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Linux Foundation Drops Linux Spending to Historic Lows in 2024
Plus: Skyrocketing revenue, and no mention of "Diversity" or "Climate Change".
December 11, 2024
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The Linux Foundation, earlier today, released their 2024 Annual Report.  And, hoo boy, is it a doozy.

The short-short version: Massive increase in revenue (now close to $300 Million Dollars), with spending on Linux continuing to drop to historically low numbers.

And, in a dramatic departure from previous years, almost zero discussion of politically charged topics (such as Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Climate Change).

Let's start with the numbers.

 

Skyrocketing Revenue

 

First and foremost, it's worth pointing out that -- as of this year -- revenue for The Linux Foundation is closing in on 1/3rd of a Billion Dollars annually.

 

While The Linux Foundation may technically be a "non profit", those numbers would make many "for profit" corporations blush.  Massive, steady income growth.

Where does the largest bulk of that revenue come from?  Corporate "membership" dues, naturally.  To the tune of over $125 Million USD.

 

With the highest paying corporate members being the likes of Meta, Microsoft, Oracle, Samsun, Red Hat (IBM), Huawei, and the like.

 

 

These corporations pay a premium to have a seat on The Linux Foundation Board of Directors.  Which, it should be pointed out, consists of over 70% GPL violators.

 

 

Spending on Linux

 

One of the peculiar facts about The Linux Foundation is how surprisingly little of their income they spend on... Linux.

And, perhaps even more peculiar still, is the fact that the percentage of their revenue spent on Linux appears to decrease every year.

In 2021, The Linux Foundation spent roughly 3.4% of their revenue on their namesake project.  As of 2024... that number appears to be down to 2.3%.

 

 

And this isn't simply a matter of overall percentages going down (while revenue rises).  Spending on the Linux Kernel is down, year on year, in terms of actual US Dollars as well.

 

 

In fact, the amount currently spent on "Corporate Operations" for The Linux Foundation... is roughly 3 times that of what is spent on the Linux kernel.

As time goes on -- and spending numbers become finalized -- we are gaining an increasingly clear picture of the spending priorities of The Linux Foundation.

 

No Diversity in 2024?

 

In the previous annual report (2023), "Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion" were a critical component.

In the 2023 report:

  • "Diversity" was mentioned 34 times
  • "Inclusion" 17 times.
  • With the general "DEI" topic -- including "LGBTQ" issues -- being a critical component throughout the report.  Page after page of DEI.

This year, in the 2024 report, the words "Diversity", "Equity", and "Inclusion" are never used.  Not once.

Well.  Once.  Barely.  On the second to the last page, in a footnote, you find the following statement: "75% of [travel] funding went to diverse community members."  That, right there is the sum total of discussion around "diversity".

In fact, the "LGBT" acronym is also never used in the most recent report (another significant change from previous years).

This appears to mark a dramatic shift, away from "DEI", for The Linux Foundation.  At least in terms of messaging.

 

No Climate Change, Either?

 

The 2024 Linux Foundation annual report also contains absolutely no reference to "Climate Change".

"Wait, why would the Linux Foundation be talking about Climate Change," you ask?

Well.  Last year, in 2023, the annual report was filled to the brim with Climate Change -- with 37 distinct references and over 10 pages focused on the topic.

That focus appears to no longer be a priority for The Linux Foundation.

 

The Right to Fork

 

One of the most prominent new topics of the 2024 report was "the right to fork".  Something previous annual reports stayed clear of almost entirely.

 

“The right to fork open source code is at the core of open source licensing. All open source licenses grant the right to fork their code, that is to start a new development effort using an existing code as its base. Thus, code forking represents the single greatest tool available for guaranteeing sustainability in open source software.

 

In addition to bolstering program sustainability, code forking directly affects the governance of open source initiatives. Forking, and even the mere possibility of forking code, affects the governance and sustainability of open source initiatives on three distinct levels: software, community, and ecosystem.”

 

This is particularly interesting, given the stated intention for Russia to hard-fork Linux over the recent ban of Russian programmers from being official kernel maintainers.

 

Other Oddities

 

A few other facts which are worth noting from the 2024 Annual Report:

  • Neither the Executive Director, nor the Board Chair -- in their several pages long opening messages -- mentions the Linux Kernel.  Nor desktop, server, or mobile Linux.  Strange, right?
  • The 2024 Annual Report is only 45 pages long.  Compared to the 2023 report, which clocks in at 160 pages.
  • There is absolutely no mention of the mass banning of Russian developers during 2024.
  • Nor of the various other developers banned from the Linux Kernel this year.

What does all of this mean?  Will the decreasing spending on Linux continue into 2025?  Will the decreased emphasis on messaging around "DEI" issues translate to real-world changes?  Will the "right to fork" emphasis continue if Russia follows through with their proposed Linux kernel fork?

Lots of questions.  Lots and lots of them.

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October 15, 2025
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The Unpublished Anti-Lunduke Hit-Piece
A Tech Journalist interviewed me for a hit-piece article. But the questions made them look bad, and they shelved the story. So I'm publishing their hit-piece for them.

Back in September, shortly after the assassination of Charlie Kirk, I was contacted by a Tech Journalist writing for FossForce.com (a smaller, Open Source focused publication) who was working on an article around Open Source, Antifa, and the Lunduke Journal’s coverage of those topics.

This particular outlet had, several months prior, run an “anti-Lunduke” hit piece without first reaching out for comment — which resulted in their most popular article (at least on social media) in quite some time.

