The 32-person guest list includes major technology and private equity players like Trump's first buddy, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, BlackRock CEO Stephen Schwarzman, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. At the end of the list, Miamians may notice a name that hits very close to home.
Buried at the end of the guest list is Miami's very own Francis Suarez. The Miami mayor is the lone sitting U.S. elected official appearing on the exclusive list.
While those outside the Miami area may be surprised to see a local U.S. mayor like Suarez attending such a high-brow lunch across the world, the local media here in the Magic City isn't quite shocked. Over the last few years, Suarez has worked to help open up U.S. investment and economic opportunities for the Kingdom as the regime tries to whitewash its reputation for violating human rights.
Suarez is also listed as one of the 125 speakers at the Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum in Riyadh on Tuesday. The forum's media kit says the event will bring together "major" American and Saudi investors to explore new opportunities in energy, infrastructure, technology, financial services, and healthcare.Upon his arrival, President Trump is attending a big lunch here in Riyadh which has quite the guest list, including Elon Musk, Larry Fink, Sam Altman, Andy Jassy and Reid Hoffman, to name a few. pic.twitter.com/jLSi3Uhlz0
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) May 13, 2025
"The Saudi–U.S. Investment Forum sets the story of expansion and transformation as the Kingdom accelerates its economic diversification," the event's media kit reads."The Forum intends to highlight the growing investment ecosystem within the Kingdom and the opportunities for Saudi–U.S. partnership."
In the event's promotional materials, Suarez is identified as the Miami mayor, not a private attorney for the international litigation firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, where Suarez works. He is the only local U.S. government elected official speaking at the event, which features Musk, FIFA President Gianni Infantino, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury H.E. Scott Bessent, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, CNBC anchor Sarah Eisen, and several Saudi officials and business leaders.
For the third consecutive year, in February, Suarez spoke at the Saudi sovereign wealth fund's Future Investment Initiative (FII) Institute Priority conference—the trade summit he helped bring to Miami in 2023. Using the City of Miami seal and his public position as mayor, Suarez has brought legitimacy to the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF). Suarez's employer, Quinn Emanuel, represents the PIF.
After speaking at this year's conference, the mayor, alongside the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the U.S. and the Kingdom's minister of investment, His Excellency (H.E.) Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih announced that the Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia is opening an office in Miami. He also thanked Suarez for believing in Saudi Arabia's "equity story."
"The mayor has been coming for a number of years," Al-Falih said on stage. "I met him for the first time in Jeddah, and then we went to Riyadh. He met his royal highness, and he's been a regular visitor."
Aside from his involvement with the FII Institute, Suarez has appeared at other events in Saudi Arabia. In December 2024, he spoke virtually at the International MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) Summit, which the Saudi Conventions & Exhibitions General Authority hosted to help develop the country's business tourism. He was the only sitting U.S. elected official who spoke at the conference.
Last August, the mayor was spotted in the front row at the Esports World Cup closing ceremony in Riyadh.
