A large number of the world's wealthiest people, worth a combined $1.2 trillion, gathered to attend President Donald Trump's inauguration. Four of the five richest men in the world attended the meeting on Monday; their combined wealth represents around one-third of India's $3.55 trillion GDP (nominal GDP in 2024: $3.89 trillion).
Billionaire attendees' net worth
Bernard Arnault
The LVMH CEO, who has a net worth of $179.6 billion according to Forbes and is the fifth-richest person in the world, attended the inauguration with his family, making a rare appearance by France's wealthiest family.
Mukesh Ambani
India's richest man with a net worth of $98.1 billion, attended the inauguration and spoke privately with President Trump. Arnault's family is the wealthies.
Arnault's family, the wealthiest in France, and Ambani both attended multiple inauguration ceremonies.
Jeff Bezos
The Amazon founder and the world's second-richest person, with a projected net worth of $239.4 billion, attended several inauguration ceremonies.
Mark Zuckerberg
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta and worth $211.8 billion, attended several inauguration festivities and co-hosted a pre-inaugural Ball reception.
Elon Musk
The Tesla CEO, who is the world's richest individual with a net worth of $433.9 billion, was instrumental in backing Trump's election campaign.
Other high-profile attendees included
Sam Altman (OpenAI CEO) has a net worth of $1.1 billion
Tim Cook (Apple CEO) has a net worth of $2.2 billion
Miriam Adelson’s net worth is $31.9 billion
Rupert Murdoch (Former Fox News Chairman) has a net worth of $22.2 billion
Phil Ruffin (casino executive) has a net worth of $4.7 billion
Howard Lutnick's net worth is $1.5 billion
Vivek Ramaswamy’s net worth is $1 billion
Billionaires host the inaugural ball
Several billionaires, including Zuckerberg, Adelson, Tilman Fertitta (net worth: $10.2 billion) and Todd Ricketts (family net worth: $4.2 billion), co-hosted a pre-inauguration ball reception.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong was invited but did not appear at the swearing-in ceremony. Other prominent personalities, including Stephen Feinberg, Warren Stephens, Jared Isaacman, Steve Witkoff, Linda McMahon, and Kelly Loeffler, were reportedly offered seats in the administration.
Net Worth of Donald Trump
Forbes rates President Trump's net worth at $6.7 billion, owing primarily to his ownership of Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent business of Truth Social.
Billionaire wealth versus world economies
These participants' aggregate net worth equals approximately one-third of India's GDP, which is $3.55 trillion, making it the world's fifth-largest economy. India, a fast expanding country, demonstrates how the riches of a small group of people may exceed the economic production of entire countries.
The wealth on display during Trump's inauguration activities could exceed that of some of the world's leading economies. To put this in perspective, Indonesia's nominal GDP in current US currency is $1.48 trillion, whereas the Netherlands' is $1.14 trillion.
The attendance of such powerful businessmen at the inauguration of a pro-business president indicates future shifts in economic policies and priorities.
