Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Apple CEO Tim Cook, and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos attended Trump's inauguration.A lineup of tech billionaires and influential figures from President-elect Donald Trump's circle gathered for a church service on Monday morning, marking the beginning of his pre-inaugural festivities.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Apple head Tim Cook, and Google chief Sundar Pichai were seen seated in prominent positions at St. John's Church.
Also present were media mogul Rupert Murdoch, FIFA president Gianni Infantino, and former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Notably, many of these executives were among the earliest business leaders to criticize Trump during his first term, voicing opposition on issues such as climate change and immigration.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chou is also expected to attend the inauguration as his company faces challenges from a potential US ban, alongside Sam Altman of OpenAI and Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi.
And of course, there’s SpaceX and Tesla’s Elon Musk, who contributed nearly $300 million to Trump’s campaign and has remained a close ally since.
The gathering is a remarkable sight. The last time so many tech executives came together in Washington was a 2020 congressional hearing focused on their companies.
Today, many of these firms still face significant issues with the US government, including anti-monopoly lawsuits, investigations, regulatory disputes, and tariffs.
Last week, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Michael Bennett, both Democrats, sent a letter to these executives, accusing them of attempting to "cozy up to the incoming Trump administration to avoid scrutiny, limit regulation, and secure favor."
In response, Sam Altman posted on social media, “Funny they never sent me one of these for contributing to Democrats.”
The longevity of this tech alliance and how far Trump will pursue these issues remains uncertain.
Yet, the president, who left office the first time as a pariah in the business world, seems to be relishing his newfound influence.
As he posted last month: "Everybody wants to be my friend!!!"
Trump’s growing relationships with tech executives have not been welcomed by everyone in his camp.
Former White House strategist Steve Bannon called Musk a "truly evil guy" and suggested he should be "run out of here by Inauguration Day."
"I think most people in our movement see this as Trump breaking the oligarchs—they've surrendered," Bannon told ABC News.
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