MAGA MONEY

Trump Billionaire Bros’ Wealth Explodes After Inauguration Suck-Up

Even those who previously criticized the president have watched their wealth skyrocket after cozying up to him in his second term.

Big tech bosses who lined up for Donald Trump’s second inauguration have watched their fortunes balloon by billions during a year of policy favors and government deals.

Trump, 79, returned to the Oval Office in January 2025 with many of Silicon Valley’s most powerful figures seated in prime spots for his swearing-in, from Elon Musk to Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg.

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Since then, the Financial Times has tallied how closely these moguls—all billionaires many times over—have interacted with the Trump administration through donations, investment pledges, and glitzy Mar-a-Lago dinners, and how handsomely they have been rewarded.

Here is how Trump’s second term has coincided with a fresh surge in wealth for his biggest tech backers, according to FT analysis that draws on Bloomberg’s net-worth data.

ELON MUSK

The Tesla founder and X owner, 54, pumped more than $250 million into Trump’s comeback and briefly ran an unsuccessful “Department of Government Efficiency” on his behalf before they fell out, which rattled Tesla’s stock. Now they’re pals again, Musk is back at Mar-a-Lago, on track for loosened self-driving regulations, fresh federal work for SpaceX and Grok—and about $234 billion more in wealth.

JEFF BEZOS

The Amazon kingpin, 62, smoothed things over with Trump by dialing down clashes from their first term and reining in critical reporting at The Washington Post. This helped keep his behemoth shopping platform out of tariff lawsuits, as he poured money into U.S. data centers, while also paying $40 million for an upcoming documentary on First Lady Melania Trump. The FT estimates that Bezos’ net worth is up roughly $15 billion.

MARK ZUCKERBERG

The Meta mogul, 41, went from Trump threatening him with jail to sitting at his side at an exclusive dinner. The company pledged up to $600 billion of U.S. investment and hired Trump ally Dina Powell McCormick as its new president. The Trump administration, in turn, has expedited permits for data centers and backed Meta against bureaucratic red tape in Brussels—and Zuckerberg has accumulated about $1.9 billion more in wealth.

TIM COOK

The 65-year-old Apple boss was hammered by Trump’s “fentanyl” tariffs on China but then turned things around with a choreographed Oval Office appearance. He lifted his tech firm’s U.S. manufacturing pledge by $100 billion and handed Trump a gleaming trophy, winning a tariff carve-out. Apple’s stock is roughly 15 percent higher, boosting Cook’s already massive share.

SAM ALTMAN

The AI guru once called Trump’s 2016 win the worst moment of his life. In Trump’s second term, the 40-year-old OpenAI CEO stood at his side to announce a $500 billion U.S. data-center blitz after quiet talks and a $1 million inaugural donation. His OpenAI co-founder, Greg Brockman, sent $12.5 million to MAGA Inc as the company’s valuation rocketed from $157 billion to around $500 billion.

SUNDAR PICHAI

Google chief Pichai, 53, started Trump’s second term accused of bias and censorship. He rushed to Mar-a-Lago, tripled Google’s previous inauguration donation to $1 million, cut prices on federal cloud and AI deals, and funded Trump’s ballroom project. Alphabet shares have since leapt about 66 percent, making it the world’s number two company.

SHOU ZI CHEW

The TikTok boss, 43, began 2025 with his social media platform facing a total U.S. ban, but Trump repeatedly demurred on enforcing it before backing a deal that put U.S. investors, including Oracle’s Larry Ellison, in charge of the company’s American arm while ByteDance kept a minority stake and most profits. ByteDance is now valued at around $500 billion.

The Daily Beast has approached all of the aforementioned companies, and the White House, for comment.

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Tom LatchemLead Global Correspondent

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