Why crossed so many CEO paths with Trump in the Middle East, from Sam Altman to Jensen Huang

President Trump's journey to the Middle East this week freely mixed and diplomatically mixed freely when he came across over 60 CEOs and executives to the United Arab Emirates (VAE) during his whirlwind trip to Qatar.

Many big names appeared during an early stop at the Royal Court of Saudi Arabia, which was at least 19 top CEOs -from Openai's (Opai.pvt) Sam Altman to the Nvidia (NVDA) Jensen Huang to Citigroups (c) Jane Fraser.

Another wave of CEOs joined at the end of the trip, with an Array Trump saw on Friday at breakfast in US/UAE Business Council.

When he prepared to return to Washington, Trump emblazoned the investments to reporters and then claimed by the companies: “They do work that would not have been made available to them apart from November 5th.

The visits to these CEOs were continuous when the president tried to use a wave of enthusiasm in terms of artificial intelligence in the region. He also encouraged all types of investments in the United States and the Middle East, while he crossed the ethical limits of his own business business.

The focus on AI was particularly striking, and Trump mingled with AI executives to open his trips and then finished things on Thursday with the basic breaker of a “Ki campus” in Abu Dhabi.

The trip was also an opportunity to re -emphasize the influence of Elon Musk, which again occurred to Trump's side of several stops.

A consistent message from Trump during the entire trip was to increase business investments.

During a stopover in Saudi Arabia, he welcomed a region in which he said to forge “a future forging in which the Middle East is defined by trade, not by chaos; where it exports technology, not terrorism; and people in different nations, religions and cities build cities together – do not bomb from existence.”

What Trump's excessive efforts will be fulfilled in the coming years remains to be seen, but the trip has increased several share prices for this week.

The Baing (BA) parts reached 52-week heights after CEO Kelly Ortberg had come to Trump with several stops and then announced a large aircraft regulations from Qatar Airways.

Trump also facilitated the restrictions of exports for artificial intelligence chip exports to Saudi Arabia during a meeting with Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who helped the price of the Nvidia jump.

President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman will be in Riad, Saudi Arabia on May 13th, for a photo with managing directors. The guests included Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, Jensen Huang and Alphabet -Chief Investment Officer Ruth Porat. (Win McNamee/Getty Images) · Win McNamee via Getty Images

The focus on semiconductors and artificial intelligence was perhaps the biggest focus of the excited journey.

“The relationship between the United States and the Golf has changed in the past 10 years,” Mohammed Soliman remarked in a performance in Yahoo Finance and increasingly described the region as “very powerful player in the AI ecosystem worldwide”.

Other CEOs said concerns about the global economy after Trump's trade war, with the CEO of Blackrock (BLK), Larry Fink, said in a Saudi-US investment forum during his trip that trade uncertainty is still holding back western investors.

Others in the forum were more optimistic, and Fraser from Citigroup said volatility was an opportunity to “use the moment”.

This week, Tesla (TSLA) and Space CEO Elon Musk also saw the world in its ongoing proximity to Trump.

The richest man in the world appeared in several countries with Trump, even after his latest announcement that he would shorten his time in Washington.

Elon Musk, Center, shakes the hand with the Minister of Commerce Howard Lutnick, since on Tuesday, May 13, 2025, in Riad, Saudi Arabia, they look at a model of a city under construction. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) — Figure like Larry Fink von Blackrock, Teslas Elon Musk, Blackstones Stephen Schwarzman, is seen with the Minister of Commerce Howard Lutnick and the finance minister Scott Bessent in Riad, Saudi -Arabia on May 13th. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) · Associated Press

One of Musk's appearance was at the head table during a state dinner in Qatar next to Blackstone (BX) CEO Stephen Schwarzman. Musk's business interests were also part of the formal ceremonies themselves, with the red Tesla cyber trucks contributing to accompanying Trump's presidential autocolonna in Doha.

The topic of business investments was repeated again and again and even got up in unexpected places.

The economic development was during a surprising meeting with the President of Syria, according to reports the first encounter between the leaders of the two nations in 25 years.

Trump announced that he would raise economic sanctions against the nation, and the official summary of the White House said that the meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa had expressed hope of increased trade when he “invited American companies to invest in Syrian oil and gas”.

During a subsequent back and forth with reporters, the president did not even refuse the concept of new relationships with Syria, which led to a potential Trump tower in Damascus and said: “We have to wait a while until things calm down.”

A Qatarian police, Tesla Cyber Truck, escorted the carolonne of the US President Donald Trump from Hamad International Airport towards Royal Palace in Doha on May 14, 2025. Trump landed at Hamad International Airport in Doha, whereby the relationship between the two governments in the spotlight about the offer of Qatar for a 400 dollar -luxury aircraft in the spotlight. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP) (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP via Getty Images) — A Tesla Cybertruck, which belongs to the Qatar police, escorted President Trump's car column on May 14th in Doha (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images) · Brendan Smialowski about Getty Images

It was a symbol of a trip that critics said that the ethical boundaries between Trump's public duties and personal interests, with Trump's companies (which he still owns) actively involved in business transactions this week.

There were questions about every leg.

It began with questions about Trump's business relationship with LIV Golf, which is financed by Saudi Arabia's sovereign asset fund.

Then his second stop in Qatar emphasized his plans to accept a luxury jet from Qatar, which the president's library wants to take control after the office was completed.

Trump's third stop in the United Arab Emirates emphasized how a fund supported by the government of Abu Dhabi reported reported an investment of 2 billion US dollars with the digital coin of the Trump family.

Trump and his adjutants repeatedly waved the concerns and said that his entire focus was on the increase in the US economy when he announced a deal after the deal, including what the White House says that it is an obligation of 600 billion US dollars for investments in the USA from Saudi Arabia and a promise of $ 1.2 trillion from Qatar and other 200 -Milliarden -Us -dollar acts in new US/UAE treatises.

This post has been updated.

Ben Werschkul is a Washington correspondent at Yahoo Finance.

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