The richest man in the world. One of the most famous football players in the world. The President of the Football Association. Dozens of finance, technology and energy executives.
These are some of the guests who attended President Trump’s evening gown with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia at the White House on Tuesday evening.
Prince Mohammed’s red carpet welcome is an extraordinary moment in diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia. It is his first visit to the United States since the 2018 killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, which US intelligence officials said the prince ordered. Prince Mohammed has denied involvement.
After Mr. Khashoggi’s killing, some Western business leaders and government officials withdrew from Saudi Arabia’s global investment conference, including executives from major American financial institutions. But the following year, top dealmakers were again present at the event in Riyadh, the Saudi capital.
On Tuesday, Mr. Trump and the crown prince presented their partnership as one that would be beneficial to both countries. Mr. Trump has already agreed to sell F-35 fighter jets to the kingdom and the prince has pledged to invest nearly $1 trillion in the United States.
The White House plans to release a full guest list, according to an official. Here’s a list of some of the dinner guests the New York Times was able to confirm:
Mr Ronaldo, 40, is one of the world’s most famous football players and has won numerous awards throughout his professional career, which began in 2002.
Connections to Saudi Arabia: Mr Ronaldo, a Portuguese national who has played in leagues in England, Spain and Italy, currently plies his trade with club team Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League. The Saudi government has invested billions of dollars over the years to attract world-class players and Mr Ronaldo is the league’s highest-paid player.
— Minho Kim and Ryan Mac
Mr Infantino is the head of FIFA, the governing body of international football, and has held this role for almost ten years. He has become close to Mr Trump as the United States prepares to co-host the World Cup in 2026.
Connections to Saudi Arabia: Mr Infantino is also close to Prince Mohammed and helped win Saudi Arabia the World Cup in 2034. The FIFA president openly supported Saudi Arabia’s bid for the World Cup, pushed for Saudi investment in the sport and created rules for World Cup hosts that all but ensured the Gulf state could host the event.
– Ryan Mac
Mr. Musk, the world’s richest man, visits the White House for the first time since dramatically quitting his role in the government, lashing out at Mr. Trump. The two have achieved a kind of relaxation in the last few months.
Connections to Saudi Arabia: Mr. Musk had a frosty relationship with Saudi leaders that has thawed in recent months. For years, the billionaire has accused the Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, of withdrawing from its failed attempt to take Tesla private and criticized the state’s stance on “journalistic freedom of expression.” But Mr. Musk has also accepted Saudi investments in X, his social media site, and xAI, his artificial intelligence company. Humain, a state-backed AI company in Saudi Arabia, has indicated it would do deals with xAI.
— Theodore Schleifer and Ryan Mac
Mr. Cook, Apple’s chief executive, was also one of the tech moguls present at Mr. Trump’s inauguration.
Connections to Saudi Arabia:Apple has spent over $2 billion on businesses in Saudi Arabia over the past five years, and during a visit to the country in late 2024, Mr. Cook pledged to open Apple stores there by 2026. The company has faced some backlash for hosting a Saudi app that allows men to track the movements of their wives and daughters. In 2019, Mr Cook said he would investigate the app, but it is still available today.
– Adam Sella
Michael Dell is CEO of Dell, one of the world’s largest technology companies.
Connections to Saudi Arabia: Dell Technologies has made significant deals in Saudi Arabia, including opening a fulfillment center in Damman earlier this year. The facility “marks a significant milestone in our commitment to supporting Saudi Arabia’s ambitious vision for the future,” a Dell executive said. The company also signed a memorandum of understanding with Aramco, the state oil company, in February to explore “opportunities” in a range of areas, including artificial intelligence. The company has also signed a similar memorandum with the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority.
—Jesse Drucker
Mr. Huang is the chief executive of AI chip giant Nvidia.
Connections to Saudi Arabia: Mr. Huang traveled with Mr. Trump to Saudi Arabia in May, where he announced a partnership between his company and Humain, a Saudi AI company. As part of the deal, Nvidia will sell about 18,000 of its latest chips to power new data centers. At that time, a larger contract for AI technologies was also discussed. The deal sparked concerns inside and outside the White House about whether China could acquire the advanced technology and whether the Gulf region could one day replace the United States as the AI leader.
– Adam Sella
Ms. Su is the chief executive of AMD, the major computer chip maker.
Connections to Saudi Arabia: Together with Humain, Saudi Arabia’s state-backed AI company, AMD has committed billions of dollars to fund AI data centers in Saudi Arabia and the United States. The company said the partnership with Humain “promoted U.S. leadership in the global AI race.”
