Musk & Fink Touch Down in Riyadh—Saudi Mega-Fund Pitch Begins
Saudi Arabia rolls out the red carpet—literally—for two of finance’s most polarizing figures. Elon Musk (Tesla, X) and Larry Fink (BlackRock) confirmed for the kingdom’s flagship investment summit next week.
Why it matters: The desert kingdom’s $900B sovereign wealth fund wants tech and crypto heavyweights to bankroll its Vision 2030 pivot. Musk’s SpaceX and Neuralink could land contracts; Fink’s Bitcoin ETF might get a Saudi endorsement.
Between the lines: This is a play for legitimacy. After the Khashoggi scandal, Saudi needs Western capital. Musk and Fink? They’ll ignore human rights concerns if the check clears. (See: Tesla’s China factory.)
Bottom line: When oil money meets Silicon Valley hype, due diligence tends to evaporate. Just ask SoftBank’s Vision Fund investors.
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, Elon Musk, and Mark Zuckerberg to attend investor conference in Saudi Arabia to boost US investments. pic.twitter.com/JZELYQfNgh
— Watcher.Guru (@WatcherGuru) May 6, 2025
Other guests will include OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg, and White House Crypto Czar David Sacks. US President Donald Trump will also reportedly fly to the Middle East to meet with regional heads of state in the UAE and Qatar. Trump is expected to arrive in Saudi Arabia on May 13 and hold bilateral meetings. The summit is planned for the morning of May 14.
The CEOs and representatives from the US government will look to round up more investments from Saudi Arabia into the US, according to NYP. “This is going to be MAGA in the desert. It is ultimately about creating jobs in the US,” one source told NYP. The US corporate CEOs attending will work to seal agreements on everything from defense, AI, tech, and healthcare cooperation worth at least $600 billion.
According to a leaked invitation for the conference obtained by The Post, the forum will “provide an exclusive opportunity to deepen engagement, unlock new investment avenues, and reaffirm our long-standing economic partnership.” The leaked invitation also promises “strategic dialogues with Saudi ministers and senior US government and business leaders.”
Other attendees include ex-Google financial chief Ruth Porat, Palantir CEO Alex Karp, and PIMCO’s Emmanuel Roman. Those three will reportedly take part in panels and roundtable discussions at the Saudi Arabia investor conference.
