Donald Trump’s Inauguration And Billionaire Attendances With New Controversies

The inauguration of President Donald Trump on January 20, 2025, marked a significant shift in the political landscape. An unprecedented tech billionaires flocked to his inauguration reigniting the debate on tech oligarchy in the United States. Top candidates from the Forbes billionaire list such as Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg, the world's three wealthiest individuals were the center of attention as a few fun cum controversial moments were seen.

Elon Musk Can’t Help It

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, contributed nearly $300 million to President Trump's re-election campaign and is slated to lead the newly proposed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

During the Trump inauguration ceremony, he stole the show by doing an alleged “Nazi Salute” during his speech at the Capital One Arena which riled up the media and the internet. Popular political commentators such as Hasan Pike were shocked and quick to notice the Sieg Heil, once practiced by Nazi Germans during WWII.

While Musk dismissed the allegations as a "dirty tricks campaign," the incident drew criticism from various quarters. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) which targets and harasses students for fake Anti-Semitism allegations suggested that the gesture was an awkward moment of enthusiasm rather than an intentional Nazi salute

Mark Zuckerberg To Cheat?

Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, attended the inauguration with his fiancée, Lauren Sánchez. The stage was also shared by Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, who was snapped catching more than a few glimpses of Jeff Bezos’ future wife in a rather controversial manner. 

Mark Zuckerberg was caught on 4K. pic.twitter.com/3vJCilhFgN

— Mukhtar (@I_amMukhtar) January 20, 2025

Tech Titans at the Helm: A New Age of Tech Oligarchy

Senator Bernie Sanders posted a clip of his interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper with the caption “When three people on top own more wealth than the bottom half of America …”. He highlighted the influence of tech billionaires on the US democracy and history and facts back him up.

Jeff Bezos’ Amazon Prime Video making a documentary on Melania Trump and Mark Zuckerberg stopping the fact-checking at META started indicating signs of their political inclination after Trump’s win.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk as the co-head of DOGE and main donor of Donald Trump’s campaign is still a hot topic among political pundits who are raising concerns about American democracy and its sabotage by some individuals from the top 1%. Furthermore, even the TikTok CEO made an appearance for the ceremony and got the Chinese app’s life extended by 75 days.

Implications for Democracy

Former President Joe Biden in his farewell speech cautioned that the growing sway of oligarchs poses a threat to democracy. Meanwhile, Jon Stewart of The Daily Show was quick to criticize “the stalking of bald billionaires” at Donald Trump’s inauguration. At the same time, Prem Thakker from Zeteo News headed by Mehdi Hasan also questioned Trump for “rolling out a red carpet for billionaires”.

Take Away

President Trump's inauguration and the presence of Jeff Bezos, Tim Cook, Sundar Pichai, Elon Musk, and Mark Zuckerberg as the executives of tech powerhouses and their recent policy change are set to bring waves in upcoming years with guaranteed controversies such as change in DEI policies.

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