Trump hosts Apple CEO Tim Cook at Mar-a-Lago amid outreach efforts by big tech leaders

President-elect Donald Trump hosted Apple CEO Tim Cook for dinner Friday evening at his Mar-a-Lago resort, according to a source familiar with the meeting who was not authorized to speak publicly.

Cook joins a series of high-profile tech leaders, including OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, seeking to foster better ties with Trump following strained relations during his first term.

Trump has previously discussed Apple’s protracted tax disputes with the European Union with Cook. The meeting comes shortly after Apple lost its final appeal in a case over €13 billion ($14.34 billion) in back taxes to Ireland. In an October podcast interview, Trump recounted a conversation where Cook said, “The European Union has just fined us $15 billion,” referring to the tax penalties.

The dispute, rooted in Ireland’s alleged preferential tax deals for Apple, concluded when the EU’s top court upheld the European Commission’s 2016 ruling, requiring Ireland to recover the unpaid taxes.

Neither Trump’s transition team nor Apple provided immediate comments on the dinner.

Meanwhile, other tech giants are also making moves to engage with the president-elect. OpenAI CEO Altman plans to donate $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund, while Amazon and Meta confirmed their own $1 million contributions this week.

Amazon’s Bezos, who had clashed with Trump over issues such as The Washington Post’s political coverage and a $10 billion Pentagon contract, has recently softened his stance. At a recent summit, Bezos expressed optimism about Trump’s second term and supported plans to reduce regulations.

Similarly, Meta’s Zuckerberg, who met privately with Trump at Mar-a-Lago weeks before the donation, has taken a more positive tone toward the president-elect. Although he did not endorse a candidate during the 2024 campaign, Zuckerberg praised Trump’s handling of an assassination attempt earlier this year.