US President-elect Donald Trump will show off his power at his inauguration in Washington on Monday, at least when it comes to the tech world.
Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg will have some of the best seats, flanked by Trump’s family, members of his cabinet, elected officials and former presidents on the podium, according to multiple media reports, including the Huffington Post.
The three, who top Forbes’ real-time billionaires list, were first reported by NBC News.
All three have developed a warm relationship with Trump as the former president prepares to return to the White House.
Musk, who wrote that he was “honored” to be given a special seat at Monday’s ceremony, has become one of Trump’s closest allies after taking a prominent role in the final months of his campaign. He was also a major donor to his reelection campaign. Trump appointed Musk to lead the so-called Office of Government Efficiency, along with former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, in an effort to make significant cuts to the federal budget. According to the New York Times, Musk is set to be given an office on the White House compound as part of the role.
Bezos, the founder of Amazon and Blue Origin and current owner of The Washington Post, has taken steps to appease Trump, including deciding to scrap a planned endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris this fall—the first time the paper has not endorsed a presidential candidate in a decade. Amazon recently scaled back its diversity initiatives to appease Trump, who has criticized such policies. Although Bezos has decided to step down as CEO of the tech company, he still serves as Amazon’s executive chairman.
Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, announced that his social network would end its fact-checking program. He said that “fact-checkers have become too politically biased” and that the company would also abandon initiatives to promote diversity.
In addition to Musk, who has been a near-constant presence around Trump since his victory in November, Bezos and Zuckerberg have also been spotted at Mar-a-Lago in recent months.
Bezos and Zuckerberg have yet to comment on reports of their attendance at the inauguration.
Meta and Amazon have each donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund.
Meanwhile, Zuckerberg will host a reception to celebrate Trump’s inauguration on Monday night, according to an invitation to the event first reported by Tara Palmeri of Puck News.
