Apple CEO Tim Cook attended a White House dinner that U.S. President Donald Trump arranged for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, reports The New York Times.
The dinner marked Prince Mohammed's first visit to the United States since the October 2018 murder of author and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency determined that the prince ordered the killing at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Ahead of the dinner, U.S. President Donald Trump defended the prince and said "A lot of people didn't like that gentleman that you're talking about," when responding to a question from a reporter that asked about Khashoggi.
Cook previously met Prince Mohammed in April 2018 to discuss education and app development opportunities in Saudi Arabia. Apple has since invested $2 billion in Saudi Arabian companies, and Cook last visited the country in December 2024.
Apple launched an online store in Saudi Arabia in July 2025, and it plans to open retail locations in the country in 2026.
Other tech attendees included X CEO Elon Musk, Dell CEO Michael Dell, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, and AMD CEO Linda Su.
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