Musk, Altman, Fink Join Trump in Riyadh as U.S.-Saudi Investment Talks Begin

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, and BlackRock CEO Larry Fink were among the prominent U.S. business leaders accompanying President Donald Trump on Tuesday as he launched a high-stakes Middle East tour focused on deepening economic ties and strategic cooperation with key Gulf nations, as per Fox News.

The group was seen meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the royal court in Riyadh, ahead of a luncheon hosted by the crown prince. Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia marks the first stop on a multi-country tour that also includes the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, with the goal of securing major U.S. investment deals and partnerships across defense, energy, and emerging technologies.

Saudi Arabia has already pledged $600 billion in investments across sectors including arms, artificial intelligence, and financial markets, and Trump suggested the figure could eventually climb to $1 trillion. The visit comes as the U.S. and Saudi Arabia explore expanded defense cooperation and a possible civil nuclear agreement.

In addition to Musk, Altman, and Fink, other corporate leaders in attendance included Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, IBM’s Arvind Krishna, Citigroup’s Jane Fraser, Boeing’s Kelly Ortberg, NVIDIA’s Jensen Huang, Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman, and Palantir’s Alex Karp.

Many of those present are also expected to speak at the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum being held at the King Abdulaziz International Conference Center later Tuesday. According to organizers, the event celebrates a strategic partnership “nearly a century in the making,” referencing the historic 1945 meeting between President Franklin D. Roosevelt and King Abdulaziz aboard the USS Quincy.

On Wednesday, Trump will attend a Gulf Cooperation Council meeting before traveling to Qatar for talks with Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and a stop at the U.S. military’s Al Udeid Air Base. His trip concludes Thursday in Abu Dhabi with a meeting with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.