LVMH chief Bernard Arnault and Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani—the world’s fifth- and eighteenth-wealthiest people—attended President Donald Trump’s inauguration events Monday, marking a pair of surprise billionaire appearances at the event attended by a cadre of moguls worth well over $1 trillion.
Arnault was spotted at the inauguration alongside his family. (Photo by Chesnot/Getty Images)
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Key Takeaways
- Arnault, whose estimated net worth is $179.6 billion, attended the inauguration alongside his wife and two children, who together make up the wealthiest family in France.
- Ambani, India’s richest man with an estimated net worth of $98.1 billion, also reportedly attended the event after attending the pre-inauguration church service.
- Ambani also attended a pre-inauguration reception Sunday night, taking a photo with his wife, Nita, a Reliance Industries chairperson, and Trump.
- Arnault and Ambani appeared to be seated farther from the president than some of their fellow billionaires, some of whom were seated close to the stage.
- Other billionaires in attendance included the world’s three wealthiest people—Tesla chief and Trump backer Elon Musk ($433.9 billion), Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg ($211 billion) and Amazon co-founder Jeff Bezos ($239.4 billion)—along withOpenAI CEO Sam Altman ($1.1 billion) and Apple CEO Tim Cook ($2.2 billion).
- Casino billionaire and Dallas Mavericks owner Miriam Adelson ($31.9 billion), as well as former Fox News Chairman Rupert Murdoch ($22.2 billion) attended the inauguration.
Big Number
$1.2 trillion. That is the combined net worth of the billionaires who attended Trump’s inauguration.
Forbes Valuation
We estimate Trump’s net worth at $6.7 billion, much of which is attributable to his stake in Truth Social parent company Trump Media & Technology Group.
Key Background
Some of the billionaires in attendance at Trump’s inauguration contributed to the president’s record-breaking inaugural fund, including Zuckerberg, Bezos and Altman. The fund raised $170 million. Donors who provided $1 million to the fund, or raised $2 million from others, were reportedly given six tickets to a series of pre-inauguration events that included a black-tie ball. Some of the billionaires in attendance showed more public support for the president than others. Musk has been one of Trump’s most outspoken supporters.
The Tesla chief donated millions of dollars to a pro-Trump super PAC and stumped for Trump in a series of town halls in the leadup to the election. Bezos and Zuckerberg have clashed with Trump in the past before seeking to mend ties. Zuckerberg did not outright endorse Trump last year, but he did call the president a “badass” after Trump survived an assassination attempt in the summer. Bezos also stopped short of an outright Trump endorsement last year. However, he did note Trump’s “tremendous grace and courage under literal fire” following the assassination attempt.
