Bill Ackman, a billionaire hedge fund manager who is vocal on social media, said Wednesday that he is considering voting for President Donald Trump in the forthcoming 2024 election.
The billionaire added that while he voted for President Trump in 2016, he cast a ballot in favor of President Biden in 2020. But now, he wrote he is “open to voting for [President Trump]” again. “I will share whom I am supporting when I make my decision closer to the election. I like to preserve optionality,” he added.
Mr. Ackman, the chief executive of Pershing Square Capital Management, has been outspoken about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs at top U.S. colleges, namely his alma mater Harvard University. In recent days, he’s been critical of sometimes violent pro-Palestinian protests at colleges, while alleging that the demonstrators and campus staff have increasingly displayed anti-Semitic viewpoints since the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack in Israel.
It’s not clear from Mr. Ackman’s posts if he will donate to President Trump’s campaign or if he will opt to back a third-party candidate like independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
His comments came after it was revealed that more and more wealthy donors have been providing President Trump’s campaign with cash during the first quarter of 2024, helping him narrow the fundraising divide between him and President Biden.
According to filings made public by the Federal Election Commission, Intercontinental Exchange founder Jeffrey Sprecher, hotel magnate Robert Bigelow, TD Ameritrade founder J. Joe Ricketts, and former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler gave the maximum amount to the Trump 47 Committee.
They also show that casino owner Phil Ruffin, hedge fund billionaire John Paulson, sugar company owner Jose Fanjul, Energy Transfer pipeline company co-founder Kelcy Warren, former WWE executive Linda McMahon, casino mogul Steve Wynn, and others donated more than $800,000 to the Trump 47 Committee.
“I am pleased to support President Trump in his re-election efforts,” Mr. Paulson said in a statement last month. “His policies on the economy, energy, immigration and foreign policy will be very beneficial for the country.”
Mr. Paulson had hosted a fundraising event for the former president on April 6, saying that “we are receiving an overwhelming amount of support from donors.” he noted, “This support, along with the landslide victory he achieved in the primaries, shows his strong support amongst Americans.”
During that event, President Trump spoke for roughly 45 minutes, touching on the economy and the southern border with Mexico, said George Glass, a former ambassador to Portugal. “He also talked a lot about the unification of the party,” he said.
The Republican candidate’s campaign stressed the haul was double what President Biden raised last month in an over $25 million star-studded fundraiser with Democratic former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.
More campaign money is not always an indication of success, however. Then-candidate Trump defeated Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in 2016 after she raised $769.9 million, far more than the $433.4 million he raised at the time.
The former president was named by the Republican National Committee as the presumptive GOP nominee for president last month after his final major Republican presidential opponent, Nikki Haley, dropped out of the race after a dismal Super Tuesday showing.
