Davos Crowd Flocks to Ukraine House for Trump Inauguration Bash

(Bloomberg) -- As Donald Trump was inaugurated indoors in sub-zero temperatures in Washington, over on the snowy slopes of Davos the buzziest place to be watching his swearing in was none other than Ukraine House.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The vodka was flowing from champagne coupes decked out with American flags. Emblazoned on the front of the building — “Your Country First” — a twist on the MAGA refrain. Inside, the ceremony was broadcast on an over-sized screen against a backdrop of blue and yellow.

ADVERTISEMENT

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy — along with just about every other leader from the corporate and political world — has gone all in on Trump. That was the vibe in the chilly night air as things kicked off at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort town.

Earlier in the day, a panel talk on Trump’s triumphant return kicked off the program for the annual pilgrimage of the rich and powerful to the Swiss Alps. Another live topic was Elon Musk’s X platform and how it’s being deployed in politics.

The clamor around the inauguration an ocean away shows how closely the business elite have tuned into Trump. He is due to address Davos attendees remotely later this week and organizers have made clear he — and Musk — are more than welcome to join in person next year.

“Congratulations,” Salesforce Inc. CEO Marc Benioff, a Davos attendee this year and a member of the WEF’s board of trustees, said in a post Monday to Trump. “Godspeed.”

Former billionaire Davos participants Mark Zuckerberg and Cantor Fitzgerald Chairman Howard Lutnick – Trump’s commerce secretary pick – stayed in the US this year to attend the swear-in ceremony.

ADVERTISEMENT

Other US business leaders including Lazard Inc. CEO Peter Orszag and top employees from consulting giant McKinsey, however, were already on the ground in Davos by late Monday afternoon along with Saudi Arabia billionaire Lubna Olayan. Overall, business leaders and investors worth more than $120 billion are due to descend on Davos this week, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

All along the promenade, Davos delegates were tuning in. At a crowded restaurant near the main WEF building, some even huddled together around smartphones to watch. At a packed Ukraine House, attendants enjoyed canapes after the live-stream.

Along the streets outside WEF buildings, scores of businesses and nations have taken over local premises for the week, trying to draw in crowds with giveaways, from Mongolian tea to green scarves and lip balm.

But on that first evening in Davos, the “Phoenix Rising” cocktail served by the Ukrainian delegation — immediately after Trump’s speech — was the hot ticket.

--With assistance from Dinesh Nair.

ADVERTISEMENT

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

©2025 Bloomberg L.P.