It's no secret that Microsoft individuals with vested interests are passing a lot of money to governments. This hardly accounts for influence through lobbyists and corporate sponsorships too.

Nevertheless, it's always suspicious when one person invests in another, as opposed to a company supporting a company, a person, or vice versa. Associated Press has this report.

The inaugural committee received a total of $150,500 from six Microsoft employees, including the maximum $50,000 from Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.

They neglected to account for contributions from family members of Microsoft employees, as well as others. This is similar to this article.

The inauguration has raised a total of $150,500 from six Microsoft employees, including the maximum $50,000 from Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.

There are actually bigger numbers at play.

The 2008 elections may be over, but it's still interesting to look back and see who supported whom. As a company, Microsoft didn't stick to just the Democrats or just the Republicans, but according to data from OpenSecrets.org, the software giant did have a clear winner in mind. Out of the $2,973,322 in contributions Microsoft made, $2,124,186 went to the Democrats, while only $844,586 was given to the Republicans. This comes out to about 71.4 percent and 28.4 percent, respectively. The rest of the contributions went to individuals and political action committees.

That is just the tip of the iceberg and it shows rather clearly how the United States government is run and funded. Whose interests will it serve? ⬆