In honor of Microsoft's $44.6 billion takeover bid of Yahoo, the Huffington Post is taking a close look at how the leading players in the deal stack up in terms of political giving. According the Fundrace, Bill Gates -- who previously maxed out at $2,300 for Barack Obama in Q2 -- donated the same amount to Hillary Clinton in Q4. CEO Steve Ballmer, however, has given zip to any candidate in the past year. According to available data, Kevin Johnson, president of Microsoft's platforms and services division, also hasn't given to any presidential candidates' campaigns.
On the Yahoo side, Jerry Yang -- who previously gave the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee $28,500 and to Nancy Pelosi in 2007 -- has refrained from donating to any candidates in Q4 (let alone the year). (Ousted CEO Terry Semel, meanwhile, gave $1,000 each to Clinton and Obama in Q1 and Q2, respectively.) Company President Susan Decker, however, gave Hillary Clinton $1,000 in Q4. New board member Roy Bostock did as his boss did and contributed nada.
FundRace makes it easy to search by name or address to see which presidential candidates your friends, family, co-workers, and neighbors are contributing to. Or you can see if your favorite celebrity is putting money where their mouth is. Click here to play FundRace.