Protesters that started using the hashtag #DeleteUber last weekend in opposition to President Trump’s executive order suspending immigration may actually be working to fatten the pockets of a key Trump contributor.
The protest against Uber started after the New York City taxi drivers called for a temporary ban on rides heading to Kennedy airport to show opposition to Trump’s executive order. Uber, however, announced they would continue offering rides from Kennedy airport without surge pricing. Despite the company’s assurance that it was not working against the taxi strike and Uber’s CEO Travis Kalanick’s public opposition to the travel ban, the movement continues. The protest is creating a huge boost for Uber’s ride-sharing competitor Lyft, whose usage is dramatically increasing following the Uber protest, CNBC reports.
Billionaire and early Trump supporter Carl Icahn is actively invested in Lyft, to the tune of $100 million to be exact. Icahn definitively did more than Kalanick to help secure Donald Trump the presidency, yet it is Kalanick’s company that is taking the hit and Icahn that is reaping the benefits. In August of last year, Icahn said that: “If Trump doesn’t win … we have a major problem in our economy.” The billionaire was even hand-picked by Trump as a special advisor on regulatory matters in December.
Icahn is not the only Trump supporter to be benefiting from the Uber ban. Facebook investor and venture capital guru Peter Thiel is also making out well. Thiel led Lyft’s second round of funding and subsequent rounds as well.
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