This essay was featured in the January 24, 2025 edition of the 500 Digest newsletter, which compiles the week’s most significant business news headlines and coverage of 500 companies.
What is the experience of a 500 CEO during the second Trump administration? This question is posed whenever the author meets with such executives in private, including at a gathering of a half-dozen CEOs where Trump and his associates were prominently present.
Across five recent discussions, the responses have been notably consistent: the current president is seen as pro-business, a welcome shift from the previous administration. One CEO commented, “It feels like he wants us to win.”
This sentiment was evident in Davos, where the president hosted dozens of leading CEOs for an extended dinner and networking event following his Wednesday evening address. Furthermore, the American economy has undeniably been thriving, partly fueled by the AI race, with markets rising and GDP growth surpassing expectations to reach 4.4% in Q3 of the previous year.
However, this does not imply that all CEOs endorse the president’s methods or rhetoric (one executive suggested to the author that CEOs should view it as a “silent movie”). Nevertheless, the overarching strategy—that the U.S. government could benefit from a more business-oriented mindset and private-public collaboration—might prove effective.
The United States stands as the global hub of capitalism, home to the world’s foremost innovators and, consequently, the highest number of the wealthiest billionaires. Yet, the nation simultaneously grapples with an escalating national debt, a severe wealth disparity, and an impending AI revolution poised to initially displace lower-wage jobs.
If one were to consider the U.S. as a business in need of a financial turnaround, what actions would a crisis CEO take? Such a leader would discard conventional approaches, assess operations, eliminate inefficiencies, pursue new opportunities, and swiftly work to stabilize the enterprise, disregarding critics.
The concept of a CEO-president is an ongoing experiment, observed firsthand as Trump challenges boundaries, including legal ones; explores new revenue streams like tariffs; advocates for equity investments instead of government subsidies; and aggressively advances his agenda with a rapid, high-stakes approach to America’s future, the outcome of which remains uncertain.
There is also the complex issue of defining the boundary between what benefits America, what benefits businesses, and what benefits the president personally, with these interests often overlapping ambiguously.
Our latest issue of delves into his approach and these questions, offering an analysis of how President Trump draws upon his dealmaking background to manage his role as if he were the CEO of USA Inc.
We also provided an inside look at one of the Trump family’s ventures, , as he aims to become a major global player in Bitcoin mining and holdings, while consciously separating his cryptocurrency initiatives from his father’s. (Eric stated to that Donald Trump “has no involvement in our crypto business.” He added, “This is a company that I run, and he does a great job running the United States of America.”)
Additionally, you will find a profile of (whom the author interviewed in Davos for an upcoming episode of the vodcast, 500 Titans and Disruptors), along with our 28th , where executives across the 500 cast votes for their most admired peers.
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