President-elect Donald Trump’s second inauguration will be attended by some of America’s most influential billionaires and politicians as well as some foreign leaders and celebrities who have embraced the incoming President.
Read below for some of the notable guests who will be in attendance.
Politicians
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, along with their respective spouses First Lady Jill Biden and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, are set to revive the tradition of defeated presidential candidates sharing the inauguration stage with the election winners. Trump notably chose to skip Biden’s inauguration in Jan. 2021, leaving for Florida after he mounted a failed effort to overturn his election loss.
Former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton are also expected to attend the exercise, though all three are forgoing the traditional post-inauguration luncheon. Of their spouses, only former First Ladies Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush will be in attendance; Michelle Obama said she will not be attending.
Several Republican members of Congress will also attend, but a sizable number of congressional Democrats are planning to skip Trump’s swearing in—including former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
Tech executives
The world’s three richest people—Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg—will attend Trump’s inauguration and have a prominent spot at the ceremony. The tech moguls will be seated together on the dais alongside former Presidents, Trump’s family, and Cabinet nominees.
It comes as little surprise that Musk, the X owner and Tesla and SpaceX CEO who donated more than a quarter-billion dollars in campaign funds to help elect Trump, would be invited to the inauguration. Musk has remained at Trump’s side after campaigning with him and was tapped by Trump to co-lead a new Department of Government Efficiency.
Bezos, the Amazon founder who also owns the Washington Post, decided to withhold the newspaper’s endorsement of Harris over Trump in the presidential race. Meanwhile, Zuckerberg, the Meta CEO, has apparently tried to earn favor with Trump in recent months, reshuffling his lobbying staff and content moderation policies by replacing third-party fact-checking with user-written “community notes.” Zuckerberg is also reportedly co-hosting a black-tie reception Monday with Republican megadonor Miriam Adelson to celebrate Trump’s inauguration.
Shou Zi Chew, the CEO of TikTok, also plans to attend Trump’s inauguration and was reportedly invited to sit on the same dais as the other tech executives. Trump has embraced TikTok as it faces a ban in the U.S. on Jan. 19, even though in his first term he tried to block the app in the U.S. and force its sale to an American company.
Other Big Tech executives who will reportedly be in attendance are Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI; Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google; Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple; and Dara Khosrowshahi, the CEO of Uber.
Altman, Cook, and Khosrowshahi as well as companies Meta, Amazon, Google, and Uber each recently contributed at least $1 million to the Trump inaugural fund. The tech companies and their executives have a significant stake in Trump’s second term due to potential changes in tax policy, trade policy, and antitrust enforcement.
Biden, in his farewell address to the nation, warned that American democracy was sliding into an “oligarchy” of tech billionaires.
Foreign leaders
While foreign diplomats such as ambassadors have typically attended U.S. presidential inaugurations, no foreign head of state has previously made an official visit for the occasion, according to the Associated Press. But that is set to change for Trump.
Already, Trump’s inauguration guest list includes right-wing populists like Argentina President Javier Milei, whose economic reforms have drawn praise from the U.S. President-elect, and Italy Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, a vocal Trump ally who is expected to attend if her schedule permits, according to Politico.
Among the other ideological comrades around the globe who are planning to attend Trump’s inauguration are Belgium’s Vlaams Belang party chairman Tom Van Grieken, Éric Zemmour of France’s nationalist Reconquête party, Tino Chrupalla of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, Spain’s Vox party president Santiago Abascal, and Nigel Farage, leader of the populist Reform UK party.
Trump also extended an invite to China’s President Xi Jinping, in what Trump spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said is a sign of the President-elect’s “willingness to have an open dialogue with all foreign nations around this world, whether they’re an adversary, or competitor, or ally.” In Xi’s stead, China is sending Vice President Han Zheng, and the foreign ministry said it is “ready to work with the new U.S. government.”
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa will also attend the inauguration, according to his office, along with India’s external affairs minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Japan’s foreign minister Takeshi Iwaya.
Internet personalities and celebrities
Trump’s inauguration is also expected to draw some celebrities and laddish internet personalities. According to TMZ, the list includes Jake and Logan Paul, Theo Von, Bryce Hall, and the Nelk Boys. Trump did interviews with Von and the Nelk Boys during his campaign, appearing on their male-focused podcasts in a deliberate attempt to make inroads with young men and pursue the so-called “bro” vote.
Other celebrities set to attend, according to TMZ, include Caitlyn Jenner, Amber Rose, Dana White, and Megyn Kelly. Carrie Underwood will be performing “America The Beautiful.”
—Chad de Guzman contributed reporting.
