- In today’s CEO Daily: Diane Brady with President Trump at FII in Miami.
- The big story: Trump v the World.
- The markets: Another all-time high.
- Analyst notes from JP Morgan (on Bumble), Wedbush (on semiconductor tariffs), Convera (on Trump and the dollar), Wedbush (on DeepSeek and Nvidia).
- Plus: All the news and watercooler chat from Fortune.
Good morning from the FII Priority Summit in Miami. President Trump spoke here yesterday in a far-ranging speech where he called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “modestly successful comedian,” expressed frustration with Boeing, proposed paying Americans a “DOGE dividend,” and recited colorful examples of government waste, among other things. Click here to see what he said.
What’s interesting is where he said it—and why. This is the annual U.S. gathering of the Future Investment Initiative Institute, a nonprofit foundation backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. Its flagship event is typically held every October in Riyadh. Trump is the first U.S. president to address FII, which brings together leaders to discuss innovation, investing, and global trends. Trump’s family has ties to the kingdom through son-in-law Jared Kushner’s private equity firm. And Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman recently pledged to invest $600 billion in the U.S. over the next four years. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other senior officials were in Riyadh earlier this week for talks with their Russian counterparts on ending the war in Ukraine.
The kingdom’s importance as a source and destination for capital was evident in the other attendees present. Elon Musk had a front-row seat for the speech, along with Kushner, Oracle CEO Safra Catz, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, Dina Powell McCormick of BDT & MSD Partners, and other business leaders, especially in finance, tech, and real estate. Also in attendance: Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, FII Institute’s Richard Attias, Saudi Ambassador Princess Reema Bandar Al-Saud and PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan (who is on the inaugural list of Fortune’s 100 Most Powerful People in Business.
Among the people I spoke with afterwards, reactions were mixed. There was widespread opposition to the president’s stance on Ukraine and calls for more specifics about U.S. policy in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East. But there was also optimism about Trump’s continued focus on cutting regulation and taxes. “If he could back off on geopolitics and focus on clearing a path for innovation, this could be a golden age,” said one finance CEO.
Michael Saylor, who has amassed 478,740 bitcoins through Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), thinks it’s already here. During our fireside discussion yesterday, Saylor said Trump’s support for Bitcoin could spur more demand and a stronger ecosystem around Bitcoin. Even without Trump’s support, Saylor will continue to buy.
More news below.
Contact CEO Daily via Diane Brady, diane.brady@fortune.com, LinkedIn.
