DR has gone through the guest list from Donald Trump’s White House state dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping, where technology executives filled much of the room.
The dinner took place in Washington on September 24, 2026, in honor of Xi Jinping. In its weekly business feature Millioner Milliarder, DR reviewed the guest list and the seating plan. The Danish broadcaster concluded that artificial intelligence was the dominant industry at the event.
At the head table sat Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, Xi and China’s first lady Peng Liyuan. They were joined by Elon Musk, the man behind Tesla and SpaceX, who was seated next to Melania Trump. AMD chief executive Lisa Su, Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang and Apple chairman Tim Cook also had seats at the table.
Several other technology leaders attended without a place at the president’s table. DR names Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella and Alphabet chief executive Sundar Pichai. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman and Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg were also present.
Other industries on the list
The guest list stretched beyond technology and artificial intelligence, DR reports. Pfizer chief executive Albert Bourla attended, as did Bernard Arnault, who heads the French group LVMH. LVMH owns the fashion houses Louis Vuitton and Dior.
The defense and aviation industries were represented as well. DR names Lockheed Martin chief executive Jim Taiclet, whose company produces the F-35 aircraft. Boeing chief executive Kelly Ortberg was also among the guests.
Other outlets published the same guest list. Reuters described the event as a black-tie dinner with a strong concentration of technology chief executives. Reuters also listed Cook, Bezos, Pichai, Altman, Musk and Huang among those invited.
The BBC reported that Cook, Huang and Musk sat at the same table as Trump and Xi. According to the BBC, officials, broadcasters and other corporate executives also attended. NPR reported on the dinner menu and listed further attendees.
The dinner formed part of Xi’s state visit to the United States. A White House statement released details of the dinner ahead of the event. It confirmed that Trump, Melania Trump, Xi and Peng Liyuan hosted the evening together.
In a separate statement published on September 25, 2026, the White House said the visit was Xi’s first to the White House in more than a decade. DR’s own conclusion after reviewing the photographs was that no industry currently ranks above artificial intelligence.
