• Tech CEOs, GOP megadonors, and media personalities celebrated Donald Trump's inauguration.
• Parties thrown by the likes of billionaire Peter Thiel and X attracted big Silicon Valley names.
• The weekend demonstrated a realignment of the richest's Trump support as he starts a second term.

Tech CEOs and billionaires were front and center, quite literally, at Donald Trump's inauguration on Monday — as well as at the parties celebrating his ascendence to president for the second time.

The photos of the Silicon Valley elite taken this past weekend in Washington, D.C., seem to leave little doubt of a broader realignment of Trump's relationship with some of the wealthiest individuals in the country as he heads into his second term. It's a marked change from 2016 and Trump's first term, which often saw the same tech CEOs at odds with the president.

Throughout the weekend, a similar cast of very rich characters was spotted at various events dedicated to the new president.

The Crypto Ball on Friday night kicked things off. One of the evening's stars was David Sacks, a PayPal Mafia member and Trump's incoming AI and crypto tzar. The event drew a number of billionaire guests from the industry, like crypto investors Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss and Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong.

On Saturday, billionaire venture capitalist and GOP megadonor Peter Thiel threw an exclusive party at his D.C. mansion, attended by Mark Zuckerberg, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and Uber founder Travis Kalanick, The New York Times reported.

On Sunday night, at a party thrown by X, Uber, and Bari Weiss's The Free Press, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi posed with UFC fighter Conor McGregor, while X CEO Linda Yaccarino smiled with podcaster Lex Fridman. The same evening, at a dinner at the National Building Museum, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and his fiancée, Lauren Sánchez, chatted with Ivanka Trump.

Monday night's official events — the Commander-in-Chief Ball, the Liberty Ball, and the Starlight Ball — included performances from the likes of the Rascal Flatts, Gavin DeGraw, and Nelly, while Meta CEO Zuckerberg, who'd also had a prime place in the Capitol Rotunda, cohosted a party with billionaire GOP donor Miriam Adelson, Todd Ricketts, and billionaire Tilman Fertitta.

Throughout the weekend, many of Trump's billionaire donors who have been supporters since his first term were also out celebrating, as were members of the media, like podcaster Theo Von and YouTuber Jake Paul.

Here's a look at how the rich and famous celebrated Trump's inauguration:

Crypto Ball

One of the first events of the weekend, Friday's Crypto Ball in the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium, brought together many of the biggest — and richest — names in cryptocurrency.

The four hosts of the "All-In" podcast — venture capitalists Chamath Palihapitiya, Jason Calacanis, David Sacks, and David Friedberg — were in attendance. Sacks will serve as the White House's artificial intelligence and crypto czar.

The billionaire Winklevoss twins, who donated to Trump's campaign, also showed up.

Uber, X, and The Free Press party

On Sunday, The Free Press, Uber, and X (formerly known as Twitter) jointly hosted a party for Trump at D.C.'s Cafe Riggs. Notable guests included Peter Thiel, Lex Fridman, and Jason Calacanis.

Candlelit dinner

The same evening, Bezos, Sánchez, Musk, and Shivon Zillis, a Neuralink executive with whom Musk shares three children, were seen at a candlelit dinner celebrating Donald Trump at the National Building Museum on Sunday.

The Starlight Ball

Monday night's festivities included three official balls, as well as other celebrations — like the one cohosted by Zuckerberg.

The Starlight Ball, held at D.C.'s Union Station, seemed to draw the largest collection of big names.

Sánchez posted photos of her ensemble for the Starlight Ball, featuring a Dolce & Gabbana dress and jewelry from Lorraine Schwartz.

X CEO Yaccarino and two other executives from X, which Elon Musk owns, attended the Starlight Ball.

Google cofounder Sergey Brin made an appearance as well.

Jake Paul and Mike Tyson were also out celebrating — and seemed to be getting along fine after their Netflix boxing match.

• In 2024, the rich largely got richer as tech stocks flew and markets experienced a postelection bump.
• However, some luxury titans shed billions amid an industry downturn.
• Here are the biggest billionaire winners and losers of the year, according to their net worth.

2024 was a good year to be a billionaire.

The S&P 500 gained 25% this year, while the Nasdaq grew 33%. The uberwealthy, many of whom are invested in companies on each index, benefited greatly.

