Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Billionaires, Tech Titans, Presidents: A Guide to Who Stood Where at Trump's Inauguration
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 7 hours ago on
January 21, 2025

Vice President-elect JD Vance takes the oath of office during the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Chip Somodevilla/Pool Photo via AP)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The crowded dais in the Capitol Rotunda on Inauguration Day featured four of the world’s five wealthiest men, five U.S. presidents, tech titans and business moguls, and two foreign leaders with prime spots.

President Donald Trump welcomed a mix of traditional, unprecedented and unorthodox guests — from Supreme Court justices to the vice president of China, and the head of TikTok, an app U.S. authorities have flagged as a national security risk, next to the person Trump has chosen to lead the intelligence community.

Scattered throughout were the president’s family members and other familiar faces in Trump’s orbit. Lawmakers mostly sat in front of Trump, watching the new president take the oath of office.

Here’s who was up on the dais and who they sat next to.

  1. Shou Zi Chew, the CEO of TikTok was seated next to Tulsi Gabbard, whom Trump has nominated to be the director of national intelligence. Trump intervened this weekend in an attempt to halt a ban on TikTok, which is seen as a potential national security threat. The president has credited the social network with helping him win last year’s election, but the platform faces a ban if the China-based parent company does not find a Washington-approved buyer.
  2. Joe Rogan, who is among the world’s most popular podcasters, sat down for a three-hour interview with Trump in the last stretch of the campaign and ultimately endorsed him a day before Election Day. Trump has expressed gratitude to him.
  3. A cadre of billionaires and tech titans sat on the same row. They included Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the world’s richest man. They were seated behind Trump’s wife, Melania, and children, but ahead of several of his Cabinet nominees. Musk, who has grown closer to Trump since the election, was the one sitting closest to Trump. Bernard Arnault, CEO of French magnate LVMH, the biggest seller of luxury goods in the world whose brands include Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior, was on the opposite side of the dais.
  4. Barron Trump is Trump’s youngest son. He has been credited by the president for his campaign’s online outreach, saying he introduced him to internet personalities he had never heard of before. Barron Trump is now 18 and a freshman New York University business student, but he will have a bedroom in the White House.
  5. Kai Trump, one of Trump’s granddaughters, is a social media influencer and avid golfer. Kai Trump is only 17 but has become more popular over the past year, stepping up on stage at the Republican National Convention and briefly speaking at a rally over the weekend. She is the daughter of Donald Trump Jr., who has helped his father with some of his picks and is seen as an enforcer of loyalty in his orbit.
  6. Miriam Adelson and John Paulson were among the largest donors to the Trump campaign and got prime seating for the ceremony next to incoming White House chief of staff Susie Wiles. Paulson, a billionaire investor, was the host of a Palm Beach, Florida, fundraiser that set a single-event record, adding $50.5 million to the campaign last April. Adelson is the co-owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks and widow of billionaire casino magnate Sheldon Adelson. She is a major supporter of Trump and, with Zuckerberg, was hosting another inaugural event on Monday.
  7. Former Presidents Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, George W. Bush and outgoing President Joe Biden were given prime seats as well. All their wives, except for former first lady Michelle Obama, were also seated there. Michelle Obama had previously announced she would be skipping the swearing-in ceremony. She gave no reason.
  8. In an unprecedented move, Trump invited foreign leaders to the inauguration, and they also got coveted seats for the ceremony. Argentina President Javier Milei was seated next to Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni. They were also next to China’s Vice President Han Zheng, whom President Xi Jinping sent to represent him. The Chinese ambassador to the United States, Xie Feng, was also nearby.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What’s Next for EVs as Trump Moves to Revoke Biden-Era Incentives?

DON'T MISS

US Throws out Policies Limiting Arrests of Migrants at Sensitive Locations like Schools, Churches

DON'T MISS

Visalia Police Find Man Shot Near Shopping Center. Tips Sought.

DON'T MISS

Convicted Jan. 6 Rioter Benjamin Martin Still Going to Prison

DON'T MISS

Is Lawsuit on Planned Reedley Job Center a ‘Shakedown’?

