Dana White, combat sports personality and supporter of US President-elect Donald Trump, will join Meta’s board of directors. The parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp is seeking to curry favor with the Republican billionaire.
“I was never interested in serving on a board of directors until I was asked to join the Meta board. I firmly believe that social networks and AI are the future,” declared the president of the UFC, the most prestigious league in the world of MMA (mixed martial arts), quoted in the Meta press release. “There’s nothing I love more than building brands and I can’t wait to help Meta take it to the next level,” he added.
An active ally of Donald Trump, Dana White notably contributed to popularizing it among young male voters who love combat sports. He appeared on a TikTok video of the Republican candidate and encouraged him, according to the American press, to speak out on podcasts like that of Joe Rogan, which are widely listened to by this key electorate. And when Donald Trump gave his victory speech on November 6, Dana White was on stage.
A mutual friend with Mark Zuckerberg
Two other people, John Elkann, boss of Exor (European investment fund) and Charlie Songhurst (investor and former senior manager at Microsoft), were also elected to the Meta board of directors. “Dana, John and Charlie will bring deep expertise and perspective that will help us seize the immense opportunities ahead with AI, wearables and the future of human connections,” said Mark Zuckerberg, founder. and boss of Meta. Dana White is also a friend of Mark Zuckerberg, who practices martial arts.
Tech executives are scrambling to woo Donald Trump and ease strained relations with Washington during the Republican’s first term and then that of current US President Joe Biden.
In December, Donald Trump received many bosses at Mar-a-Lago, his residence in Florida, including Mark Zuckerberg. Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos (founder of Amazon, who had been in conflict with the first Trump administration) each donated $1 million to the fund for the president’s inauguration on January 20.
