--- title: Trump's Low-Key Inauguration Will Be the Most Expensive in History description: Previous inaugurations have featured A-list artist performers like Bob Dylan, Beyonce, Bruce Springsteen, and Michael Jackson. Trump has B-list performers, but record-high costs. authors: - name: Brad Tuttle role: Senior Editor url: https://money.com/author/brad-tuttle/ bio: Brad Tuttle is a former senior editor at Money with over 10 years’ experience covering a vast number of personal finance topics, including careers, cars, travel, budgeting, investing, insurance, credit cards, consumer psychology, real estate, banking, and shopping and deals. education: Columbia University School of Journalism, MS at_money_since: 2014 articles: 366 covers: - Economy and Politics - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology social: - https://twitter.com/bradrtuttle - https://linkedin.com/in/brad-tuttle-834b225 former_staff: true published: '2017-01-18T16:50:18.000Z' modified: '2024-04-17T05:01:20.000Z' section: Economy and Politics tags: - inauguration day - politics - Taxes - taxpayers - trump word_count: 565 canonical: https://money.com/trump-inauguration-costs-obama-bush-performers/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Trump Attends D.C. Dinner Aimed At Meeting With Foreign Diplomats](https://img.money.com/2017/01/trumpinaugurationcost-em-631932276.jpg) In 1993, the inauguration festivities welcoming [Bill Clinton as president](http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1993-01-18/news/1993018135_1_lincoln-memorial-luther-vandross-lincoln-portrait) could have doubled as a Rock 'N Roll Hall of Fame celebration, with performances by Diana Ross, Bob Dylan, Michael Jackson, and Aretha Franklin. At other inaugurations over the years, the performers have included a mix of [hot pop stars and music legends,](https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/inauguration-performances-werent-always-so-contentious-highlights-from-the-last-75-years/2017/01/11/33de4cc2-d5e9-11e6-9a36-1d296534b31e_story.html) with appearances by Ricky Martin, 98 Degrees, Bruce Springsteen, Garth Brooks, Beyonce, Kelly Clarkson, Ray Charles, and Frank Sinatra. It's been [widely reported](https://time.com/4609263/celebrities-on-donald-trump-inauguration-performance/) that the 2017 inauguration of Donald J. Trump will stand out from the pack because of the absence of A-list artists, with multiple high-profile musicians turning down the opportunity to perform. But that's not the only way Trump's inauguration will be different: The festivities will also, curiously, cost more than previous ceremonies—despite a relatively short parade, far fewer celebrities, and fewer gala balls. In fact, artists are generally not paid for performing at inaugurations. So it's not like the bill for the Trump celebration will be high because Toby Keith and 3 Doors Down—two high-profile acts who've agreed to play—are receiving huge paychecks. What's more, Trump is only expected to attend three "low-key" gala balls, according to [*Reuters*](http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-inauguration-pageantry-idUSKBN151340), compared with an average of 10 during a more typical inauguration year. Why, then, is the Trump inauguration expected to cost so much? The *[New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/17/us/politics/trump-who-pays-for-inauguration-cost.html),* which estimated that the inauguration is likely to run over $200 million, finds that by far the event's biggest expense is security. Well over $100 million could be spent just on that line item, with some 28,000 local, state, and federal personnel on hand to keep everyone safe. The costs of inaugurations are covered by a mix of private and public money. Trump's inaugural committee has raised a $90 million from corporations and individuals, which is roughly double the previous high for inauguration donations. The [*Wall Street Journal*](http://www.wsj.com/articles/chairmans-global-dinner-most-exclusive-event-preceding-trump-inauguration-1484571781) reported that individuals writing $1 million checks for the inauguration are getting "plenty of perks" in terms of access to the administration, including "dinner with \[Vice President Mike\] Pence, a lunch with select cabinet employees, and tickets to one of about 1,500 seats at a candlelight dinner" with an appearance by President Trump and his wife, Melania. Beyond that, taxpayer dollars will be used to cover the rest of Trump's inauguration costs—some $100 million or so. How does that compare to recent inaugurations? Conservatives [complained in 2009 that Obama's inauguration](http://www.factcheck.org/2009/01/comparing-inauguration-costs/) events were much more expensive than those of George W. Bush, but in fact the total costs were comparable. For that matter, even though Trump's inauguration will be the most expensive in history, the costs won't be absurd compared to previous price tags. Obama's 2009 inauguration was estimated to [cost $170 million](http://abcnews.go.com/Business/Inauguration/president-obama-inauguration-cost-170-million/story?id=6665946), or $190 million today after factoring in inflation, and the federal government paid [over $100 million just for security](https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/how-much-does-an-inauguration-cost-and-who-pays-for-what/2016/12/13/d7c1fe96-be48-11e6-91ee-1adddfe36cbe_story.html) during the 2005 and 2009 inaugurations. It's just too bad that Trump, who boasts of being a [star negotiator](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/821365569366671360), [couldn't have worked out a better deal](http://fortune.com/2016/07/19/donald-trump-negotiating-the-art-of-the-deal/) for taxpayers—especially because the 2017 inauguration will feature so much less action and A-list star power. Then again, a big reason why inauguration weekend crowds will be so large, and why security costs will be so high as a result, is that Washington, D.C., is expected to be flooded with Trump protestors. Speaking of which, that's another significant way the Trump inauguration will stand out from previous celebrations. ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/trump-inauguration-costs-obama-bush-performers/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Economy and Politics", "item": "https://money.com/economy-and-politics/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Elections", "item": "https://money.com/elections/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Trump's Low-Key Inauguration Will Be the Most Expensive in History" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/trump-inauguration-costs-obama-bush-performers/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/trump-inauguration-costs-obama-bush-performers/", "name": "Trump's Low-Key Inauguration Will Be the Most Expensive in History", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2017-01-18T16:50:18.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/trump-inauguration-costs-obama-bush-performers/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/trump-inauguration-costs-obama-bush-performers/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2024-04-17T05:01:20.000Z" }, { "@type": "Article", "headline": "Trump's Low-Key Inauguration Will Be the Most Expensive in History", "articleSection": "Economy and Politics", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2017/01/trumpinaugurationcost-em-631932276.jpg", "width": 3500, "height": 2346, "caption": "Trump Attends D.C. 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