The Saudi crown prince accused of hacking Jeff Bezos' phone met with more than a dozen tech execs and celebs during the same US trip. From Tim Cook to Oprah, here's everyone Mohammed bin Salman met with.
REUTERS/Amir Levy
There's a chance Apple CEO Tim Cook, Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, and venture capitalist Peter Thiel are having their phones examined right about now after fresh reports about the hacking of Jeff Bezos' phone.
A forensic analysis commissioned by Bezos suggests that it was likely his phone was hacked in May 2018 via a file sent from a WhatsApp account used by Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, according to reports in the Guardian and the Financial Times.
The hacking attack came just weeks after Bezos, the CEO of Amazon and owner of The Washington Post, met in person with bin Salman during the crown prince's tour of Silicon Valley and the US. The two swapped phone numbers during a dinner meeting and later connected on WhatsApp.
But Bezos wasn't the only tech luminary or celebrity who met with bin Salman on his three-week tour. So too did Cook, Page, Brin, Thiel, and plenty of others. There is no evidence that their phones were also compromised, but given the stunning allegations about how Bezos' phone was hacked, it's not unreasonable to wonder whether others may have swapped phone numbers with the crown prince and could be at risk.
The Saudi US embassy called the allegations of hacking "absurd" in a tweet on Tuesday.
Here are some of the tech executives and other notable figures who met with the Saudi crown prince on his 2018 trip, according to The New York Times:
Google cofounders Sergey Brin and Larry Page
Saudi EmbassyGoogle CEO Sundar Pichai
Saudi EmbassyHiroshi Lockheimer, head of Google's Android and Chrome divisions
Saudi EmbassyVenture capitalist Peter Thiel
Saudi EmbassyAn assortment of other venture capitalists and tech leaders, including Sam Altman and Vinod Khosla.
Saudi EmbassyApple CEO Tim Cook
mofa.gov.saApple's executive team, including chief operating officer Jeff Williams
Saudi EmbassyAnd Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates
ReutersBut bin Salman didn't just meet with tech titans. He also met with executives from other industries, including media tycoon Rupert Murdoch.
ReutersAnd Virgin Group founder Richard Branson.
Getty ImagesBloomberg founder Michael Bloomberg
Bandar Algaloud/Saudi Kingdom Council/Anadolu Agency/Getty ImagesAMC CEO Adam Aron
Amy Sussman/FilmMagicAnd he met with plenty of celebrities, including Oprah.
AppleMichael Douglas
APMorgan Freeman
Getty/Dimitrios KambourisAnd Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson
Jeff Spicer/Getty
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