The motley crew of billionaires tagging along on Trump's China visit

As Donald Trump landed in Beijing this morning, he brought along an entourage of family, business leaders and billionaires.

Put together, the group aboard Air Force One had a combined net worth of well more than a trillion dollars.

Elon Musk is joining the delegation despite an order from a judge that he be ready to be recalled to testify in a civil case between himself and tech company OpenAI.

NBC News reported Musk did not get permission from the judge to leave the country as the trial continues.

As a consequence, the Tesla CEO could find himself in serious trouble if he is called to take the stand again and he doesn't show up.

Also on the trip are bosses of Apple, Boeing, Meta, Mastercard, Visa, Goldman Sachs and Micron, as well as many others.

And NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang was a last-minute invitee, boarding Air Force One as it refuelled in Alaska.

In a Truth Social post, Trump lashed reporting from CNBC that stated Huang had not been invited.

"In actuality, Jensen is currently on Air Force One and, unless I ask him to leave, which is highly unlikely, CNBC's reporting is incorrect or, as they say in politics, FAKE NEWS!" Trump said.

It is not apparent if CNBC reported the purported snub before or after Huang was added to the guest list.

In his post, Trump made it clear why the leaders were joining him in China.

"It is an Honour to have Jensen, Elon, Tim Apple, Larry Fink, Stephen Schwarzmann, Kelly Ortberg (Boeing), Brian Sikes (Cargill), Jane Fraser (Citi), Larry Culp (GE Aerospace), David Solomon (Goldman Sachs), Sanjay Mehrotra (Micron), Cristiano Amon (Qualcomm), and many others journeying to the Great Country of China where I will be asking President Xi, a Leader of extraordinary distinction, to 'open up' China so that these brilliant people can work their magic, and help bring the People's Republic to an even higher level! In fact, I promise, that when we are together, which will be in a matter of hours, I will make that my very first request," he wrote midflight.

Trump once again referred to Apple CEO Tim Cook as Tim Apple, a gaffe he was widely mocked for during his first term.

It is not certain whether he was repeating his mistake or making a wry joke with today's misnaming.

The various business leaders will be hoping to be making deals of their own while they are in China.

While it is not unusual for CEOs to tag along on US presidents' foreign visits, this is a particularly big delegation of billionaires.

But Trump has a long history of surrounding himself with business titans.

At his second inauguration, billionaires like Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos were given front-row seats, in front of Trump's own cabinet.

The US delegation will be hoping to restore profitable relationships with China after a major falling out between the two countries.

Trump's Liberation Day tariffs led to a chilling of relations with China.

Last year, Chinese purchases of American exports dropped by 25 per cent. Chinese spending on American products has halved since 2017.

The US delegation will be hoping to see China buy more of their planes and agricultural equipment.

China, meanwhile, is seeking for the US to open up their market to their electric cars.

Musk may want to be close to Trump during the trip to make sure that doesn't happen.

Despite their successes in the EV market elsewhere, including Australia, Chinese EVs are prohibited from the US.

Also joining the delegation is director Brett Ratner, who will reportedly scout locations for the upcoming movie Rush Hour 4.

The disgraced filmmaker was directly asked by Trump to make another sequel of the buddy cop comedy.

Ratner had not directed a movie since 2014, after which he was accused of sexual assault and harassment by six women.

He made his comeback with the documentary Melania this year.

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The motley crew of billionaires tagging along on Trump’s China visit