Musk, Ronaldo join Trump at black-tie dinner for Saudi leader

The White House hosted a heavyweight mix of political, business and sports figures at President Donald Trump’s black-tie dinner for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday night.

The guest list was filled with CEOs from tech and finance, including Tesla’s Elon Musk, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, Apple’s Tim Cook, Citigroup’s Jane Fraser and Chevron’s Mike Wirth, Paramount’s David Ellison and Palantir’s Alex Karp.

Also present were Salesforce’s Marc Benioff, Coinbase’s Brian Armstrong, Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman, Pershing Square’s Bill Ackman, as well as 26North’s Josh Harris, and Dina Powell McCormick, the Vice Chairman of merchant bank BDT-MSD and former U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor. Another prominent guest was soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, who plays in the Saudi Pro League.

The Saudi leader, wearing his traditional royal robe while standing in the East Room next to a tuxedo-clad Trump, hailed the close ties between the two countries that go back nine decades. Earlier in the day, he said Saudi Arabia’s investment in the U.S. could reach close to $1 trillion.

“We believe the opportunity is huge,” Prince Mohammed said. “We’re going to focus on implementation and keep increasing the opportunities between our… countries.”

Trump hosted the dinner of pistachio-crusted rack of lamb and sweet potato puree with his wife Melania, who wore a green strapless gown designed by Lebanese couturier Elie Saab. 

Members of the Trump administration who attended included Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum,
and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.