With that in mind, it seemed reasonable that they’d want to repeat that success with another “anti-Lunduke” story.

This time they were doing the responsible thing. They reached out to the subject of the hit-piece article with questions. I like encouraging Tech Journalists when they do actual journalism, so I answered each and every query with easy-to-quote responses.

But, it would appear that the answers they received were not conducive to creating the hit-piece they were hoping for — my guess is they realized their questions made them look like the villain in the story. The villain they, clearly, hoped to portray me as.

They opted to not publish the piece.

So I’m publishing their hit-piece for them.

Below is every question — and every answer (with no edits) — which I was asked, on September 19th, by a Tech Journalist by the name of Christine Hall, writing for FossForce.

Fair warning: This is very, very politically charged.

Enjoy.


September 19th

Hall:

The last time I mentioned you in an article, you castigated me for not reaching out to you beforehand. Well, I’m reaching out now. We’ll see what comes of this.

You do recognize that the vast majority of organizations using the term antifa as a descriptor are not in the least bit terrorist and pose no threat to society -- and indeed, the only threats they might pose to fascist groups are not physical or life-harming?

Lunduke:

Hello Christine! Nice to hear from you!

Many, if not most, of those proclaiming support for Antifa (within Open Source) have also made statements encouraging or supporting violence and discrimination.

Regardless of that fact -- which I have documented extensively in Lunduke Journal coverage -- when violent acts are committed (such as murder, riots, and lynchings) in the name of “Antifa”, to turn around and immediately declare yourself to be “Antifa” is a clear declaration of support of that violence.

Hall:

And why did you feel it necessary to call out Danielle Foré’s [the founder of the elementary OS Linux Distribution] trans status in such an ugly manner?

Lunduke:

There is a noteworthy overlap between “Trans activism” and support for political violence -- including in the recent murder of Charlie Kirk (the murderer’s boyfriend was “Trans”).

In the case of Daniel Fore, he, a leader of an Open Source project, regularly calls for discrimination (and violence) against people he disagrees with -- often in conjunction with his self-declaration as “Trans”.

Thus, his declaration of being “Trans” becomes a part of the overall story.

It is worth noting here that The Lunduke Journal has never -- and would never -- call for discrimination or violence against someone because of how they identify or who they may (or may not) vote for.

This is in stark contrast those, such as Mr. Fore, who consider themselves “Trans” or “Antifa” -- who actively advocate for both discrimination and violence.

Hall:

Mentioning a person’s trans status in ways that are pertinent to your argument necessates rudeness such as calling her a “dude who likes to wear dresses”?

Lunduke:

Dan Fore is, in fact, a dude who likes to wear dresses.

The only reason to view that as a negative is if you view dudes wearing dresses as a negative.

Hall:

I’ll quote you on that, which I’m pretty sure won’t bother you in the least.

Lunduke:

Absolutely! Quote anything I say here. In fact, I suggest quoting absolutely everything I’ve written to you here, today.

Hall:

You also understand, don’t you, that voicing disagreement with an assessment made by POTUS is not only legal but a healthy part of the national dialog.

Lunduke:

Absolutely! Did I say somewhere that it was illegal to disagree with a politician? It seems unlikely that I have ever said that.

Hall:

Also, how would you reply to this:

There have been very few murders linked to individuals associated with Antifa, some incidents of rioting attributed to Antifa supporters, and no credible evidence of lynchings conducted in the name of Antifa. Compared to far-right groups, violence attributed to Antifa is much less frequent and lethal, with only one suspected kill—Aaron Danielson in Portland, by an anti-fascist activist—officially confirmed in recent U.S. history.

Lunduke:

Murder is bad. I am opposed to all murder.

In the context of these discussions, bearing in mind the Kirk murder is important (as many statements were made in response to it). The murderer of Kirk appears to have been pro-Trans and pro-Antifa (based on all available information).

Hall:

Is there any evidence that the suspect was part of an antifa group? I haven’t seen any.

Lunduke:

I have seen some reporting to this effect (including statements from family and messages he wrote).

But, far more important to this story, is the response to the murder among Antifa supporters (including those within Open Source). A large portion of Antifa supporters have celebrated the murder as justified because it killed someone they considered to be a “fascist”.

Hall:

Also, no group should be held responsible for what some deranged person who identifies with the group has done.

Lunduke:

I agree that a broader group should not be held responsible for the actions of a small number of individuals.

However, and this is critically important, it is entirely appropriate to hold people responsible for their own statements and actions.

With that in mind: The overall messaging of Antifa (and Antifa supporters) tends heavily towards violence. Punching, killing, molotov cocktails, etc. are all common messaging used by Antifa (including by those I quote within the Open Source world -- many of whom have advocated violence against myself).

Advocating for violence, then celebrating when violence is committed, are not good things.

Yet we see a great deal of that among Open Source supporters of Antifa.

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October 13, 2025
Sale ends in a few hours, Lifetime Subs set up.

Holy moly, you guys are amazing.

A few days ago I published a “50% off” sale for Lunduke Journal subscriptions… and all of you showed up. In a big way.

To everyone who grabbed a Lifetime Subscription over the last few days: All of you are set to full Lifetime access. You should have a confirmation email in your inbox. If not, email me and I’ll make sure you’re setup properly.

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A huge thank you to everyone who supports this work. Couldn’t do it without you.

-Lunduke

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