DON'T MISS

Much of the Damage from the LA Fires Could Have Been Averted

DON'T MISS

CA Sued the Tar Out of Trump the First Time Around. How Did It Do?

DON'T MISS

Israel’s Top General Resigns over Oct. 7 Failures, Adding to Pressure on Netanyahu

DON'T MISS

Musk’s Straight-Arm Gesture Embraced by Right-Wing Extremists

DON'T MISS

A Heavy Favorite Emerges in the Race to Lead the Democratic Party

UP NEXT

US Throws out Policies Limiting Arrests of Migrants at Sensitive Locations like Schools, Churches

UP NEXT

Visalia Police Find Man Shot Near Shopping Center. Tips Sought.

UP NEXT

Convicted Jan. 6 Rioter Benjamin Martin Still Going to Prison

UP NEXT

Is Lawsuit on Planned Reedley Job Center a ‘Shakedown’?

UP NEXT

Much of the Damage from the LA Fires Could Have Been Averted

UP NEXT

CA Sued the Tar Out of Trump the First Time Around. How Did It Do?

UP NEXT

Israel’s Top General Resigns over Oct. 7 Failures, Adding to Pressure on Netanyahu

UP NEXT

Musk’s Straight-Arm Gesture Embraced by Right-Wing Extremists

UP NEXT

A Heavy Favorite Emerges in the Race to Lead the Democratic Party

UP NEXT

22 States Sue to Stop Trump’s Birthright Citizenship Order

Convicted Jan. 6 Rioter Benjamin Martin Still Going to Prison

60 minutes ago

Is Lawsuit on Planned Reedley Job Center a ‘Shakedown’?

1 hour ago

Much of the Damage from the LA Fires Could Have Been Averted

3 hours ago

CA Sued the Tar Out of Trump the First Time Around. How Did It Do?

3 hours ago

Israel’s Top General Resigns over Oct. 7 Failures, Adding to Pressure on Netanyahu

4 hours ago

Musk’s Straight-Arm Gesture Embraced by Right-Wing Extremists

4 hours ago

A Heavy Favorite Emerges in the Race to Lead the Democratic Party

4 hours ago

22 States Sue to Stop Trump’s Birthright Citizenship Order

4 hours ago

Trump Orders to Roll Back Transgender Protections and End DEI Programs

4 hours ago

Trump’s First Full Day Back in White House Includes Firings and an Infrastructure Announcement

4 hours ago

What’s Next for EVs as Trump Moves to Revoke Biden-Era Incentives?

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed an executive order promising to eliminate what he incorrectly labels “the electric vehicle mandat...

4 minutes ago

President Donald Trump talks about the Endurance all-electric pickup truck, made in Lordstown, Ohio, at the White House, Sept. 28, 2020, in Washington. (AP File)
4 minutes ago

What’s Next for EVs as Trump Moves to Revoke Biden-Era Incentives?

A Border Patrol truck rides along the border wall in Sunland Park, N.M., Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP/Andres Leighton)
10 minutes ago

US Throws out Policies Limiting Arrests of Migrants at Sensitive Locations like Schools, Churches

Police are investigating after a man was found shot near a Visalia shopping center and transported to Kaweah Health.
36 minutes ago

Visalia Police Find Man Shot Near Shopping Center. Tips Sought.

60 minutes ago

Convicted Jan. 6 Rioter Benjamin Martin Still Going to Prison

1 hour ago

Is Lawsuit on Planned Reedley Job Center a ‘Shakedown’?

3 hours ago

Much of the Damage from the LA Fires Could Have Been Averted

California vs. Trump Lawsuits
3 hours ago

CA Sued the Tar Out of Trump the First Time Around. How Did It Do?

Lieutenant-General Herzi Halevi, center, attends a ceremony marking the Hebrew calendar anniversary of the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, at the Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem, Israel, on Oct. 27, 2024. (AP File)
4 hours ago

Israel’s Top General Resigns over Oct. 7 Failures, Adding to Pressure on Netanyahu

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend