What this billionaire investor needs to see before supporting Donald Trump again
It's not a full no in supporting another Trump presidency for his one-time mega-donor Stephen Schwarzman, but there are hurdles that must be cleared before said support may come back.
"I'd like to see what the public has to say with a number of shots on goal," the Blackstone co-founder, CEO, and chairman told Yahoo Finance Live at the World Economic Forum (video above). "I think there's a separate issue [with the courts]. And that won't be knowable for a very long time ... There are always uncertainties in all US elections. This one may have more than others."
Schwarzman was an early supporter of the former president's first run to the White House, reportedly giving millions towards the effort.
Upon Trump's election, Schwarzman became a trusted adviser, notably on trade-related matters with China.
In November 2022, Axios reported Schwarzman would not support a 2024 presidential run by Trump.
"It is time for the Republican Party to turn to a new generation of leaders and I intend to support one of them in the presidential primaries," Schwarzman told Axios.
Hedge fund Citadel's billionaire founder Ken Griffin also has been keen on supporting other Republican candidates besides Trump, with Axios reporting in late November him eyeing Nikki Haley.
To be sure, the talk of Trump Round 2 only intensified at the latest World Economic Forum.
Trump finished with 51% of the vote in the Iowa caucus last week. He has a wide lead in the New Hampshire primary slated for this week.
The commanding win in Iowa stunned many in the business community.
"I am surprised," Carlyle Group (CG) co-founder David Rubenstein said on Yahoo Finance Live about Trump's support in the country.
DeSantis dropped his bid for the Republican nomination on Sunday. He tossed his support to Trump in a video posted to his social media.
The race to secure the nomination is now between Trump and his former UN ambassador Nikki Haley, who is trailing Trump by a wide margin in most polls.
However, don't expect Schwarzman to surprise Wall Street by casting his support and financial firepower to president Joe Biden.
Schwarzman says the Biden administration has made it more difficult for businesses to prosper.
"I'm struggling on this one," Schwarzman answered on whether the Biden presidency has been helpful to investment giants such as Blackstone.
Continued Schwarzman, "There's a little [that has been helpful] in the [Inflation Reduction Act]. But the regulatory environment has so changed in a negative way that — one tends to look at these things as an integrated whole, not picking apart pieces of it. And this is a very accelerated regulatory environment that makes conducting business more complex than it ever was."
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Brian Sozzi is Yahoo Finance's Executive Editor. Follow Sozzi on Twitter/X @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn. Tips on deals, mergers, activist situations, or anything else? Email brian.sozzi@yahoofinance.com.
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