Lauren Sanchez declared that Sunday would be “a magical evening,” as she and her fiancé Jeff Bezos were greeted by Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner and Elon Musk at the gala candlelight dinner for Donald Trump, ahead of his inauguration Monday.
That’s one way to put it.
Another is that the images of the two richest men in the world, Musk followed by Bezos, hobnobbing with Trump’s daughter and son-in-law, who’s on the verge of becoming a billionaire himself, suggest that America could be on its way to the oligarchy that Joe Biden warned about in his final address as president.
Elon Musk talks with Ivanka Trump, MacKenzie Scott, Jeff Bezos and Shivon Zillis, right, before President-elect Donald Trump speaks at a dinner at the National Building Museum, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
On Monday, Bezos, Sanchez and Musk joined Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, another tech billionaire and the world’s third richest man, on the dais in the U.S. Capitol rotunda, as Trump was sworn in for a second term, the Associated Press reported. It was as if these mega-wealthy people were looking down upon others gathered in the rotunda, including elected officials. Zuckerberg, Bezos, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google C.E.O. Sundar Pichai also were photographed attending ceremonies at St. John’s Church, before the inauguration.
In certain ways, Bezos’s inclusion in Trump’s MAGA circles could have been predicted more than a year ago, when Sanchez and Ivanka Trump displayed their friendship at the 43rd birthday party of another billionaire friend, Kim Kardashian. It’s even tempting to wonder if Sanchez helped ease her fiancé’s rapprochement with Trump and MAGA-world after years of public feuding.
Sanchez certainly looked in her element on Sunday night, dressed in a black Dolce & Gabbana, strapless gown, Women’s Wear Daily reported. Meanwhile, her friend Ivanka Trump also “had a shining moment,” wearing a custom, off-the-shoulder crystal-and-pearl Oscar de la Renta gown, WWD said.
Before the Nov. 5 election, Bezos became the poster boy for America’s billionaires bending the knee to Trump when the Amazon founder ordered his editors at his newspaper, the Washington Post, to kill an-already prepared endorsement for Vice President Kamala Harris.
Meanwhile, Musk took a hands-on role in the final stretch of Trump’s campaign, contributing some $200 million through a super PAC to ensure his election, as the Associated Press reported. He’s also reportedly been living at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort during the transition and has a role in shaping the new government. Both Musk and Bezos have huge contracts with the federal government through their respective rocket companies, SpaceX and Blue Origin, and other businesses.
WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 19: (L-R) Ivanka Trump greets Jeff Bezos at a candlelight dinner for U.S. President-elect Donald Trump at the National Building Museum on January 19, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump will be sworn in as the 47th U.S. president on January 20. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
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While the mega-rich have long had a prominent role in national politics, and several billionaires helped bankroll Harris’ campaign, the Associated Press said that Trump’s inauguration will highlight “the unusually direct role” that billionaires will have in the 47th president’s administration. Biden’s use of the word “oligarchy” was “no accident,” the Associated Press said, offering a direct reference to the form of government in Russia, whose President Vladimir Putin helps the uber-rich stay wealthy and controls them through rewards and threats.
The New York Times reported that at least a dozen billionaires are among Trump’s cabinet picks and are headed for senior roles in his new administration. Musk tops the list with an estimated $429 billion net worth, according to Forbes. While Trump campaigned as a populist defender of the American working class, he also put some of his richest donors in top jobs in government, the New York Times also said. Moreover, a number also will oversee the industries that produced their fortunes.
“It’s tempting to liken this to the Gilded Age, but John D. Rockefeller didn’t actually run McKinley’s campaign or move into the White House.” That’s a quote to the New York Times from Michael Waldman, who was President Bill Clinton’s chief speechwriter and is now president and chief executive of the Brennan Center for Justice, which promotes legal system reforms and works to curb money in politics.