The five billionaires who gained the most wealth in 2024 saw their net worths climb a collective $542 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index as of December 27.

These billionaires all come from the tech sector, where AI fever and a postelection rally pushed many stocks to all-time highs.

There were, though, those whose fortunes took a hit. Some billionaires whose money comes from luxury retail, which struggled this year, lost double-digit billions.

Here are the billionaires who gained and lost the most this year — and just how much their fortunes changed as of December 27.

The biggest winners of the year are…

Elon Musk: $239 billion richer

Elon Musk, who is worth $468 billion, nearly doubled his net worth in 2024, owing in no small part to the stock market's rally after Donald Trump's election victory. Since Election Day, he's become more than $200 billion richer.

His fortune is predominantly made up of Tesla stock and equity in SpaceX. Even though sales of electric vehicles have slowed down, Tesla's stock price has jumped more than 70% this year. SpaceX, meanwhile, has doubled in value in the past year and is now worth a reported $350 billion.

Musk, who gave more than $200 million to Trump's reelection efforts, has become an advisor to the president-elect, who tapped him and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead his newly created Department of Government Efficiency. Investors are bullish that his relationship with the commander in chief will benefit his companies.

Mark Zuckerberg: $85 billion richer

Mark Zuckerberg is riding on the success of Meta's strong year. The CEO, who is worth $213 billion, owns about 13% of the company's stock, making him its largest individual shareholder.

Meta's share price is up over 70% this year thanks to its strong ad business and push further into AI. The company announced its first-ever dividend in February, and its stock hit record highs multiple times this year.

Jensen Huang: $78 billion richer

The AI boom minted a new centibillionaire this year in Jensen Huang, who is worth $122 billion.

The Nvidia CEO and cofounder owns about 3.5% of the company, whose share price is up more than 175% year-to-date thanks to its dominance in the AI chip industry.

Larry Ellison: $70 billion richer

Larry Ellison, who is worth $193 billion, is the founder and chief technology officer of Oracle.

The database software company's stock, which makes up the largest share of his net worth, is up more than 60% year-to-date thanks to its cloud applications and infrastructure, which can be used to train AI.

Ellison also owns more than 1% of Tesla stock, which is worth $20 billion, according to Bloomberg.

Jeff Bezos: $69 billion richer

Jeff Bezos, the Amazon cofounder, remains the company's largest individual shareholder, owning nearly 9% of the $2.4 trillion company. His stake in the retail and tech behemoth makes up more than 80% of his $246 billion fortune.

Amazon's stock, which is up more than 45% year-to-date, surged after Trump's election. The company has also benefited from its leadership in e-commerce and cloud computing.

Meanwhile, some billionaires did experience hits to their fortunes.

Bernard Arnault: $31 billion poorer

This year was one of the worst years for luxury in recent memory, and Bernard Arnault has an 11-figure loss to show for it.

The CEO of LVMH, who is worth $176 billion, has a 48% stake in the company, which owns brands like Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior. Luxury labels have struggled this year, particularly in China, which has experienced a real estate crisis and high youth unemployment.

Françoise Bettencourt Meyers: $25 billion poorer

Francoise Bettencourt-Meyers, the heir to the L'Oréal fortune, is the second-richest woman in the world with a fortune of $75 billion.

The cosmetics company has struggled this year as sales in China took a hit. Its share price is down more than 26% year-to-date.

Carlos Slim: $23 billion poorer

Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, who is worth $82 billion, saw his fortune slip with telecommunications giant América Móvil's stock this year.

Colin Huang: $17 billion poorer

Nearly all of Colin Huang's $35 billion fortune lies in his stake in Pinduoduo, the parent company of fast-fashion retailer Temu, whose stock has fallen more than 30% this year.

In August, Temu announced it expected profits to fall in the future due to growing competition and changing consumer sentiment. The company took another hit following Trump's victory, given the uncertainty of how future tariffs may affect sales.

Francois Pinault: $14 billion poorer

Francois Pinault's fortune is another casualty of the luxury downturn this year.

He founded the luxury group Kering, which includes brands like Balenciaga, Gucci, and Saint Laurent, and the majority of his $22 billion net worth is tied up in the company, whose stock is down more than 40% year-to-date.