Trump’s billionaire MAGA inner circle turns inauguration into trillion-dollar event
Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony was attended by a who’s who of billionaires, including some surprising faces.
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Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony was attended by a who’s who of billionaires and moguls, including some surprising faces.
Mr Trump was formally sworn in as the 47 President of the United States on Monday at a slimmed-down ceremony inside the rotunda of the US Capitol in Washington DC, to the disappointment of many of his supporters.
While the 220,000-strong rank-and-file MAGA base who travelled to DC were left to fend for themselves — many were in bars, on the streets, braving the freezing -5C temperatures or attending a watch party at the 20,000 capacity Capital One Arena instead — a select few of the President’s powerful, ultra-wealthy inner circle, new and old, gained a coveted spot inside the rotunda.
Outgoing President Joe Biden, Mr Trump’s defeated opponent Kamala Harris, both of their spouses, and members of the Trump family including Melania, Donald Jr, Eric, Ivanka, Tiffany and Barron were there — but tech billionaires, many of whom made hefty donations to the inaugural fund, notably took centre stage.
A tally by Forbes estimated that billionaires worth a combined $US1.2 trillion ($1.9 trillion) attended the inauguration, including the world’s three wealthiest people.
Here’s who was on there.
MORE: Where world’s richest men really hide their billions
Elon Musk: The Tesla chief executive and tech mogul, the world’s richest person with an estimated net worth of $US434 billion ($692 billion), has become one of Mr Trump’s closest and most important backers. Mr Musk’s support, as well as his purchase of social media site X, was one of the key factors in Mr Trump’s election victory.
Mr Musk appeared to be leaning in the Republican’s direction after restoring Mr Trump’s X account — banned under previous management in the wake of the January 6, 2021 Capitol riots — in late 2022. He publicly came out in support of Mr Trump following the failed assassination attempt last July, throwing his full financial weight behind the campaign.
He spent more than $US277 million ($442 million) backing Mr Trump and other Republican candidates, making him the single largest donor to either party this election cycle. He will now lead the “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE), an advisory body tasked with slashing federal spending and bureaucracy.
Jeff Bezos: The Amazon founder, worth $US239 billion ($381 billion), attended the ceremony with fiancee Lauren Sanchez.
Mr Bezos, whose companies including Amazon’s AWS cloud computing division and space exploration firm Blue Origin have a number of major US government contracts, did not endorse either candidate. He had previously donated to both Democrats and Republicans, but this year donated $US10 million ($16 million) to a bipartisan super PAC focused on electing veterans to public office.
Mr Bezos sparked outrage after banning The Washington Post, the newspaper he purchased in 2013, from endorsing Kamala Harris, later explaining that all presidential endorsements “actually do is create a perception of bias” and arguing the news media needed to regain Americans’ trust.
Mark Zuckerberg: The Meta chief executive, with a net worth of $212 billion ($338 billion), has experienced a Road to Mar-a-Lago conversion into a full-blown MAGA supporter.
Once a key Democratic backer — Mr Trump had accused Mr Zuckerberg, through his political donations to voting turnout efforts and content moderation policies on Facebook and Instagram, of interfering in the 2020 election — he has now done a complete 180.
Earlier this month Mr Zuckerberg announced that the social media behemoth would end its fact-checking program on Facebook and Instagram to “restore free expression”, saying the recent elections “feel like a cultural tipping point towards once again prioritising speech”.
Mr Trump had previously warned that Mr Zuckerberg would “spend the rest of his life in prison” if he attempted to interfere in 2024 — and the President said the abrupt policy shift was “probably” motivated by his threats.
Mr Zuckerberg also appeared to have been swayed by Mr Trump’s defiant response following the Butler, Pennsylvania assassination attempt, calling it “one of the most badass things I’ve ever seen in my life”.
Sundar Pichai: The Google chief executive, along with the search engine’s founder Sergey Brin, was in attendance on Monday. Mr Pichai was among the parade of tech CEOs, fearing a Trump administration crackdown, who made the post-election pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago to pay their respects.
