Let’s have NBC News explain:
Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg will attend President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration Monday, according to an official involved with planning the event.
They will have a prominent spot at the ceremony, seated together on the platform with other notable guests, including Trump’s Cabinet nominees and elected officials.
Musk said on X that he was “honored” to have such a prominent spot at the inauguration.
Colbert mentioned it, too, last night, and I’m just amazed – and quite certain that Trump is reaching an apotheosis of self-gratification. Musk, Bezo, and Zuckerberg are 1-2-3 currently on the world’s richest men list, according to the article[1].
It’s the tableau that captures my interest. Three of the richest and most commercially powerful people in the world, clustered together to witness Mr Trump’s ascension to the throne, and, I suspect, supplicate to him to spare their little companies the rod and let them keep their riches. I shouldn’t be surprised if Mr Trump swells up and explodes out of narcissistic pride.
Get the point? It’s akin to watching a movie concerning the European medieval period, the new King being crowned, the nobles nervously jostling for a position of favor.
I do think I’ll be ill now.
The fortunes of the companies associated with these men should be quite interesting, as they’ll now be associated with Mr Trump, who has no love for the United States. It’s money or nothin’ with him.
1 Although I’m suspecting Mr Zuckerberg might be sliding down that list if most of his worth is tied up in the company he leads, Meta, owner of Facebook. He has not demonstrated long-term skills in the management of a social-media company, and his avarice and ambitions – see the ill-fated Metaverse – are not sufficient to the job. Neither, for that matter, is Mr Musk, owner of Twitter X.
But it’s important to note that social media has been around for 50 years, not the 500 of legacy media, as they say. The rules of social media have not been distilled and laminated, and neither social media owner seems to have good ideas on how to successfully run such a business. Short-term success, based on novelty, does not necessarily translate to long-term success.
Incidentally, Mr Bezos owns legacy media icon The Washington Post. And his management is beginning to show cracks as personnel and customers are leaving in disgust.
