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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsAfter Donald Trump’s 2024 election victory, prominent business figures offered a mix of congratulations, talk of national opportunity and pledges to work with his incoming administration. Elon Musk’s post stood out: The Guardian described it as a declaration of victory for Musk himself. The messages show a range of public reactions, not a unanimous endorsement or proof of anyone’s private motives.
What prominent business figures said
In reports published November 6, 2024, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Tim Cook and Mark Cuban congratulated Trump. Their wording varied: some emphasized the result and the country’s prospects, while others highlighted engagement with the administration. The Guardian reported Musk’s post separately as a more self-referential celebration.
| Person | Reported message | Emphasis |
|---|---|---|
| Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder | “Big congratulations to our 45th and now 47th President on an extraordinary political comeback and decisive victory,” followed by “No nation has bigger opportunities.” | The result and the country’s opportunities. |
| Mark Zuckerberg, Meta CEO | “Congratulations to President Trump on a decisive victory. We have great opportunities ahead of us as a country,” followed by “Looking forward to working with you and your administration.” | National opportunity and cooperation with the administration. |
| Tim Cook, Apple CEO | “Congratulations President Trump on your victory! We look forward to engaging with you and your administration.” | Engagement with the incoming administration. |
| Mark Cuban | “Congrats @realDonaldTrump. You won fair and square.” He also wrote, “Congrats to @elonmusk as well.” | Acknowledgment of the result, despite Cuban’s earlier endorsement of Kamala Harris. |
| Elon Musk, business leader and Trump backer | “It is morning in America again.” | The Guardian characterized the post as declaring victory for Musk himself; that is the outlet’s interpretation, not a statement of Musk’s stated intent. |
| Sundar Pichai, Google CEO | “We are in a golden age of American innovation and are committed to working with his administration to help bring the benefits to everyone.” | Innovation and working with the administration. |
The quotations and attributions above were reported by The Guardian and Axios on November 6, 2024.
Why the messages drew attention
Axios summarized the business leaders’ posts as signaling a willingness to collaborate with the incoming administration. It framed the posts as an early indication of how executives were positioning themselves toward a new government, amid policy uncertainty. Axios also reported that business leaders wary of possible retribution had been reaching out, attributing that context to its earlier reporting. That context does not establish why any particular person posted a congratulations or what they privately intended.
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The messages also came from people with different public relationships to Trump. Cuban had endorsed Harris, yet congratulated Trump after the result. Forbes Australia noted both praise and dissenting or qualified reactions in the posts it reviewed. The public messages therefore should not be read as evidence that all wealthy business figures agreed with one another or endorsed the same policies.
How the messages compare with 2020
The Guardian contrasted the 2024 congratulatory tone with public remarks after the 2020 election. Tim Cook called the January 6 insurrection a “shameful chapter in our nation’s history.” Zuckerberg said Trump should be responsible for his words. Bezos congratulated Joe Biden with a message that “Unity, empathy and decency are not characteristics of a bygone era.”
Those examples document a contrast in public messaging across two elections. They do not, on their own, explain why an individual’s words or tone changed, establish a private change of belief, or demonstrate a coordinated strategy.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the published numbers do—and do not—show
Published counts and sentiment estimates cover particular samples, platforms and time windows. They are not a census of billionaires’ views or a measure of public opinion.
| Figure | What it measured | How to read it |
|---|---|---|
| 13% of Fortune 100 CEOs | An OCR Network analysis, reported by Axios in 2024, of CEOs who had publicly addressed the election outcome on their personal LinkedIn or Twitter accounts. All but one in that group were from technology. | This is not the share of all Fortune 100 CEOs who congratulated Trump; the measure concerned CEOs who addressed the outcome. |
| More than 2,000 posts and 10 billion views | Forbes analysis of election-related posts from accounts it could identify among the richest 200 U.S. billionaires on X in 2024. | The figures apply to that identified-account sample and platform, not every billionaire or platform. |
| 49% of posts mentioning Trump categorized positive; 35% mentioning Harris | Forbes sentiment-model classifications of sampled posts as of midnight Wednesday after the election in 2024. | These are classifications of posts, not public opinion or proof that an account owner endorsed a candidate. |
| About three dozen billionaires had congratulated Trump | Forbes Australia’s count when its article was published November 8, 2024. | This was a count at publication, not a definitive tally across all billionaires and platforms. |
These measures come from distinct analyses, not a single shared dataset. The Fortune 100 CEO analysis concerns business leaders who may not be billionaires, while Forbes examined identifiable billionaire accounts on X. Forbes Australia’s count is also time-specific. For their methods and reporting, see Axios and Forbes Australia.
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