“Congratulations to @POTUS Donald Trump and @VP JD Vance on your inauguration,” he posted on X after the ceremony. “We look forward to working with you to usher in a new era of technology + AI innovation that will benefit all Americans.”
Tim Cook: Apple chief executive Tim Cook, with net worth of $US2.2 billion ($3.5 billion), raised eyebrows before the election after Mr Trump claimed the head of the world’s most valuable company had phoned him — rather than then-President Joe Biden — to complain about European Union fines.
Mr Cook, famously branded “Tim Apple” by Mr Trump, worked with the President during his first term and in 2019 was a member of the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board.
Mr Trump teased on Sunday that Apple, which still relies heavily on China for manufacturing, would be making a major investment in the US. “I spoke with Tim Cook of Apple,” he said during his Make America Great Again Victory Rally. “He said they’re going to make a massive investment in the United States because of our big election win.”
Shou Zi Chew: The TikTok chief executive stood towards the back of the gathering — notably next to Tulsi Gabbard, Mr Trump’s nominee for Director of National Intelligence (DNI) — a day after his company publicly thanked the incoming President for his assurances that a ban on the popular Chinese video-sharing app would be overturned.
TikTok, used by 170 million Americans, went dark over the weekend after the Supreme Court upheld a law banning the app — if it due to national security concerns over its links to the Chinese government. The service was restored on Sunday.
“We thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans and allowing over seven million small businesses to thrive,” TikTok wrote in a statement on X. “It’s a strong stand for the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship. We will work with President Trump on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States.”
Mr Trump told Sunday’s rally that the US would seek a joint venture with TikTok owner ByteDance in order to comply with the law. “Frankly, we have no choice,” he said. “We have to save it.”
Sam Altman: The chief executive of OpenAI, the firm behind ChatGPT, was in attendance — but likely steered clear of Mr Musk, with whom he has an ongoing feud.
Mr Altman, who has a net worth of $US1.1 billion ($1.8 billion) and previously donated to Democrats including Mr Biden, told Fox News last month that Mr Trump “will lead our country into the age of AI, and I am eager to support his efforts to ensure America stays ahead”, particularly in the race against China.
“AI is a little bit different than other kinds of software in that it requires massive amounts of infrastructure, power, computer chips, data centres, and we need to build that here, and we need to be able to have the best AI infrastructure in the world to be able to lead with the technology and the capabilities,” Mr Altman said. “I believe President-elect Trump will be very good at that.”
Bernard Arnault: The founder, chairman and chief executive of the LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE luxury goods empire was spotted in attendance with his wife Helene, daughter Delphine and son Alexandre. Mr Arnault has a net worth of $US180 billion ($287 billion) and is the richest person in France.
Mukesh Ambani: India’s richest man, with a net worth of $US98 billion ($156 billion), attended the pre-inauguration ceremony at St John’s Episcopal Church but it wasn’t clear if he scored a spot inside the rotunda. Mr Ambani, the head of multinational conglomerate Reliance Industries, and his wife Nita met with Mr Trump at a private event prior to the inauguration.
Phil Ruffin: One of Mr Trump’s close friends and business partners, the Las Vegas casino magnate — net worth $4.7 billion ($7.5 billion) — was given a prime spot just behind Jill Biden.
Miriam Adelson: The American-Israeli businesswoman and Republican megadonor was seen happily chatting with Mr Trump’s chief of staff Susie Wiles, with a centre-stage spot just behind Hillary Clinton. Ms Adelson, the widow of former Las Vegas casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, has an estimated net worth of $US31.9 billion ($50.9 billion) and is a major backer of pro-Israel causes. She donated $US100 million ($159 million) to Mr Trump’s campaign.
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Originally published as Trump’s billionaire MAGA inner circle turns inauguration into trillion-dollar event
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