Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Tim Cook and more: who are the billionaires of the technological elite in the Donald Trump era

In the front row were Elon Musk, owner of Tesla, SpaceX, the social network X and the developer xAI; The presence of Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta (owner of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Threads) was also noted; and Jeff Bezos, owner of Amazon and Blue Origin.

But they weren’t the only ones. The presence of other figures such as Tim Cook, none other than the CEO of Apple, also attracted attention; Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google; and, surprisingly, Shou Zi Chew, the CEO of TikTok, the social network that was censored during Joe Biden’s administration.

Why are they so important? Who are they and what is their way of thinking?

For analyst Manuel Santillán, the relationship between politics and technology companies is not new in the United States, although it has intensified in recent years. This phenomenon is understood from the so-called technopolitics, which serves to interpret contemporary power dynamics.

“Technology companies not only seek leadership in the market, but also influence in the political decisions that affect their growth. This translates into a strategy of approaching those in power, ensuring that public policies favor their commercial and innovation interests.”explained the researcher and professor at the University of Lima.

And they not only represent giant technology companies, but a group of billionaires: Elon Musk today holds the title of the richest man in the world with a personal fortune that exceeds 400 billion dollars; and far behind are Mark Zuckerberg and Jeffe Bezos with fortunes that exceed 200 billion dollars.

The presence is not due to a friendly gesture, it can also be understood as an investment since they have contributed different sums of money for the electoral campaigns. “Each of these leaders represents not only iconic companies, but also specific business and innovation visions.” that strategically connect them with the Trump administration”Santillán pointed out to The Commerce.

This situation motivated former President Joe Biden, in his last speech, to say that “today an oligarchy of extreme wealth, power and influence is taking shape in the United States that truly threatens all democracy,” as reported by the BBC. But let’s see who these characters are.

Elon Musk in power

Without a doubt, the one who has taken center stage the most is Elon Musk (53), and not only because he is the richest man in the world. On the one hand, it is estimated that he contributed $119 million to the Republican campaign, in which he also participated as a speaker on more than one occasion. And after the election he has been appointed to lead the new Department of Government Efficiency.

It is the clearest example of what is happening in the United States. Santillán indicates that “This relationship underscores an alignment between the narrative of technological leadership and the economic priorities of the new government”.

What can Elon Musk get?

One of the objectives would be investment in aerospace technology. During Trump’s first speech as president, his announcement to reach Mars, and the immediate happy reaction of the owner of SpaceX, did not go unnoticed. His company has a project to colonize the red planet, which would be a milestone in the new space race in the world, especially with China.

On the other hand, one of the most interesting sources to know Elon Musk’s thoughts is in the biography published by Walter Isaacson in 2023. There, his “demon mode” is characterized, which makes him more productive.

Zuckeberg is behind

The CEO of Meta did not want to be left behind. After Trump’s victory he has given nods to the new government.

Currently Zuckerberg’s fortune (40) is estimated at about 218 billion dollars. Gone is the university boy who created Facebook in 2004, and who would begin life in the social networks that we know today. He is the third richest man in the world, according to Bloomberg.

Although during the electoral campaign it maintained a certain neutrality, after the re-election of Donald Trump it has become closer to the new management, and one of the most striking measures has been the change from data verification to context notes. Santillán points out that this is “a change that coincides with Trump’s demands for freedom of expression and censorship on social networks.”

Amazon y Apple

Behind these world-famous and more traditional companies are the names of Jeff Bezos (Amazon) and Tim Cook (Apple).

In the first case, he is the second richest man on the planet, according to Bloomberg, with a fortune that reaches 249 billion dollars. Bezos, 61, began his career as a businessman in the 1990s when he created a virtual bookstore, at the dawn of the Internet, which would later be called Amazon.

Over time, Amazon moved from Internet commerce to creating technology with AWS (Amazon Web Services) that works on artificial intelligence, cloud service, robotics and more. Bezos has also invested in Blue Origin, the aerospace company that competes with Elon Musk’s SpaceX, although it is more focused on space tourism.

Another of the companies in which Bezos invests is the historic newspaper The Washington Post. Their influence caused the media to not express its support for any candidate, as was customary. “They do nothing to tip the balance of an election,” the billionaire said, Forbes reports. On the other hand, in recent days censorship has become known in the media, after the resignation of the cartoonist and Pulitzer winner Ann Talnaes, who made a cartoon of technology people kneeling before a statue of Trump.

Tim Cook (64) is a different case. His fortune is far below that of the others. According to some media, it exceeds 2 billion dollars, although part of it is invested in environmental programs. He has been Apple’s top executive since 2011, when he assumed leadership after the death of Steve Jobs, one of the founders.

“Figures like Jeff Bezos and Tim Cook represent the interest of technology giants in aligning themselves with political power.”ico, seeking to safeguard its business models in a changing political environment”says the specialist.

Cook has also grown close to Trump. According to the president himself, he has told him that he is preparing a strong investment in the United States. According to a Foxbusiness report, this is not the first time that Cook and Trump have worked together, since in 2019, during the Republican’s first government, the Apple CEO was a member of the American Labor Policy Advisory Council.

Google, TikTok and OpenAI

These are other companies that have approached Donald Trump’s new management.

Behind every brand is a name. In the case of Google, there is Sundar Pichai (52), who is in charge of the internet giant Google and Alphabet. The computer scientist of Indian descent took over the management of Google in 2015 and his fortune is estimated at more than a billion dollars.

In addition to the investment in the search engine, the company has a great interest in the development of artificial intelligence through Google DeepMind. In 2024 it was announced that it plans to invest no less than 100 billion dollars in this technology.

Among the new figures is the name of Sam Altman. The CEO of OpenAI, the company that created ChatGPT, has taken center stage in the last three years and now accumulates a fortune that exceeds two billion dollars, according to Bloomberg. He did not take long to congratulate Donald Trump and show his admiration for the president to invest in technology. “I think President-elect Trump will be very good at that,” Altman said.

But if anything was surprising, it was the presence of Shou Zi Chew, the CEO of the social network TikTok, after several months of tension over the possibility of the company being left outside the United States. The social network of Chinese origin was accused of serving as espionage for China during Joe Biden’s administration. For this reason, it is forced to be sold to an American company to continue operating.

“This approach illustrates how technology companies become political negotiation toolsreflecting the complexity of international relations and the importance of technology in the construction of public narratives and global trends”says Santillan.

Chew (41) would have a much lower net worth, around $200 million, according to DailyMail, as of 2023. Last year he was in Peru during the APEC 2024 conference where he gave a keynote talk on the role of technology. “The security of our users’ data is non-negotiable. It is imperative for us to maintain public trust,” he said at the event.

These are the main faces of technology that will continue to star in the news in the coming years, at least during the new Trump era that began this week.