Washington | A who’s who of the world’s wealthiest people surrounded Donald Trump as he took the oath of office on Monday (Tuesday AEDT), with the newly minted president flagging a radical pro-business program built on less regulation and red tape in technology and other key sectors.

Among the phalanx of deep-pocketed attendees were Elon Musk, a former Joe Biden supporter who became a key Trump confidant after spending about $US250 million ($400 million) to get him elected; Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, who this month abolished fact-checking on his social media platforms in a peace offering to Mr Trump; and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, who stopped the Washington Post’s board from endorsing Democrat candidate Kamala Harris.