Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg walk into a bar.
Sounds like the start of a joke, right? If only it were.
Today, the three richest men in the world according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index will come together for the inauguration of Donald Trump. It’s a picture-perfect snapshot of what we can expect over the next four years: an administration built around delivering for big business. And for the next 100 days and after, it’s what we’re going to be tracking at “The 11th Hour.” We’re calling it “White House: For Sale?”
Today, the three richest men in the world will come together for the inauguration of Donald Trump.
In his farewell address from the Oval Office on Wednesday night, President Joe Biden cautioned: “Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead.”
It’s a stark warning. Pay attention.
Follow MSNBC’s live blog for the latest updates and expert analysis on Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Trump is already hard at work filling key posts in his administration with billionaires and millionaires. Howard Lutnick, Trump’s pick for commerce secretary, is reportedly worth $2 billion. Linda McMahon, tapped to lead the Department of Education, has a net worth of $2.6 billion. All told, there could be more than a dozen billionaires working in multiple federal agencies, not to mention the quasi-governmental workers Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, co-chairs of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
Meanwhile, the biggest names in tech keep popping up at Mar-a-Lago to visit Trump. Musk, Bezos and Zuckerberg have all trooped down to Florida over the past few weeks. The CEO of TikTok, Shou Zi Chew, made the pilgrimage in December as well. Fighting to keep his company in business in the U.S., Chew is now expected to join his social media peers at the inauguration, along with Google CEO Sundar Pichai and OpenAI’s Sam Altman.
Perhaps it’s not surprising to see this much money and power mingling with the incoming president and his administration. The revolving door of lobbyist to White House staffer to lobbyist, and from CEO to Cabinet secretary and back again, isn’t exclusive to one political party. Money in politics has been a problem in both Republican and Democratic administrations.
But since the Supreme Court decision in Citizens United, this problem has gotten worse. (Somewhat ironically, tomorrow marks 15 years since the ruling.) Citizens United opened the floodgates to unlimited spending on elections by corporations, special interest groups and, eventually, individuals.
And give they did. According to OpenSecrets, outside groups spent a total of $574.5 million during the 2008 election cycle. Four years later — and two years after Citizens United — that amount more than doubled to $1.3 billion. In 2024, it hit a whopping $4.5 billion. That’s a 680% increase from 2008 to 2024 in money from corporations, super PACs and individuals. Which leads us back to where we are at today, at the beginning of a new administration led by arguably one of the most transactional presidents in modern history. Which leads us back to where we are at today, at the beginning of a new administration led by arguably one of the most transactional presidents in modern history. When Trump was in office last time, his company owned a hotel blocks away from the White House where foreign leaders and special interest groups booked rooms and hosted lavish parties. Once Trump left Washington, the Trump Organization sold the lease rights of that hotel. Now, it’s talking about reacquiring them again. In this Trump White House, Fortune 500 companies know what to expect. They see the dealmaking and they’re going to do what they believe is in the best interest of their business, for their shareholders, employees and customers. Donations to the inauguration are on track to reach almost $200 million, nearly double the amount in 2017. That doesn’t mean that what gets decided in this second administration will be in the best interests of the American people. What it does mean is that we, all of us, need to watch what’s happening in Washington, and to remain clear-eyed about what we could be in for. You keep paying attention. And so will we. Charlie Herman contributed.
Stephanie Ruhle
Stephanie Ruhle is host of “The 11th Hour” at 11 p.m. ET on MSNBC and senior business analyst for NBC News. 
