Topline
Several top tech and AI billionaires featured on the guest list for the state dinner at the White House hosted by President Donald Trump for Chinese President Xi Jinping, with some of them seated at the head table with the two leaders.
First lady Melania Trump, China’s President Xi Jinping and Peng Liyuan listen as President Donald Trump speaks during a State Dinner in the East Room of the White House.
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Key Facts
Trump and Xi sat at the head table near the podium, alongside their wives, Melania Trump and Peng Liyuan.
Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, was also seated at the table next to the first lady, while Nvidia CEO and billionaire Jensen Huang was also seen sitting at the table along with his wife, Lori Huang.
They were joined at the head table by billionaires Lisa Su, the CEO of chipmaker and Nvidia rival AMD, and Tim Cook, Apple’s executive chairman who recently stepped down as CEO.
Both Nvidia and AMD’s most advanced AI chips are banned from being exported to China, while the country remains a key market and manufacturing hub for Cook’s Apple and Musk’s Tesla.
Other tech billionaires at the dinner were OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who was seen conversing with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Tangent
In his speech before the Dinner began, Trump asked if he could go “off script just for a second” and then invited Xi, his wife Peng and all the guests in the room to view the construction of the White House ballroom. The president touted the size of the ballroom and said: “I can tell you that tonight, if we had it, we would have had way more than 1,000 people with standing room only, and this room has about 145.” He then added: “If anybody wants to walk into a construction site that’s nice and clean and sparkly.”
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk speaks with US President Donald Trump and US First Lady Melania Trump during the state dinner.
AFP via Getty Images
AMD CEO Lisa Su, her husband Daniel Lin, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, his wife Lori Huang and Apple’s Executive Chairman Tim Cook were also seated at the head table with Trump and Xi.
AFP via Getty Images
China’s President Xi Jinping and President Donald Trump speak through interpreters as First Lady Melania Trump listens to Elon Musk.
AFP via Getty Images
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman talks to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg during the dinner.
Getty Images
Amazon’s founder Jeff Bezos was also in attendance.
AFP via Getty Images
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks with Google CEO Sundar Pichai at the state dinner.
Getty Images
further reading
CNN And MS NOW Barred From White House State Dinner Despite Judge Lifting Ban (Forbes)
Tech Moguls Worth Combined $2.4 Trillion On Trump-Xi Dinner Guest List: See Who’s Going (Forbes)
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