The inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump was held at the Rotunda Hall of the Washington, D.C. council on the 20th at noon (local time), with over 800 VIP attendees garnering attention. Initially, the inauguration was scheduled to take place on the outdoor stage of the Capitol, and about 250,000 invitations were sent out; however, due to the severe polar vortex, it was held indoors for the first time in 40 years, resulting in less than 0.1% of those invited receiving a selection from Trump.
On that day, the individuals who attracted the most attention were moguls from the IT industry. Among them was Elon Musk, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Tesla, who has supported Trump since his campaign, along with Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Meta, Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, Sergey Brin, Google founder, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, and Shou Chew, CEO of TikTok, all of whom attended Trump's inauguration.
In particular, the seats of the world's top three wealthiest individuals—Musk, Bezos, Zuckerberg, and Pichai—were placed in front of nominees for Trump's second cabinet, such as candidate for Secretary of State Marco Rubio, candidate for Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessen, and nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The Financial Times reported, "The wealthiest individuals in the world were seated ahead of Trump's cabinet members, and some of their spouses took the places of governors and lawmakers," adding that "billionaires lined up for Trump's inauguration." Bloomberg noted, "The presence of tech billionaires in front of the cabinet appointees nominated by Trump is a significant gesture," and reported that "Secretary of Defense candidate Pete Hegseth had to watch the inauguration alongside Musk and Pichai." They further interpreted, "Support for Trump surged in Silicon Valley and Wall Street after his victory, as hopes for increased corporate profits due to Trump's promises of deregulation and investment incentives mounted."
Just a few meters away from the IT moguls were Bernard Arnault, chairman of Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy (LVMH) and the wealthiest person in Europe, Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries, and Tim Cook, CEO of Apple. They have also donated $1 million to the inauguration, placing their hopes on the Trump era.
Influencers also attended the inauguration. Altman, the CEO, took a selfie with boxer and influencer Jake Paul, along with Paul's brother Logan, who is a wrestler and influencer. Irish mixed martial artist Conor McGregor was also present. Conservative right-wing podcast host Joe Rogan was in attendance as well. While Rogan supported Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders during the 2020 presidential election, he declared his support for Trump shortly before the 2024 election. Rogan is also a controversial figure who has faced accusations of spreading misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines.
As per tradition, four former presidents attended the inauguration. However, former President Barack Obama attended alone without Michelle Obama. Among world leaders and politicians, former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson stood out. Trump had previously referred to Johnson as a "good guy" when he took office in 2019, noting that "people call him the British Trump." Other attendees included Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Argentine President Javier Milei.