These top U.S. CEOs, worth nearly $1 trillion combined, are accompanying Trump to China
President Trump made a significant entrance into China, accompanied by a select group of billionaire U.S. executives, including prominent figures such as Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. This high-profile delegation highlights the critical importance for American companies amidst ongoing negotiations between Washington and Beijing on various fronts, including trade, artificial intelligence, and the Iran conflict.
These executives, collectively holding a net worth close to $1 trillion, represent companies with substantial business interests in China, despite the longstanding trade disputes between the two economic powerhouses.
Elon Musk, with a staggering fortune of approximately $688 billion, currently stands as the wealthiest individual globally, as per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Jensen Huang, with a net worth of around $183 billion, is another key figure in the U.S. delegation, as indicated in a list of attendees provided by the White House to CBS News.
Both Musk and Huang have confirmed their participation in the trip, as reported by the Associated Press, citing a White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity. The duo traveled alongside President Trump on Air Force One, along with filmmaker Brett Ratner, known for directing the documentary “Melania.”
Other notable U.S. business leaders part of the delegation to Beijing include Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman, boasting a net worth of $47.5 billion, and Apple CEO Tim Cook, with a fortune totaling $2.9 billion. The group also features executives like Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, and Meta President and Vice Chair Dina Powell McCormick, according to The Associated Press.
Nvidia, known for its cutting-edge chips fueling the AI revolution, sees this trip as an opportunity to enhance its presence in the Chinese market, a sentiment shared by Huang and other industry leaders accompanying President Trump.
In a social media post late Tuesday, President Trump confirmed Huang’s presence on Air Force One while highlighting the distinguished group of business leaders accompanying him to China. The executives he mentioned as “journeying to the Great Country of China” include Cristiano Amon of Qualcomm, Larry Culp of GE Aerospace, Jane Fraser of Citigroup, Sanjay Mehrotra of Micron Technology, and others.
Promising to urge Chinese President Xi Jinping to “open up” China to allow these brilliant minds to contribute and elevate the country further, President Trump emphasized the potential of these business leaders to work their magic and enhance the People’s Republic.
