin and other Google executives were caught on video expressing their disgust.
Trump made his distaste for Google clear with this August post on Truth Social
Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla, was regularly present at Trump’s side. Now other tech moguls are trying to catch up as Trump prepares to take office on January 20
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg meets President Trump at the White House here in 2019. He visited Mar-a-Lago last month
“As an immigrant and a refugee, I certainly find this election deeply offensive, and I know many of you do too,” Brin said.
‘I find it a very stressful time. It conflicts with many of our values. It’s a good time to think about that.’
Trump filed lawsuits against Google and Meta in 2021, accusing them of censorship for banning him from social media platforms.
And this year, Trump threatened Google after reports surfaced that it allowed the Biden-Harris campaign to use doctored headlines in ads.
In a post on his Truth Social website, he said: “Google is a crooked election interference machine. Totally illegal, they will pay a high price for what they do!’
Brin is the latest tech mogul to visit Mar-a-Lago.
Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, has always stood by the president-elect and came out in favor of Trump during the elections.
Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg had dinner with Trump last month.
And Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and Washington Post owner, will reportedly meet with Trump next week.