Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, and BlackRock CEO Larry Fink were among the high-profile business leaders seen meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday, as Trump launched his first major foreign visit since beginning his new term.
The high-stakes diplomatic and economic tour, focused on strengthening U.S. ties with the Persian Gulf region, will see Trump visiting Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar to secure strategic partnerships and major business deals.
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Ahead of a state luncheon hosted by Crown Prince bin Salman at the Saudi royal court in Riyadh, top U.S. CEOs lined up to exchange greetings with the two leaders. Also in attendance were Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna, Citicorp’s Jane Fraser, Boeing’s Kelly Ortberg, NVIDIA’s Jensen Huang, and Palantir’s Alex Karp, according to multiple media reports.
Saudi Arabia has already pledged $600 billion in investments in the U.S., covering sectors such as defense, artificial intelligence, technology, and the financial markets. Trump has stated that total Saudi commitments could eventually reach $1 trillion.
Key discussions between Trump and the crown prince are also expected to cover a potential civil nuclear program and expanded defense cooperation. These topics had previously been tied to normalization efforts between Saudi Arabia and Israel under frameworks similar to the Abraham Accords.
Later today, President Trump is scheduled to headline the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum, an event convening top American and Saudi investors. The forum, held at the King Abdulaziz International Conference Center in Riyadh, features several prominent speakers including Musk, Jassy, Fink, and Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman, alongside Saudi ministers and White House crypto policy lead David Sacks.
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According to the forum’s website, the event celebrates “a partnership nearly a century in the making,” referencing the historic 1945 meeting between King Abdulaziz Ibn Saud and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt aboard the USS Quincy.
Trump’s regional tour continues on Wednesday with his attendance at a Gulf Cooperation Council meeting, followed by a diplomatic stop in Qatar to meet Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and visit the U.S. military’s Al Udeid Air Base.
