In a show of support for the incoming administration, four of the world’s most powerful tech titans will be in attendance at Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration on Monday.
NBC News reports that Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg, the CEOs of Tesla, Amazon, and Meta respectively, are set to attend the inauguration ceremony of President-elect Donald Trump, according to an official involved in planning the event. The three billionaires, who have a combined net worth of $885 billion, will be seated together on the platform alongside other prominent guests, including Trump’s Cabinet nominees and elected officials. Business Insider reports that Google CEO Sundar Pichai will also attend the inauguration.
Musk, who has become a close adviser to Trump, expressed his honor at having such a prominent spot at the inauguration. The tech mogul has been a frequent presence at Trump’s side since endorsing him for president in July and has donated more than a quarter-billion dollars in campaign funds to help elect the Republican candidate. In addition to his roles at Tesla and SpaceX, Musk is also the co-lead of a new Trump administration advisory body called the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, has also taken steps to align his company with the incoming Republican administration. He recently scrapped his biased third-party content moderation policies, and Meta contributed $1 million to the Trump inaugural fund. Zuckerberg is also co-hosting a black-tie reception on Monday with Republican megadonor Miriam Adelson to celebrate the inauguration.
Bezos, the founder and executive chairman of Amazon, made the decision last fall to prevent the Washington Post, which he owns, from endorsing in the presidential race, overruling opinion staff members who wanted to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris. Amazon also contributed $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund.
Sundar Pichai’s Google also joined the parade of tech giants donating $1 million to Trump’s inauguration. Google has a reputation as one of the most ultra-woke companies in the world, but hopes to curry favor with Trump to avoid heavy antitrust penalties.
The attendance of these tech giants at the inauguration holds significant implications for their respective companies, as they face potential tax and trade policy changes, as well as industry-specific issues. Meta is facing a possible antitrust trial over allegations of maintaining a monopoly on personal social networks, while Amazon and SpaceX are major federal contractors through their cloud computing and rocket launch businesses, respectively. Google is deeply embroiled in multiple antirust suits at the moment.
The rivalry between Musk, Zuckerberg, Pichai, and Bezos extends beyond their support for the incoming administration. They compete for influence in various areas, including AI, space exploration, and media. Bezos’ Blue Origin is attempting to challenge Musk’s dominance in rocket launches, while Zuckerberg, Pichai, and Musk are investing heavily in AI research. Additionally, Musk’s acquisition of X (formerly Twitter) in 2022 has put him in direct competition with Zuckerberg in the social media space.
Read more at NBC News here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
