Billionaire Tech Moguls to Attend Trump’s Inauguration
San Francisco: Billionaires Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg are set to attend Donald Trump’s inauguration next week, as reported by NBC news on Tuesday. This move further highlights the tech moguls’ efforts to establish closer ties with the incoming president.
The network, citing an unnamed official involved in planning the January 20 ceremony, stated that the three men will be seated together on the platform with prominent guests, including Trump cabinet nominees.
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, as well as the majority owner of X, has emerged as one of Trump’s closest allies. His planned presence at the ceremony does not come as a surprise, given his shared hard-right politics with Trump and his significant financial support to Trump’s presidential campaign.
Trump has appointed Musk to co-lead an advisory commission aimed at reducing federal spending and bureaucracy. The commission, known as the Department of Government Efficiency or “DOGE,” will not be an official US agency.
While Bezos and Zuckerberg have less close ties with Trump, both have taken steps since the election to align themselves with the president-elect. They have met with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort, signaling their interest in building a relationship with him.
Meta CEO Zuckerberg made a notable political shift last week when he announced that Facebook and Instagram would no longer fact-check content in the United States. This move was seen as a response to perceived government censorship and media interference.
Zuckerberg’s decision to align with Trumpian talking points surprised many, but it is consistent with his past actions aimed at maintaining control over social media platforms.
Bezos’s relationship with Trump has had its share of conflicts, given that he owns The Washington Post, a newspaper that Trump has criticized. The Post chose not to endorse a presidential candidate ahead of the November election, a decision that raised eyebrows in the media industry.
According to reports, Bezos intervened to prevent the board of The Washington Post from endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris. However, the paper’s leadership has denied these claims.
Bezos’s aerospace company, Blue Origin, also competes for government contracts, adding another layer of complexity to his interactions with the Trump administration.
As these billionaire tech moguls prepare to attend Trump’s inauguration, their relationships with the president-elect continue to evolve. Their presence at the ceremony underscores the intersection of politics and technology in the current landscape.
