Trump to host tech CEOs for first event in newly renovated Rose Garden

Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Tesla and Space X Elon Musk, arrive before the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)

U.S. President Donald Trump will host more than two dozen technology and business leaders on Thursday for a dinner in the newly renovated White House Rose Garden, according to a White House official.

The guests include Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, the official said.

The gathering highlights Trump’s complicated but evolving relationship with Silicon Valley and the broader tech industry.

Once a source of frequent clashes over issues such as content moderation and antitrust scrutiny, the tech sector has recalibrated since Trump’s 2024 election victory.

Executives have sought closer ties with the Republican administration, aligning corporate policies with the White House’s push to roll back diversity and equity initiatives while courting Trump’s favor on artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies.

“The president looks forward to welcoming top business, political and tech leaders for this dinner and the many dinners to come on the new, beautiful Rose Garden patio,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle said.

The Hill news outlet first reported the event.

Elon Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX chief who served as a Trump adviser before a public split earlier this year, was not on the invite list, the official confirmed.

On Thursday, Musk posted on his social media platform X that he “was invited, but unfortunately could not attend. A representative of mine will be there.”

The Rose Garden renovation, completed in August, replaced the iconic grass lawn with a stone patio and umbrella-covered tables modeled after Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

The gathering there is set to take place after CEOs and tech leaders attend a White House event on AI hosted by first lady Melania Trump.

Other executives on the guest list include Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Oracle CEO Safra Catz, Blue Origin CEO David Limp, Micron Technology CEO Sanjay Mehrotra and OpenAI President Greg Brockman, the White House official said.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive, Palantir PLTR.O Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar, Meta’s chief AI officer Alexandr Wang and AMD CEO Lisa Su are also expected.

(Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw; Editing by Colleen Jenkins, Jamie Freed and Alistair Bell)