CEOs of some of the world's top tech firms are leading the liberal-leaning tech industry in congratulating Joe Biden on his victory as president-elect of the United States, and Kamala Harris, as well.
About 98% of political contributions from internet companies during the election campaign went to Democrats, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Internet company employees committed 98% of their contributions to Democrats.
CNN, Fox News and other credible news organizations called the hotly contested election for Biden before noon Saturday after Pennsylvania gave the Democratic Party candidate the 20 Electoral College votes he needed to exceed the 270 vote threshold needed to win the presidency.
Biden's win in the Pennsylvania popular vote gave him 279 Electoral College votes to Trump's 213. Biden also won Nevada and its six Electoral College votes.
Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft Corporation, said he looks forward to "working with the new administration and leaders on both sides in Congress on getting the surging pandemic under control." He's been an unrelenting critic of President Donald Trump's haphazard and unscientific COVID-19 response.
Microsoft president Brad Smith congratulated Biden and Harris in a blog post and called for unity across the U.S.
"If we are to move forward as a nation, we must build new bridges to close the gaps that divide us," said Smith.
Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos said Biden and Harris' victory signifies that "unity, empathy and decency are not characteristics of a bygone era."
Trump has been a harsh critic of Bezos, who owns the liberal newspaper, The Washington Post. The Post is one of the many Trump critical newspapers Trump labels "fake news."
Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and Priscilla Chan, wife of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and cofounder of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, both congratulated Harris on her historic victory. Harris is now the first Black woman and first person of Asian American descent to be elected vice president.
"After a few long days, we now know that Joe Biden will be our next president - and for the first time in 231 years, our next vice president will be a Black and South Asian American woman who is the daughter of immigrants," wrote Sandberg in a Facebook post. "There are times when America takes a big step toward creating a government that reflects the diverse country we are. Today is one of those days."
Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, was delighted Biden and Harris' win. She said Biden's victory represents a "glass ceiling shattered once and for all."
Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins tweeted Cisco aligns with Biden and Harris' "belief that we must build a more inclusive future for all."
