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Amazon founder Jeff Bezos met privately with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House last week, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. The one-on-one meeting, which lasted over an hour, took place during a crucial period of shifting alliances in the tech world and rising competition in the space and satellite sectors.
The meeting, first reported by CNBC, took place behind closed doors, with no official agenda or press release shared by either party. Two individuals with direct knowledge of the event, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the discussion was “substantive” and reflected improving relations between Bezos and the Trump administration.
Amazon declined to comment on the meeting, and a representative for Bezos did not immediately respond to media inquiries.
Flight data reviewed by aviation tracker Jack Sweeney showed a Gulfstream G700—linked to Bezos—landing at Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C., on July 14, with departure logged the following day.
Bezos and Trump were once locked in a highly public feud, largely due to Bezos’s ownership of The Washington Post, a publication frequently critical of Trump’s first-term policies. But that friction appears to have cooled significantly during Trump’s second term.
In January, Bezos joined other tech leaders on stage during Trump’s second inauguration after donating $1 million to the inauguration committee. The Trump administration later praised Bezos for shifting The Washington Post’s editorial focus toward “personal liberties and free markets.”
In April, Trump publicly called Bezos “terrific” and “a good guy,” referencing a private assurance from the billionaire that Amazon would not pass tariff-related surcharges onto consumers—a move applauded by the White House.
This meeting also comes amid a dramatic breakdown in Trump’s relationship with Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX. Musk, who previously spent more than $250 million to support Trump’s re-election campaign and led a government efficiency task force, has seen ties with the White House sour in recent months.
Industry insiders suggest that Bezos has seized the opportunity to align more closely with the Trump administration, particularly in areas where Amazon’s Blue Origin and Project Kuiper compete directly with Musk’s SpaceX and Starlink initiatives.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Bezos has spoken with Trump on multiple occasions this year, and Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp has made trips to the White House to discuss topics such as federal aerospace contracts, digital infrastructure, and satellite broadband services.
While the precise content of the Bezos–Trump conversation remains undisclosed, sources close to the matter say government contracts and policy directions were likely key topics. With billions of dollars at stake in upcoming space, defense, and digital infrastructure projects, both Blue Origin and SpaceX are competing for lucrative federal deals.
A recent contract opportunity for low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite internet—a sector where Amazon’s Project Kuiper and Musk’s Starlink are direct competitors—is expected to be one of the most contested in the coming years.
The private White House meeting between Jeff Bezos and Donald Trump underscores the evolving dynamics between Big Tech and Washington. As Elon Musk’s relationship with the administration falters, Bezos appears to be maneuvering into a more favorable position—one that could shape the future of U.S. space policy, e-commerce regulation, and international tech investment.
With no official details released, and neither party offering public comments, the conversation’s long-term implications may only become clear as federal contract awards and tech legislation unfold in the months ahead.