President Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday featured several high-profile tech CEOs occupying some of the most exclusive seats, a notable break from traditional inaugural guest lists.
Despite branding himself as a champion of the working class, Trump reserved spots close to the president typically held for family, former presidents, and distinguished guests for some of the world’s wealthiest tech leaders.
Photos from the event revealed tech magnates interacting with several of Trump’s key cabinet members, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health secretary, and Marco Rubio, the secretary of state. In one image, Rubio is seen in the background as Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan pose alongside Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and his fiancée Lauren Sánchez, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and Elon Musk. Musk, regarded as one of Trump’s closest advisers, also leads Tesla, SpaceX, and the social platform X.
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Other tech executives present at the event included Apple CEO Tim Cook and TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew.
The involvement of billionaires in national politics is not new. Many influential donors, including billionaires, supported Trump’s Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, during the campaign. Former President Joe Biden, in his final days in office, honored liberal donor George Soros with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
However, the prominence of tech billionaires at Trump’s inauguration underscores the significant influence they could wield in his administration. In his farewell address, Biden cautioned against the growing power of tech oligarchs, warning they posed a threat to democracy.
Responding to Biden’s remarks, Trump dismissed the criticism, claiming the executives had shifted their allegiance from Democrats, particularly Biden, whom they no longer supported.
“They were all with him, every one of them, and now they are all with me,” Trump said in the Oval Office on Monday.
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Despite receiving substantial donations for his inauguration committee and more than $200 million in campaign support from Musk, Trump insisted he remained independent of their influence.
“They’re not going to get anything from me,” Trump asserted. “I don’t need their money. What I do want is for the country to succeed, and they are smart people creating jobs.”