Top U.S. tech billionaires, including Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos, were given prominent seats at Donald Trump’s inauguration on Monday.
This marked a significant display of their power and influence in the new administration... Continue reading here ▶
These tech leaders, whose companies rank among the most valuable in the world, have been working to build a positive relationship with Trump since his election.
This is a stark contrast to Silicon Valley’s generally critical stance during his first term four years ago.
Other notable attendees included Apple CEO Tim Cook, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and Google co-founder Sergey Brin.
TikTok CEO Shou Chew was also present, seated at the back of the stage, despite ongoing uncertainty about TikTok’s future in the U.S. due to its ties to Chinese parent company ByteDance.
TikTok recently acknowledged Trump for promising an executive order to prevent a U.S. ban on the app, though its future remains uncertain.
Even with seating being limited due to bad weather, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg attended with his wife, Priscilla Chan. Amazon’s Jeff Bezos was also present with his fiancée, Lauren Sanchez. Their highly visible presence, often in more prominent positions than many cabinet members, underscored the influence of the tech sector.
Zuckerberg’s attendance was particularly notable, as Trump had previously criticized him harshly, even threatening legal action.
Recently, Zuckerberg has aligned Meta’s policies more closely with Trump’s views, including removing fact-checking in the U.S. and relaxing rules on hate speech across Facebook and Instagram.
Elon Musk has been one of Trump’s strongest supporters, donating $277 million to his campaign and using his platform, X (formerly Twitter), to amplify pro-Trump voices.
Musk has also been appointed co-leader of the Department of Government Efficiency, tasked with advising on reducing public spending.
Bezos, like other tech leaders, has spent significant time at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, seeking favorable treatment for Amazon. As the owner of The Washington Post, Bezos faced backlash for blocking the newspaper’s planned endorsement of Kamala Harris in the 2024 election, which led to protests from staff and subscriber cancellations.
Major tech companies like SpaceX, Amazon’s AWS, and Google have lucrative contracts with the U.S. government. However, they are also facing significant antitrust lawsuits that could lead to their breakup, making their relationship with the administration all the more critical.
