By CBS (Technology) | Created at 2025-01-17 18:32:18 | Updated at 2025-01-17 22:43:55
4 hours ago
Tech giants to attend Trump's inauguration
Although some major political figures will notably be absent from President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration on Monday, some of the world's most prominent business leaders are scheduled to attend his swearing-in.
Top technology company CEOs, whose companies have collectively donated millions to Trump's Presidential Inaugural Committee, are expected to have a conspicuous presence at the ceremony. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is scheduled to attend, sources told CBS News this week; the online retailer was among the companies that donated $1 million to the fund.
Other chief executives set to attend Trump's inauguration include Google's Sundar Pichai; Meta's Mark Zuckerberg, whose company also contributed $1 million to the inauguration fund; and TikTok CEO Shou Chew, whose company could go dark in the U.S. as soon as Sunday after the Supreme Court on Friday upheld a law that could lead to a ban.
Not surprisingly, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, whom Trump has tapped along with businessman Vivek Ramaswamy to explore ways to cut federal spending, will also appear at the inauguration, CBS News has confirmed. Musk said on his social media platform, X, this week that he felt "honored" to sit alongside Bezos and Zuckerberg on the inauguration dais, where Cabinet members, nominees and elected officials are placed.
Bloomberg reported that Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, OpenAI's Sam Altman and Apple's Tim Cook also are scheduled to appear. The companies did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Seating arrangements at the inauguration ceremony could change after Trump announced it is being moved indoors due to frigid temperatures. The event will now be held under the Capitol dome, which is typically used for congressional ceremonies and celebrations.
Forecasters said temperatures during the noon event could fall to around 22 degrees, the chilliest since Ronald Reagan's second inauguration in January of 1985, when the mercury plummeted to 7 degrees.
CNN first reported that the inauguration would be moved indoors.
Trump also said Capital One arena in Washington, D.C., which can accommodate roughly 20,000 people, would be open for people to watch the ceremony live, and he will join the crowd after he is sworn in.
Roughly 250,000 guests have tickets to watch the inauguration from around the Capitol grounds, according to the Associated Press.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Megan Cerullo is a New York-based reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering small business, workplace, health care, consumer spending and personal finance topics. She regularly appears on CBS News 24/7 to discuss her reporting.
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