Big-name billionaires are lining up to strengthen their relationships with incoming President Donald Trump during next week’s inauguration festivities, as top dogs like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and more are expected to turn up in Washington, D.C.
Key Facts
- The world’s three wealthiest people are set to attend: Amazon founder Jeff Bezos (worth $235.3 billion according to Forbes’ estimates) and Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg ($212.6 billion) will reportedly be seated together on the inauguration dais alongside Elon Musk ($429.8 billion), the Tesla CEO, world’s richest person and presidential confidant who spent over a quarter of a billion dollars to help Trump win November’s election.
- OpenAI CEO Sam Altman ($1.1 billion), who donated to the inauguration, reportedly plans to attend the event.
- Zuckerberg is also co-hosting a pre-Inaugural Ball reception for Trump alongside billionaire backers Miriam Adelson ($31.8 billion), Tilman Fertitta ($10.2 billion) and Todd Ricketts, whose father J. Joe Rickettsand family are worth an estimated $4 billion.
- Trump himself is worth an estimated $6.8 billion thanks to his stake in Truth Social’s parent company, his real estate investments and other assets.
- Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong ($11.9 billion) was invited to inauguration-related events, according to Bloomberg, which didn’t specify if he’ll attend the swearing-in ceremony.
- Several other billionaires and their spouses have been offered top roles in the Trump administration, but their attendance hasn’t been confirmed: Stephen Feinberg ($5 billion), Warren Stephens ($3.3 billion), Jared Isaacman ($1.7 billion), Howard Lutnick ($1.5 billion), Vivek Ramaswamy ($1 billion), Steve Witkoff ($1 billion), Linda McMahon (husband Vince McMahon is worth $3 billion) and Kelly Loeffler (husband Jeff Sprecher is worth $1 billion).
What Other Billionaires Could Attend?
Apple CEO Tim Cook ($2.3 billion) personally donated $1 million to the inauguration, but it’s unclear if he’ll attend the event. Dozens of other billionaires also supported Trump on his road to a second term who haven’t been confirmed as attendees, including Robert “Woody” Johnson ($3.3 billion), Elizabeth and Richard Uihlein (each worth $5.9 billion), Roger Penske ($6.4 billion) and Timothy Mellon (family was worth $14.1 billion).
Did Billionaires Like Musk, Bezos and Zuckerberg Back Trump’s Campaign?
Some of them did, but others either stayed out of the presidential race or were Trump foes before they started trying to make nice. Zuckerberg’s Meta previously banned Trump from Instagram and Facebook—and Trump once threatened to send him to prison—before he fell in line following the election results. Since then, Zuckerberg has donated $1 million to his inaugural fund, met with Trump at Mar-A-Lago, made changes to how its platforms fact-check posts and put Trump’s friend Dana White on Meta’s board. In the leadup to the election, Zuckerberg did not endorse a candidate but did call Trump’s response to his assassination attempt “badass.”
Bezos also has a history of clashing with Trump: Amazon in 2019 blamed Trump’s “personal dislike” of Bezos for losing a multibillion-dollar cloud computing contract with the Pentagon, and Trump has been critical of the Bezos-owned Washington Post. Bezos didn’t endorse Trump last year but said he “showed tremendous grace and courage under literal fire” following the assassination attempt, and donated $1 million to the inaugural fund.
Others have supported him all along. Musk is among Trump’s biggest donors, alongside Adelson, the widow of billionaire Las Vegas Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson, who donated $100 million to the pro-Trump super PAC Preserve America during the election. Fertitta, owner of the Houston Rockets and Landry’s restaurant group, has been nominated to serve as U.S. ambassador to Italy after the Texas billionaire hosted a fundraiser for Trump last year. Ricketts, a co-owner of the Chicago Cubs, has been a major fundraiser for Republican politicians and, while he initially fundraised within the party against Trump during his first campaign, he ultimately went on to spearhead pro-Trump fundraising in 2020 and last year.
Tangent
Other corporate leaders plan on attending the inauguration, including Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla and Walmart CEO Doug McMillon, according to the Wall Street Journal. Other supporters are throwing events around Washington over inauguration weekend, including an “Inaugural Crypto Ball” that will feature Snoop Dogg and a party held by Uber and its CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. James Quincey, CEO of Coca-Cola Company, on Tuesday presented Trump with the “first ever Presidential Commemorative Inaugural Diet Coke bottle.”
Microsoft, Ford, Google and AI search startup Perplexity also donated $1 million to the inaugural fund. Ripple, a crypto company, gave $5 million worth of its cryptocurrency to the inaugural committee. Other major donors include Goldman Sachs, Intuit, Toyota, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, General Motors, Bank of America, AT&T and Stanley Black & Decker, the Journal reported.
Big Number
More than $170 million. That’s how much Trump’s inaugural fund is believed to have raised, almost three times as much as the $62 million raised by President Joe Biden four years ago and well above the previous record of $107 million, set by Trump’s 2016 inauguration. Donors who gave $1 million, or raised $2 million from others, were reportedly given six tickets to a series of events in the days leading up to the inauguration, including a “candlelight dinner” with Trump and Melania Trump and a black-tie ball.
What To Watch For
The big weekend. The swearing-in ceremony for Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance is scheduled for 12 p.m. EST Monday, but inauguration events officially begin Saturday. The weekend will include a “victory rally” at Capitol One Arena in Washington and a tea with the Bidens and Trumps at the White House, and Trump is expected to speak at three different balls Monday night. Carrie Underwood will perform at the official ceremony, and the Village People will perform at multiple inaugural events. Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton will attend the inauguration, as will former First Lady Laura Bush and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Michelle Obama will not attend.
This story was originally published on forbes.com and all figures are in USD.
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