Australian media billionaire Rupert Murdoch was spotted in the Oval Office on February 3 as President Donald Trump signed an executive order that could pave the way for a sovereign wealth fund to acquire a stake in TikTok.
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With Oracle tech titan Larry Ellison watching President Trump showered accolades on the 93-year-old media baron.
"Rupert is pretty much in a class by himself," President Trump said.
President Trump quipped Mr Ellison may "have a few more bucks" than Murdoch but he was an "amazing guy".
President Trump foreshadowed the wealth fund could acquire TikTok.
"We might put that in the sovereign wealth fund, whatever we make or we do a partnership with very wealthy people, a lot of options," he said of TikTok. "But we could put that as an example in the fund. We have a lot of other things that we could put in the fund."
Sovereign wealth funds invest in assets, such as stocks, bonds and real estate. They are typically funded by a country's budgetary surpluses, which the US currently does not have.
Trump noted many other nations have such investment funds and predicted that the US could eventually top Saudi Arabia's fund size, which is about $1.4 trillion AUD. "Eventually we'll catch it," he said.
with Australian Associated Press
Peter Angelopoulos
ACM's national digital news editor based in Melbourne is a reporter with more than two decades experience in senior editorial leadership roles across Asia at Reuters and NewsCorp. Reach out at peter.angelopoulos@austcommunitymedia.com.au.
