Trump Takes Billionaire Powerhouse to China — Delegation's Combined Wealth Exceeds GDP of Most Nations

The business delegation flying to China with President Donald Trump this week carries a combined personal fortune of roughly £639 billion ($868 billion), based on Forbes data, Bloomberg estimates and SEC filings. Their combined wealth is larger than the GDP of countries like Sweden, Belgium and Argentina.

The roster, confirmed by a White House official on 11 May, reads like a roll call of American corporate power: Tesla's Elon Musk (£597 billion / $811 billion per Forbes), Blackstone's Stephen Schwarzman (£37 billion / $50 billion per Forbes), Apple's Tim Cook (£2.1 billion / $2.9 billion per Forbes) and BlackRock's Larry Fink (£957 million / $1.3 billion per Forbes), alongside the chiefs of Boeing, Goldman Sachs, Citi, Visa, Mastercard, Qualcomm, Micron, GE Aerospace, Cargill, Coherent, Illumina and Meta, CNBC reported.

Additional publicly disclosed executive wealth tied to SEC filings and equity holdings includes Goldman Sachs chief David Solomon at an estimated $200 million, GE Aerospace boss H. Lawrence Culp Jr. at roughly $300–400 million, Visa CEO Ryan McInerney at up to $186 million and Boeing chief Kelly Ortberg with holdings estimated as high as $88 million based on insider filings and stock disclosures.

Trump had been stoking what Semafor described as 'corporate FOMO' among executives in the weeks before the trip, dropping offhand remarks to business leaders, suggesting he would see them in Beijing.

Boeing, Soybeans and Rare Earths on the Table

Reports say the trip is built around deals. Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg is expected to finalise negotiations on up to 500 737 MAX jets for Chinese airlines, with a separate widebody package of roughly 100 Dreamliners and 777X aircraft under discussion for a later date.

It would be China's first major Boeing purchase since 2017 and could represent the single largest aircraft transaction in history. China was the first country to ground the MAX in 2019 after two fatal crashes, and deliveries slowed further as tariffs and political disputes disrupted aerospace trade. In the intervening years, Airbus locked up roughly £40 billion ($55 billion) in Chinese orders at list prices, according to Simple Flying.

Beyond aviation, China is reportedly expected to announce purchases of American soybeans and energy products. The two sides are also discussing extending a trade truce struck last autumn that keeps rare earth minerals flowing from China to the United States, a senior US official told Reuters.

Washington is additionally said to be floating plans for a new Board of Trade and Board of Investment to manage two-way commercial flows.

Nvidia Snubbed as White House Picks Aviation Over Chips

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, whose fortune tops £74 billion ($100 billion), was left off the list. The White House opted to prioritise agriculture and commercial aviation over semiconductors for this particular summit, Reuters reported. Oil and gas chiefs were also absent, with the global energy sector under pressure from Iran's war-related supply disruptions.

General Motors, Disney and Alphabet—all companies with significant China exposure—were also missing. Cisco's Chuck Robbins was invited but could not attend due to earnings.

Iran Conflict Shadows the Summit

The state visit, running from 14 to 15 May, was originally planned for April but pushed back because of the war with Iran. Global oil markets and supply chains remain volatile, and reports said the conflict gives Beijing potential leverage in negotiations. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said in April that China had assured the White House it would not transfer weapons, including surface-to-air missiles, to Iran.

Trump told reporters on Monday: 'I have a great relationship with President Xi. We're doing a lot of business, but it's smart business.' Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent struck a similar note. 'I expect great stability in the relationship,' he said, per the Associated Press. 'But that doesn't mean our trade deficit can't continue dropping.'

It is Trump's first visit to China since 2017. He will attend a state banquet on Thursday evening before a working lunch with Xi on Friday. White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said both leaders will discuss energy, aerospace and agriculture, and that Trump 'doesn't travel anywhere without bringing deliverables home.'