While US President Donald Trump continues to pursue his Make America Great Again (MAGA) ideologies, some are beginning to question the influence of the group of billionaires around him. Although Trump has pursued his nationalistic, protectionist, migration-restriction winding back on globalism and imposition of tariffs, there are some who believe some of what Trump has done (is doing) is for the benefit of those around him.
Credible or not, there are criticisms that Trump’s policies on Gaza, Iran, and the bombing of Yemen are for the benefit of the Jewish lobby. The reduction in tariffs for mobile phones, microchips, and notebooks is assisting tech billionaires, and the whole tariff imposition saga enabled billionaires ‘in the know’ to profit from this policy decision.
There is no doubt that the billionaires around Trump exercise some influence. Just how much is an unknown factor? Some will point to Miriam Adelson’s USD 100 million donation to the Trump presidential campaign as an example. Others add the influence from Elon Musk far outweighs his role in the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. There is no doubt that Elon Musk, who owns X, played a major role in Trump’s win and preparation for the presidency.
The above are all issues to keep in view and continually assess while Trump’s term continues. The purpose of the rest of this article is to identify the individuals both inside and outside Trump’s cabinet who can exercise potential influence on policy.
Elon Musk has been the most influential person on Trump until his inauguration. Musk’s role in the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, had been instrumental in the beginning of Trump’s first month in office. Musk’s influence on Trump has run deep, but it willin to be seen how long this relationship will continue. Musk donated more than USD 250 million to the Trump campaign after the attempted assassination on Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania. Many pundits claim that Musk’s social media platform X played a major role in his election.
Miriam Adelson donated more than USD 100 million to the Trump campaign. Foreign policy pundits assert that Adelson’s influence has been very important on Trump’s Middle East policy, particularly advocating support for Israel. Trump moving the US embassy to Jerusalem, recognizing the Golan Heights as Israeli territory, airstrikes on the Houthis in Yemen, and support for Israeli aggressiveness towards Iran are attributed to Adelson’s influence.
Other billionaires who have been attributed with some influence over Trump policies include hedge fund manager John Paulson in the area of tax cuts and economic reforms benefitting the wealthy, Bernie Marcus, the Home Depot co-founder, Harold Hamm, the oil industry, and Steve Wynn advocating for fossil fuel deregulation.
There were a large number of billionaire donors during Trump’s campaign, who are purported to have special access to the Trump administration, leading to criticisms of the Trump administration practicing ‘wealth-driven’ politics.
Former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneurworth USD 1 billion,was set to play a role with Elon Musk in DOGE but is interested in running for Ohio governor in 2026. John Paulson, a USD 4 billion hedge fund manager who assisted in fundraising. Timothy Mellon, heir to the Mellon banking fortune and Trump’s largest donor in 2024, with USD 125 million. Steve Wynn, Nelson Peltz, Marc Andreessen, and Ben Horowitz, who switched from the Democrats to the Trump campaign. David Sacks, Jose (Pepe) Fanjul, Dianne Hendricks, Liz and Dick Uihlein, Woody Johnson, and Peter Thiel, an early Trump supporter and ally of Vice President JD Vance, who is influential in Trump’s foreign policy. Isaac Perlmutter, Timothy Dunn, Stephen Schwarzman, and Bernard Arnault.
Most of these billionaires are aligned with the MAGA ideology and are purported to have special access to President Trump. This is criticized as policy skew by some Democrats, although a similar situation occurred in past Democratic administrations.
Jeff Bezos, the Amazon founder who donated USD 1 million to the Trump campaign, has since put the costs of tariffs on his Amazon website in an attempt to damage Trump. Mark Zuckerberg also donated USD 1 million to the Trump campaign, seen more as being pragmatic rather than becoming a Trump loyalist.
Cabinet and other senior government positions
Trump’s populist government is actually made up of a cabinet with a number of billionaires.
Howard Lutnick is the secretary of commerce. Linda McMahon, co-founder of World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. with her husband Vince McMahon, is the secretary of education. Doug Burgum, a strong supporter of ‘fracking,’ is secretary of the interior. Scott Bessent, a hedge fund manager, is treasury secretary. One must not forget Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is the secretary of health and human services. Although not a billionaire in his own right, he is supported by Nicole Shanahan, wife of Google founder Sergey Brin.
Other Trump administration agency positions include Jared Isaacman as a NASA administrator, Steve Witkoff as a special envoy to the Middle East and Russia, Warren Stephens as ambassador designate to the United Kingdom, Kelly Loeffler as the administrator of the Small Business Administration, Steve Feinberg as deputy secretary of defense, and Tilman Fertitta as US ambassador to Italy and San Marino.
One must point out that Trump is very comfortable around many of the people above and trusts some of them more than advisors from ‘within the establishment.’ It’s more likely that the billionaires around Trump will exercise more influence than many of the traditional think tanks that have been associated with ‘Washington.’ Trump has created a circle of people who are ‘not from the swamp’ who mislead him during his first administration.
As time goes on, we will observe how compatible the billionaires around Trump are with the MAGA movement.