– Ryan Mac
David Ellison is chief executive of Paramount Global, the parent company of CBS, MTV and Hollywood’s oldest film studio.
Connections to Saudi Arabia: Mr. Ellison is trying to buy Warner Bros. Discovery in a major multibillion-dollar media deal. Mr. Ellison’s father, Larry Ellison, the co-founder of Oracle, supports the effort, but the Saudi sovereign wealth fund could be part of the deal.
–Lauren Hirsch
Mr. Wirth is CEO of Chevron, the second-largest U.S. oil company.
Connections to Saudi Arabia: Chevron has extensive business ties with Saudi Arabia, where one of its ancestors, Standard Oil of California, began exploring for crude oil nearly a century ago. Chevron now produces oil and natural gas on behalf of the kingdom in the neutral zone between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Such partnerships between U.S. oil companies and foreign governments or state energy companies are common. Chevron, which says it has “a long history of productive cooperation in the kingdom,” also has a financial stake in chemical plants there and buys Saudi oil.
—Rebecca F. Elliott
Ms. Fraser is chairman and chief executive of Citi, a major consumer and investment bank based in New York but operating in 180 countries.
Connections to Saudi Arabia: Last month, Ms. Fraser was named co-chair of the US Saudi Business Council, which promotes business ties between the two countries. Your bank has a long-standing customer relationship with the Kingdom, which has advised you on a wide range of transactions over the years. Under the move, promoted as part of Prince Mohammed’s economic plans, Citi last year received a license to establish its regional headquarters in Riyadh.
–Kate Kelly
Mr. Schwarzman is managing director and co-founder of Blackstone, a large private equity firm based in New York.
Connections to Saudi Arabia: Blackstone, which manages $1.25 trillion in assets, has had business with Saudi Arabia for many years. During Trump’s first state visit to the kingdom in 2017, Blackstone announced that the sovereign wealth fund would invest up to $20 billion in a project launched by Blackstone to invest in US infrastructure. Over the years, Mr. Schwarzman has frequently traveled to Riyadh to meet with his Saudi investors and attend the kingdom’s annual investment conference. Recently, a Blackstone-backed company called Air Trunk announced plans to help build data centers in Saudi Arabia.
–Kate Kelly
Mr. Bechtel is CEO of Bechtel, one of the largest construction companies in the United States.
Connections to Saudi Arabia: Bechtel’s business is booming in Saudi Arabia. Mr. Bechtel wrote in a Saudi newspaper last week that his company has worked on 300 projects in Saudi Arabia, from the Riyadh subway and the Trans-Arab Pipeline to gold mines and the 2030 World’s Fair site. “Our partnership has endured through technological change, global upheaval and 14 U.S. presidents. And it is still going strong,” he wrote.
– Adam Sella
Ms. Barra is CEO of General Motors, the largest U.S. automaker.
Connections to Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia is the largest car market in the Middle East. GM sells Chevrolet, GMC and Cadillac vehicles in a market dominated by Japanese, Korean and, increasingly, Chinese brands. Their presence may also reflect a desire to maintain good relations with Mr. Trump. His tariffs on imported cars and parts have cost GM and other automakers billions of dollars in profits.
– Jack Ewing
Mr. Ford is chairman of Ford Motor.
Connections to Saudi Arabia: Ford recently reshuffled its management team in Saudi Arabia and reported brisk growth in the Middle East’s largest auto market. But Mr. Ford is probably most interested in maintaining good relations with Mr. Trump, whose tariffs and other policies have had a significant impact on Ford’s business.
– Jack Ewing
Donald Trump Jr. is Mr. Trump’s eldest son and helps run the family business, the Trump Organization, along with Eric Trump, his younger brother.
Connections to Saudi Arabia: Mr. Trump served as a liaison to Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia, for his father’s presidential campaign in 2016. After Mr. Khashoggi’s killing in 2018, he also spread the baseless claim that Mr. Khashoggi was a terrorist sympathizer. The Trump Organization has a long history of doing business with Saudi Arabia, ranging from real estate deals in the Middle East to hosting Saudi-backed golf tournaments at Trump properties. Since Trump’s return to the White House, his sons have also completed a number of new real estate deals, including three new developments in Saudi Arabia. Further discussions are ongoing.
— Minho Kim and Adam Sella
Ryan Mac, Kate Kelly, Lauren Hirsch, Jack Ewing, Katie Rogers, Rebecca Elliott, Minho Kim, Adam Sella, Jesse Drucker and Theodore Schleifer contributed reporting.
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