Six of the world’s 10 richest people have had a common destination in recent months: Palm Beach International Airport.
Private jet data compiled by Bloomberg News using aviation data platform JetSpy offers insight into how Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump’s private club in Palm Beach, Florida, has become a new center of power as the US president-elect happily hosts titans of industry.
As jets fly in from Hawaii, California, Washington, Texas and even nearby Miami, their billionaire owners are reportedly meeting with Trump.
Some of the visitors are connected to his administration, while others are joining the president-elect for the first time, trying to win favor with a man known to reward allies and punish enemies.
The six richest billionaires who have touched down at PBI, the South Florida airport’s nickname, have done so 25 times since November, up from 10 trips a year earlier, data from JetSpy shows.
Ahead of Trump’s inauguration Monday, Bloomberg publishes a list of the billionaires who have made the “pilgrimage” to Palm Beach since Election Day and their net worth, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Mark Zuckerberg
Net worth: $217 billion
Meta Platforms Inc. co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, who did not endorse a presidential candidate and banned Trump from his social media platforms after the 2021 Capitol riots, made the trip to Mar-a-Lago from his Hawaii estate in late November.
Sergey Brin
Net worth: $163 billion
In mid-December, weeks after Zuckerberg’s initial visit, Alphabet Inc. co-founder Sergey Brin flew across the US to visit Trump. Brin, 51, who previously called Trump’s first election victory “deeply offensive,” huddled with Alphabet President and CEO-elect Sundar Pichai at Mar-a-Lago.
Jet records show his plane stayed in Palm Beach for three days before flying back to San Jose, California, after a brief stop in Miami. A representative for Brin declined to comment. Alphabet’s Google has since donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural committee.
Jeff Bezos
Net worth: $245 billion
The following week, Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos, the second-richest person in the world, dined with Trump at Mar-a-Lago. He was joined by Elon Musk, who later wrote on X that “it was a great conversation.” Bezos’ jet records show the billionaire’s plane made the 15-minute flight from Miami to PBI that evening and flew back about four hours later. Amazon has pledged $1 million to fund Trump’s inauguration and agreed to pay $40 million for a documentary about Melania Trump, Puck News reports.
Bill Gates
Net worth: $162 billion
Trump posted on his social media account, Truth Social, that Gates had asked for a meeting, calling Mar-a-Lago “the center of the universe.” It’s a change for Gates, 69, who reportedly spent $50 million supporting Democrat Kamala Harris and has been a vocal opponent of Trump, especially on public health issues.
Elon Musk
Net worth: $449 billion
In between trips to Texas and California to run his several companies, Musk’s jets have practically lived at PBI since the billionaire made Mar-a-Lago his home.
Musk’s jets have flown there more than a dozen times since Election Day, spending a total of about three weeks in Palm Beach. In between, Musk, 53, has frequently flown to Austin, Texas where he has an estate and several companies; Los Angeles, where he used to live; and Brownsville, Texas, home to a SpaceX launch site. Trump also visited Brownsville in November for one of Musk’s rocket launches. Musk, along with Bezos and Zuckerberg, plans to attend the inauguration and will sit alongside Cabinet officials and elected leaders.
Travis Kalanick
Net worth: $5 billion
Kalanick’s Gulfstream G650 landed at PBI on November 26, sitting for about six hours before heading to LAX shortly after Zuckerberg arrived, according to flight records. Kalanick, 48, did not respond to a request for comment on whether he was on the plane during that trip, or visiting the club.
Larry Ellison
Net worth: $188 billion
The plane of Oracle Corp. co-founder Larry Ellison, a close friend and mentor to Musk, landed the same day as Kalanick’s, departing from the same LAX airport. Ellison, 80, owns a resort near Mar-a-Lago, but has also spent time at the club with Musk and Trump since the election.
Winklevoss twins
Net worth: $6 billion, each
The Silicon Valley crypto community was also in Palm Beach. Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss’ Gulfstream G500 landed at PBI around 8:30pm on January 6. That same evening, Trump was photographed having dinner with Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Ripple Chief Legal Officer Stu Alderoti.
The jet of the Winklevoss twins, 41, left for Silicon Valley the next morning. It returned to PBI two days later and flew to Teterboro, New Jersey, nearly a week later. While in Palm Beach, the brothers attended a $250,000 fundraiser hosted by Vice President-elect J.D. Vance.
Gina Rinehart
Net worth: $20 billion
Mining magnate Gina Rinehart, Australia’s richest woman, pledged her support for Trump with a full-page ad in The Wall Street Journal this month. “Many in Australia and around the world have received hope and much-needed inspiration from your election,” the ad read, featuring a photo of Trump hugging an American flag.
Rinehart, 70, came to PBI four times in October and November in the run-up to the election. She also joined Trump in West Palm Beach for his victory party, along with other billionaires including casino magnate Steve Wynn, who is worth an estimated $5 billion. She returned to PBI this week ahead of the inauguration.
Howard Lutnick
Net worth: $2 billion
Other billionaires who have been given formal and informal roles in the administration have made trips to the club, including Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick, co-chair of the Trump-Vance transition team, and the current nominee for commerce secretary. His jet has landed at PBI nearly a dozen times since Election Day, making frequent trips between Palm Beach, Washington, D.C., and New York.
Patrick Soon-Shiong
Net worth: $11 billion
Pharmaceutical billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong’s jet has made two trips to PBI since Election Day—once early last month and again this week, staying less than a day each time.
Tilman Fertitta
Net worth: $16 billion
Billionaire Tilman Fertitta, who has been named ambassador to Italy, landed at PBI on the afternoon of January 5. He flew to Greenland less than 12 hours later, a day before Trump said he would not rule out using military force to seize the Danish sovereign territory.
Trump’s plane, carrying his eldest son, Don Jr., arrived in Greenland the next day. After spending several hours in the autonomous territory, the two planes departed within 30 minutes of each other and returned to PBI.
Fertitta, Zuckerberg and billionaire Miriam Adelson, the majority shareholder in casino operator Las Vegas Sands Inc., are among those hosting a gala reception for Trump on Inauguration Day.
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