Musk, Bezos, and Zuckerberg: The World's Top 3 Billionaires Attend Trump's Inauguration Ceremony

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla; Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon; and Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta Platforms, the three richest people in the world, are reported by NBC on the 14th (local time) to be attending the inauguration ceremony of Donald Trump, the President-elect of the United States.

These three are expected to sit in prominent seats on the stage alongside Trump’s newly appointed cabinet nominees and other notable figures.

President-elect of the United States Donald Trump (left) and Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla. Photo by AFP Yonhap News

CEO Musk described this on his social media platform X (formerly Twitter) as an "honor."

These three individuals rank first to third among the wealthiest people globally. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index as of the previous day, Musk is ranked first with a net worth of $432 billion (approximately 631 trillion KRW). Following him are Bezos in second place with $238 billion (about 348 trillion KRW) and Zuckerberg in third with $215 billion (about 314 trillion KRW). Their combined net worth totals $885 billion (approximately 1,293 trillion KRW).

Notably, they have recently made large donations and taken other steps to curry favor with President-elect Trump. During the election campaign, Musk donated more than $250 million (about 365.3 billion KRW) to Trump, and after the election, he was appointed co-head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), becoming a key figure in the new administration.

CEOs Zuckerberg and Bezos also each donated $1 million (about 150 million KRW) through their companies to support the inauguration preparations. They visited Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence and aligned with Trump’s policies by dismantling diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Additionally, Bezos prevented his Washington Post (WP) from publicly endorsing Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in this election, which was an unusual move.

They are hoping for a relaxation of government regulations related to their businesses under the new administration.

According to sources, NBC reported that CEO Zuckerberg is scheduled to co-host a black-tie reception on the 20th with major Republican donor Miriam Adelson to celebrate Trump’s inauguration.