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Billionaires got prime seats to Trump's inauguration — ahead of his own cabinet and lawmakers [1]
['Bryan Metzger', 'Alice Tecotzky']
Date: 2025-01
Trump was sworn in as president for the second time today.
Key business and tech CEOs are in Washington for his inauguration.
As his second term begins, business and tech are largely embracing, rather than shunning, him.
Donald Trump was sworn in as President of the United States for the second time on Monday — and key business and tech leaders were there to watch it happen.
It's not just Elon Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO who spent hundreds of millions of dollars to elect Trump. Amazon founder and executive chairman Jeff Bezos, Apple CEO Tim Cook, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and Google CEO Sundar Pichai were also in attendance.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman chats with influencers Jake (left) and Logan Paul before the inauguration ceremony of Donald Trump. ALEXANDER DRAGO / POOL / AFP
Musk, Zuckerberg, Pichai, and Bezos were sitting on the inaugural platform, in front of many of Trump's cabinet appointees and politicians — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, for example, reportedly watched from the overflow room.
Tech leaders, including Google CEO Sundar Pichai and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, were spotted together during the inauguration. SAUL LOEB / POOL / AFP
Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, was among the tech leaders present. SHAWN THEW / POOL / AFP
In light of the news that Trump will reverse a recent ban on TikTok, Shou Chew, the app's CEO, was also been spotted in the Capitol Rotunda. Many of those leaders' companies have donated to Trump's inaugural committee, and Zuckerberg recently announced changes to Meta that seemed designed to please conservatives. Rupert Murdoch, patriarch of the Fox News empire, was also present.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew arrives to attend Donald Trump's inauguration. Shawn THEW / POOL / AFP
Rupert Murdoch, the chairman emeritus of Fox News, was at the inauguration, along with members of the newer rightwing media landscape. Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty Images
Silicon Valley's new alignment with the cultural MAGA-verse is on display — Dana White, CEO and president of UFC and a new member of Meta's board, was in attendance. Podcaster Theo Von, one of the internet celebrities Trump used to try and court young male voters, was at the inauguration, too, representing an ascendant realm of right-wing media. Joe Rogan, who interviewed Trump on his popular podcast in late October and Zuckerberg earlier this month, also attended from the Rotunda.
Joe Rogan, who interviewed Trump shortly before Election Day, has more than 14 million listeners on Spotify. Ricky Carioti - Pool/Getty Images
Dana White, president and CEO of UFC, was recently appointed to the board of Meta. Pool/Getty Images
It's not just the new cultural and media leaders who have a seat. Long-standing luxury titans have a prime spot for the ceremony. Members of the Arnault family, who controls brands including Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior, were spotted in the Rotunda.
Pharma founder turned Republican politician Vivek Ramaswamy — who is still the co-head of the Department of Government Efficiency but is rumored to be leaving the commission to run for governor of Ohio — was also in attendance.
Responses from the corporate world have started rolling in online, too: Pichai, Cook, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, and former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg all posted congratulatory messages on X.
Musk posted or re-posted at least 11 times about the inauguration on X by late afternoon.
It's a big shift from recent years, when Trump and other conservatives have often been at odds with Big Tech and occasionally found themselves on the wrong end of their content-moderation policies.
Correction: January 20, 2025 — An earlier version of this story misstated Jeff Bezos' current position at Amazon. He is the founder and executive chairman, not the CEO.
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[1] Url:
https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-inauguration-ceo-guests-bezos-zuckerberg-musk-2025-1
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