Stephen A. Schwarzman, chairman, CEO and co-founder of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX), has reportedly pledged to back Donald Trump as a “vote for change.”
On Friday, Schwarzman announced his intentions to contribute to Trump’s campaign as well as to several Republican Senate candidates, reported Axios.
With the endorsement, Trump gains access to Schwarzman’s influential network of Republican donors and could potentially garner support from business leaders previously hesitant to support him, the report added.
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In a statement, Schwarzman, the billionaire co-founder and chair of the world’s largest private equity firm and a major GOP donor, said the “dramatic rise of antisemitism has led me to focus on the consequences of upcoming elections with greater urgency,” reported Politico.
Similar to numerous prominent Wall Street donors to Trump, Schwarzman distanced himself from the former president shortly after the 2020 election, particularly during Trump’s subsequent efforts to overturn its results, the report added.
But Schwarzman says he now shares “the concern of most Americans that our economic, immigration and foreign policies are taking the country in the wrong direction,” the report read.
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Schwarzman’s endorsement of Trump coincides with indications that several major donors to the former president are rejoining his ranks. Trump is also garnering renewed backing from figures in the technology and financial sectors.
Additionally, billionaires like Harold Hamm, Nelson Peltz, and Robert Bigelow are throwing their support behind Trump, despite previously criticizing his actions following the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, Politico noted.
While Trump has garnered support from megadonors, Biden’s fundraising efforts have shown signs of decline, with April donations falling short of Trump’s reported haul alongside the RNC.
Despite this, Biden retains support from investors, including Blackstone’s President and COO Jon Gray, and former ambassador to Israel Tom Nides, who now serves as the firm’s vice chair.
Trump’s pursuit of high-dollar donors has prompted a Senate Democratic investigation into potential promises made during a dinner where Trump sought $1 billion in campaign donations from oil industry executives.
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This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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