Trump 2.0 Billionaire Club: Who are they, what will be their role?

As Donald Trump gets sworn in as the 47^th President of the United States at 12 pm ET (10.30 pm IST) on Monday (January 20), he won't be the only super-rich American in the spotlight.

There is a group of billionaires hogging the headlines ahead of the inauguration. These are business magnates who have been generous in their contributions to Trump’s Republican campaign and are slated to be a part of his administration.

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Critics of the proposed Trump economic-policy team have questioned whether these billionaires will pursue policies to boost the American economy and help working families, or whether they will push for policies that benefit themselves and other super-rich people.

'Recipe for disaster'

“Billionaires making economic policy for working families is a recipe for disaster," said David Kass, Executive Director of Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF), in a report titled Billionaires Who Will Dominate Trump Economic Team Eager To Push Policies Making Themselves Even Richer.

"An economy and tax code that are already rigged to benefit the wealthy and well-connected will just be twisted more in their favour. At a time when Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, housing, education, and other services vital to average Americans are under threat, Trump’s proposed ‘Solid Gold’ economic team will be pushing tax cuts mostly for themselves and their friends that will run up almost $5 trillion in extra debt,” he added.

ATF is a coalition of over 400 endorsing organisations that seek to make the rich and big corporations "pay a fairer share of taxes".

Trump’s economic policy team

Elon Musk: The most prominent in the club is Elon Musk, the world’s wealthiest person and the founder of Tesla and SpaceX. Musk reportedly contributed a whopping $260 million to get Trump re-elected, according to CNN quoting filings with the Federal Election Commission. The President-elect has given the Tesla CEO, along with Vivek Ramaswamy, the mandate to oversee a new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) aimed at cutting government spending.

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Vivek Ramaswamy: An Indian-American biotech entrepreneur, author, and former presidential hopeful, Vivek Ramaswamy was educated at Harvard and Yale. He began his career in investment banking before founding Roivant Sciences, a biotech firm. He and Musk were given the responsibility to head DOGE, though the latest reports say that he may be backing out and may launch a gubernatorial campaign for Ohio.

Howard Lutnick: The chairman and CEO of Wall Street investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald, Howard Lutnick has been nominated by Trump for the position of Commerce Secretary. He served as the co-chair of the Trump transition team, and is a big supporter of Trump’s plan to raise tariffs on foreign goods. He has a net worth of $2 billion.

Scott Besent: A hedge-fund manager with a net worth of $1 billion, Besent has been nominated for the post of Treasury Secretary. He is backing a plan that includes reducing the annual federal budget deficit by more than half, or by about a trillion dollars, over the next four years.

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Paul Atkins: Trump’s nominee for the Securities and Exchange Commission Chair became a billionaire by marrying into a wealthy family. He previously served as an SEC Commissioner, during which time he pushed for lower regulation of businesses and markets. He is a strong supporter of cryptocurrency.

Kelly Loeffler: Kelly and her husband hold a $500 million stake in the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange. She has been nominated to head the Small Business Administration (SBA) by Trump.

Other billionaire backers

There are several other billionaires who have been generous donors to Trump in his successful bid for the presidency.

Timothy Mellon: An heir to an American fortune that dates back more than a century, Timothy Mellon, who otherwise maintains a low profile, donated $76.5 million to a pro-Trump PAC.

Linda McMahon: Linda and her husband Vince built World Wrestling Entertainment into a billion-dollar business. She served as the head of the Small Business Administration during Trump’s first term. She contributed $16 million to the campaign.

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Diane Hendricks: Celebrated as America’s richest self-made woman, Diane’s building materials company ABC Supply does an annual turnover of $20 billion. She donated $6.3 million to groups that supported Trump. “I know how hard it is to build a company from nothing. And we need a president who understands that too,” she said.

Miriam Adelson: Israeli-born Mirian Adelson is a medical doctor and the widow of casino magnate and long-time Republican megadonor Sheldon Adelson. She contributed $5.8 million to support Trump.

Kelcy Warren: His publicly-listed company Energy Transfer was helped by Trump during his first term in building the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline. With a net worth of $6.2 billion, Warren donated $5.8 million to Trump groups.

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Robert “Woody” Johnson: An heir to the Johnson & Johnson fortune, he served as the US ambassador to the United Kingdom during Trump’s first term. He donated $2.7 million to the Trump re-election campaign.

Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss: The identical twins best-known for claiming that Mark Zuckerberg stole their idea for Facebook, the Winklevoss twins contributed $2.6 billion to Trump groups. They co-founded the Gemini crypto exchange, and are part of a new wave of crypto enthusiasts who support Trump.