Expedia Shareholders Reject Proposal to Require Greater Disclosure of Company's Political Donations
Skift Take
Regarding this particular shareholder proposal on increased transparency about political contributions, the stockholder who mattered the most was Barry Diller. But if the political winds in the U.S. are indeed changing, then corporations may find themselves under increased pressure to be transparent and to do the right thing.
Expedia Group shareholders voted down a proposal from a shareholder group that would have provided more disclosures about precisely where Expedia’s political contributions are going.
The vote comes at a critical juncture in U.S. history, as calls for greater accountability from corporations grow amid protests over racial equality.
Expedia Group shareholders, with chairman Barry Diller wielding 29 percent of the voting power, turned thumbs down Wednesday on stockholder Friends Fiduciary’s proposal on political contributions and expenditures. Expedia Group will publicize the tally in the next few days.
The advocacy group's shareholder engagement manager, Kate Monahan, who presented the proposal at Expedia Group's virtual annual stockholders' meeting, told Skift after the vote that while Expedia Group discloses direct political contributions that it makes to politicians, as required by federal law, the company doesn't detail indirect contributions it makes to trade associations and other tax exempt groups. These groups often use corporate money to make political contributions, and Expedia is declining to be transpare
