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Donald Trump’s inauguration event on Monday in Washington, DC will be attended by business and technology titans, probably most notably Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg.
Elon Musk, the world’s wealthiest man, along with Jeff Bezos of Amazon and Mark Zuckerberg of Meta, are expected to be positioned together near members of Trump’s cabinet at the inauguration. This aligns with their increasing support for Trump’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement.
The electric vehicle and space entrepreneur Musk gave over $250,000 to Trump’s campaign in 2024, making him the largest donor of that election.
In November, it was reported that the CEO of Tesla will co-lead a newly formed but undefined body, designated as the Department of Government Efficiency, with the responsibility of overhauling the extensive network of federal government workers.
Allegations have surfaced that Musk, as owner of the social media site X (previously Twitter), helped the Trump campaign by spreading false information and propaganda.
Bezos and Zuckerberg’s Role in Supporting Trump
Bezos, who owns both the Washington Post and the online retail behemoth Amazon, decided to break with tradition and take a more active role in the Post’s editorial decisions. Just before the paper was about to announce its endorsement of Kamala Harris for president—a race she lost badly to Trump on November 5—he abruptly forbade his journalists from doing so.
Despite Bezos’s defence of his choice, the move caused controversy, which in turn led to resignations and a sharp drop in subscriptions. Meta, the parent company of social media platforms Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, and Amazon each contributed $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg made a decision last week to remove the fact-checking program and promote more political content, which is perceived as a move to allow more conservative commentary and give in to Trump’s claims that social media censors the right-wing.
Additionally, last week, Zuckerberg eased speech restrictions perceived as defending groups, including LGBTQ+ people, and he did away with DEI policies at Meta.
Exclusive Inaugural Events for Donors and VIPs
Along with Republican megadonor Miriam Adelson, Zuckerberg will co-host a spectacular black-tie reception on Monday to celebrate before the three inaugural balls. Puck News broke the news first.
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, said last month that he would personally donate $1 million to the inauguration fund for Trump.
A special dinner will be held for generous inauguration committee contributors before the event and again after the president-elect and first lady Melania return to the White House on Monday. The dinner will be a reward for their generosity.
According to fundraising materials, major contributors to the inaugural committee are having to pay twice as much as they did for direct access to Trump and vice president-elect JD Vance at private events surrounding the swearing-in ceremony, as revealed by the Techjuice. This is in comparison to the first inauguration in 2017.
Donors must pay a minimum of $1 million to the committee in order to have a brief interaction with Trump and Vance. This is a significant increase compared to the previous campaign when the same access cost $500,000.
On January 20, you will have the swearing-in ceremony, which falls on the same day as Martin Luther King Day. This federal holiday is observed on the third Monday of January to honor the life and legacy of the civil rights hero, who was slain in 1968.
In addition, Trump will take the oath of office in front of the United States Capitol, the very spot where his followers assaulted Capitol security on January 6, 2021, and later stormed the halls of Congress in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent national lawmakers from proclaiming Joe Biden the winner of the 2020 election.
There are ethical concerns and worries that the world’s richest individuals may have hidden agendas because of their unexpected support. According to an analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), Trump’s economic policy proposals will result in tax cuts for the wealthiest 5% of Americans while increasing taxes for everyone else.
But tech billionaires aren’t the only ones who have expressed their approval of Trump for president. Musicians Carrie Underwood and the Village People have both announced plans to play at the inauguration, with Underwood and the band both citing the power of music to “unite people” in these politically contentious times.
