The week CEOs bent the knee to Trump
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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. When Donald Trump arrived at the New York Stock Exchange this week for a postelection victory lap, dozens of influential executives lined up to catch a glimpse of the man who holds the future of their businesses in his hands. Gathered behind red velvet ropes were senior executives at Visa, Meta Platforms, Goldman Sachs, Charles Schwab and Citadel, according to people who were present.
Real-estate and aerospace magnate Robert Bigelow was spotted in the crowd, as was investor Bill Ackman. “The economy, I believe, is going to be very strong," said Trump, standing in front of a portrait of himself on the cover of Time magazine, which this week named him its person of the year. Corporate America is hoping Trump is right—but it isn’t leaving anything to chance.
Titans of the business world are rushing to make inroads with the president-elect, gambling that personal relationships with the next occupant of the Oval Office will help their bottom lines and spare them from Trump’s wrath. In the weeks since the election, Trump and his advisers have been flooded with calls from c-suite executives who are eager to get face time with the president-elect and his team at Mar-a-Lago, the private Florida club where the transition team conducts much of its planning for the second term. A business consultant close to Trump is advising corporate clients to engage with Trump in any way they can and emphasize common goals, such as tax and regulatory changes.
Clients are already angling for spots on whatever business advisory panels the new president may form. Already, Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta has donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund, and Jeff Bezos’ Amazon has also planned a $1 million contribution. The
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