- The ex-Facebook and
Oculus execPalmer Luckey is reportedly hosting a fundraiser event for President DonaldTrump at his Southern California home on Sunday. - The report comes as the Trump campaign attempts to raise money as funds continue to run dry.
- Luckey is a high-profile figure in the tech world, having founded the virtual-reality startup Oculus before selling it to
Facebook in 2014. - He left Oculus in 2017, shortly after reports emerged that he backed a pro-Trump group during the 2016 presidential election. Mark Zuckerberg testified in 2018 that Luckey's firing "was not because of a political view."
- Luckey has since founded Anduril, a military-contracting startup that was recently awarded a contract to build a "virtual" border wall for the Trump administration.
The ex-Facebook and Oculus exec Palmer Luckey will reportedly host a fundraiser for President Donald Trump this weekend.
Luckey will host the fundraiser at his and his wife's home in Southern California on Sunday. Tickets for the event range from $2,800 to $100,000 a person. CNBC first reported the event.
A spokesperson for Anduril did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.
The report comes as Trump attempts to raise funds for the homestretch of his reelection campaign. Business Insider's Tom LoBianco reported Tuesday that the Trump campaign was low on cash following its ousting of ex-campaign manager Brad Pascale, who was found to have made high-priced expenses including hiring a personal driver and traveling aboard Air Force One.
"They don't have enough money to close out the race," a former GOP fundraiser told LoBianco.
As for Luckey, the conservative-minded exec is an anomaly in the tech world, which is largely considered left-leaning.
Luckey founded the virtual-reality startup Oculus in 2012 before he sold the firm to Facebook for $3 billion two years later. In 2017, he left his post leading Facebook's VR operations, soon after The Daily Beast reported he was pouring thousands into a pro-Trump group that created anti-Hillary Clinton memes during the 2016 presidential election.
During a Senate hearing in 2018, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified that Luckey's departure "wasn't because of a political view."
His exit also came three years after the gaming company ZeniMax filed a lawsuit that alleged Oculus took its code to build its uberpopular Rift VR headset.
Luckey in 2017 also founded Anduril, a military-contracting startup with a recent valuation of nearly $2 billion. The startup was awarded a contract with US Customs and Border Protection in June that amounted to a reported several hundred million dollars to build a virtual "wall" as a means to monitor crossings into the US.