The president’s eldest son, the world’s richest man and dozens of prominent tech, media and sports figures gathered Tuesday night at the White House for a black-tie dinner in honor of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who previously had been labeled a “pariah” over his role in the 2018 killing of a Washington Post opinion columnist.
Many tech and Wall Street executives sought to distance themselves from the desert kingdom seven years ago when Jamal Khashoggi was dismembered in a Saudi Consulate in Turkey — a killing U.S. intelligence officials concluded Mohammed had ordered. But as candles flickered and a piano played in the White House’s East Room on Tuesday, leaders of the United States’ biggest companies signaled they were open for business with Saudi Arabia.
The formal dinner capped a day of festivities honoring Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader, as President Donald Trump welcomed Mohammed to the White House as an honored guest.
Some of the dinner’s attendees have had business in Saudi Arabia for years. Others are actively negotiating deals with sovereign wealth funds. Others have limited ties to Saudi Arabia but are prominent allies and benefactors of Trump.
The Washington Post asked representatives of more than 20 prominent guests about their decision to attend the dinner. They all declined to comment or did not respond.
Here’s a look at some of the high-profile names on Tuesday’s guest list:
Trump family
The president’s oldest son, Donald Trump Jr., sat among business leaders striking deals with Saudi Arabia, as his father brushed off criticism that his family’s increasing business interests in the gulf state are influencing his relationship with the crown prince. Trump Jr. is an executive vice president at the Trump Organization, which announced earlier this week that it would work with a Saudi developer to bring a Trump-branded hotel to the Maldives. Last month, Trump Jr. traveled to Riyadh to speak about his venture capital firm at an event known as “Davos in the Desert” that showcases international business in the kingdom.
Asked earlier Tuesday about whether the deals create a conflict of interest, the president sought to distance himself from his family business, which he said has “done very little” with Saudi Arabia.
Tiffany Trump and her husband Michael Boulos, whose father Massad Boulos is an adviser to the president, also made a rare White House appearance for the event.
Tech leaders
Tech billionaire Elon Musk made his first public appearance at the White House since his feud with the president earlier this year. The executive’s many businesses are increasingly courting deals in Saudi Arabia; Tesla began selling vehicles in the market earlier this year, and xAI, maker of Musk’s chatbot Grok, has reportedly held talks about data center deals with the kingdom-backed artificial intelligence company Humain.
Saudi Arabia has increasingly sought to position itself as a provider of AI computing power, as entities tied to its sovereign wealth fund strike deals with Western computing companies.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang also attended the dinner as the Trump administration and Saudi government negotiate over access to advanced chips essential to the gulf state’s AI ambitions. OpenAI President Greg Brockman was also there, as his company is pursuing funds for AI data centers while also positioning itself to build them in other countries.
IBM CEO Arvind Krishna and Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon attended on Tuesday, as well as several prominent tech and crypto executives including Apple CEO Tim Cook, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and Dell CEO Michael Dell. Marc Benioff, the founder and CEO of Salesforce who recently helped persuade Trump to back off a National Guard surge in San Francisco, was also on the guest list.
Wall Street investors
Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser, Pershing Square Capital Management’s Bill Ackman, Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman and Charles Schwab were among the Wall Street representatives present Tuesday. The showing highlights the increasing interdependence between the Saudi and U.S. financial markets, as the kingdom is a major source of capital for U.S. companies. U.S. financial institutions also advise Saudi companies and funds on major deals.
Sports and Media
Saudi Arabia has sought to expand its global influence in part through sports, investing heavily in soccer, golf and boxing. Tuesday night’s dinner included soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo, who plays professionally in Saudi Arabia. FIFA President Giovanni Infantino, who has emerged as a close Trump ally ahead of the 2026 men’s World Cup in the U.S., also attended. Saudi Arabia is preparing to be the sole host of the tournament in 2034.
Bryson DeChambeau, who plays professional golf on the Saudi-owned LIV Golf tour, attended the White House event after golfing with the president and visiting the White House earlier this year.
Fox News hosts Bret Baier and Maria Bartiromo had seats at the guest tables, as well as David Ellison, the CEO of the media empire that was created through the multibillion-dollar merger of Skydance and CBS parent company Paramount. He is also the son of Trump supporter and Oracle founder Larry Ellison.
Scott Nover contributed to this report.
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