An extraordinary concentration of personal wealth was gathered at President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
The Republican was inaugurated yesterday (January 20) for his second term, and it was clear that many of the world’s richest individuals wanted to be present.
Four of the top five wealthiest billionaires attended the event. Elon Musk, who leads Forbes’ list of the richest with $433.9 billion, was there, as well as Jeff Bezos with $239.4 billion, and Mark Zuckerberg, who ranks third with $211.8 billion. Bernard Arnault and his family also flew in from France, bringing their $182.7 billion.
Absent was Larry Ellison, the owner of Oracle with a net worth of $204.6 billion. The total wealth of the top four attendees amounts to $1,067,800,000,000 – a staggering figure exceeding a trillion dollars.
Of course, they weren’t the only billionaires in attendance. President Trump himself is also a billionaire, with Forbes estimating his net worth at $6.7 billion, primarily from his real estate ventures like the iconic Trump Tower in New York.
Also present was Rupert Murdoch, the Australian media magnate whose fortune stands at $22.2 billion in the US. He owns media giants like Fox, the New York Post, and The Wall Street Journal.
Fans of the popular TV series Succession will recognize the 93-year-old, as it is widely believed that the show is inspired by his family dynamics.
There are rumors that Murdoch is engaged in a secret legal conflict with his four older children over the future leadership of his media empire.
Meanwhile, Twitter users, on the platform owned by Musk, were taken aback by the concentration of wealth at Trump’s inauguration.
One user tweeted: “Combined $912 BILLION of net worth seated next to each other at President Trump’s Inauguration. Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and Sundar Pichai.”
Another person remarked: “The irony that Americans didn’t want to be controlled by multi-millionaire Democratic celebrities but are now controlled by billionaire Republican tech entrepreneurs.”
Someone else noted: “All these billionaires flocking to Trump’s side (Bezos, Zuckerberg, Pichai…) should be a massive red flag. Like they give a s*** for your rising prices of groceries and housing. They only want to line their pockets with your money.”
In the political arena, Bernie Sanders tweeted: “When I started talking about Oligarchy, many people didn’t understand what I meant. Well, that’s changed. When the 3 wealthiest men in America sit behind Trump at his inauguration, everyone understands that the billionaire class now controls our government. We must fight back.”
It’s startling to think that the wealth present in that room could potentially eradicate global hunger and homelessness.