The three wealthiest men in the world, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg, will be at President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration. An official involved in planning the event told NBC News the trio of billionaires will have a prominent spot at the ceremony, seated together on the platform with other notable guests, including Trump’s cabinet nominees and elected officials.
Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, spent more than a quarter-billion dollars to help get Trump elected. He was also picked by Trump to co-lead his new Department of Government Efficiency advisory board.
Zuckerberg, Meta’s CEO, recently changed the platform’s moderation policies in a way that more aligns with the incoming Republican administration. In addition, he donated $1 million dollars to Trump’s inauguration fund.
Bezos, Amazon’s founder, who also gave $1 million dollars to the inauguration fund decided in the fall, that The Washington Post, which he owns, would not endorse a presidential candidate, overruling staff who wanted to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris.
Backlash against billionaire media owners
Axios reported Bezos and other billionaire media owners are facing backlash from employees who accuse them of supporting the MAGA movement and claim the owners, who provide crucial financial backing for the organizations, are getting in the way of their work.
Longtime opinion columnist for the Post, Jennifer Rubin, announced on Monday, Jan. 13, that she is leaving the paper to launch a new publication called The Contrarian.
“Jeff Bezos and his cronies accommodate and enable the most acute threat to American democracy — Donald Trump — at a time when a vibrant free press is more essential than ever to our democracy’s survival and capacity to thrive,” Rubin wrote in her resignation memo.
History of Bezos and Trump’s relationship
Bezos and Trump have had a contentious relationship over the years, particularly because of Bezos’ ownership of the Post and its reporting on Trump, which he claims is biased against him.
Trump has also targeted Amazon, arguing the company was taking advantage of tax loopholes and undermining local business.
While Bezos has criticized Trump in the past, he recently said he’s optimistic about his second term.
Bezos, as well as Musk, recently met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago for dinner.
