【】TopicsLinkedInDonald TrumpElections
LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman is the latest Silicon Valley mogul to put some of his personal fortune on the line this election season with a promise to donate $5 million to veteran affairs groups if Donald Trump agrees to release his personal tax returns.。
SEE ALSO:Trump’s cozy relationship with Breitbart gets even cozier with big hire。Hoffman is taking his cue from a crowdfunding campaign launched by U.S. Marine veteran Pete Kiernan, who is hoping to raise $1 million for the same purpose. 。
The networking site entrepreneur said he'd add his own $5 million to the pot as soon as the campaign hit its goal. As of Monday afternoon, the total raised sits at just over $6,000. 。
Kiernan wants Trump to be held to the same standards as members of the U.S. military, who must undergo rigorous background checks to ensure they're fit for service. 。
"Trump claims to love veterans," Kiernan writes. "So we’re asking him to put his money where his mouth is." 。
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Hoffman, whose net worth was boosted substantially when Microsoft acquired his site earlier this year, pointed out in a Medium post that the $5 million he pledged is the same amount Trump offered Obama for his college records and passport applications during the 2012 presidential election. 。
"There’s no real reason that Trump is keeping his returns secret, except that he sees them as a bargaining chip to utilize," Hoffman writes. 。
"In a functioning democracy, the public shouldn’t be forced to bargain with a major presidential candidate to obtain access to his tax returns." 。
The matter of what may or may not be hidden within Trump's tax returns has become a sticking point this election as the GOP candidate has consistently refused to release them. Historically, doing so is customary for presidential candidates. 。
Hoffman isn't the first big name in the industry to publicly throw their weight behind a candidate. Facebook cofounder Dustin Moskovitz took aim at Trump last week with a $20 million donation to various Democratic groups. 。
Meanwhile, billionaire venture capitalist Peter Thiel, ever the eccentric outlier, has campaigned ardently for Trump, even going so far as to speak at the Republican National Convention. 。