Wall Street Executives Bet Against Donald Trump Making Early Donations to His Opponents for 2024
As many on Wall Street search for a replacement for former president Donald Trump to lead the Republican Party in 2024, a surge of finance industry executives made early donations to Donald Trump's primary rivals in the second quarter.
Dozens of Wall Street executives contributed to many of the Republican candidates polling much below Trump the legal maximum of either $3,300 for the primary or $6,600 for the entire election cycle, reveals a joint analysis by NBC News and CNBC of the latest disclosures.
Leaders in finance made contributions to Ron DeSantis, Trump's main competitor and governor of Florida, as well as other candidates, such as business owner Vivek Ramaswamy, former Vice President Mike Pence, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley and Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, who consistently registered in the national polling averages between April 1 and June 30.
It's a continuation of the anti-Trump movement that saw Wall Street executives donate just over $74 million to Joe Biden's campaign for president in 2020, which is significant for the financial world as a whole. During his unsuccessful 2020 campaign, Trump received slightly over $18 million from the sector.
NEWS: Leaders on Wall Street and in the larger finance sector made their first bets in the last quarter on who they’d like to see beat Donald Trump.
— Brian Schwartz (@schwartzbCNBC) July 16, 2023
@GovRonDeSantis - over 15 finance execs maxed out
Dozens of other execs backed his rivals. https://t.co/wC2ylRNobL
All of Trump's Republican competitors have had great luck with Wall Street this election season. At least 15 prominent financial figures gave to Ron DeSantis' campaign, including seasoned hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones, who contributed $6,600. Jones has contributed to several outside organizations and campaigns that were involved in prior presidential races. Jones gave $200,000 to Restore Our Future in 2011, a super PAC that backed Mitt Romney's presidential campaign against incumbent President Barack Obama.
Joe Lonsdale, a seasoned venture capitalist, gave DeSantis at least $3,300 during the second quarter. Justin Siegel, a vice president at Goldman Sachs, also provided DeSantis at least $3,300, with the check being paid in late June. The second quarter fundraising total for the DeSantis campaign was $20 million.
Jones previously gave money to a group that supported Chris Christie's unsuccessful 2015 run for governor of New Jersey. According to his campaign finance disclosure, Christie, who is challenging Trump for the presidency this cycle, also earned $6,600 from Jones in the second quarter.
Even though Vivek Ramaswamy, another Trump competitor attacked Wall Street companies that have ESG investment practices, he nevertheless received at least a dozen contributions from influential financial figures. The CEO of the hedge fund Pershing Square Capital, Bill Ackman, made an early-quarter contribution of $3,300. According to the filing, Evercore ISI Chairman Ed Hyman also gave Ramaswamy $3,300 during the second quarter.
Recently, businessman Glenn Dubin and his wife Eva both gave $6,600 to Ramaswamy's presidential campaign. Both have claimed connections to the deceased scandal-plagued businessman Jeffrey Epstein. Over $7 million was raised by Ramaswamy's campaign during the second quarter, the majority of which came from self-funding.
Nikki Haley was successful in obtaining funding from Wall Street. She also managed to secure a dozen contributions that were maxed out from financial industry leaders, including one from Cliff Asness, the co-founder of AQR Capital Management. Tim Draper, a veteran venture capitalist, is another influential figure in finance who gave Haley his maximum donation. Haley succeeded in raising $5 million or more during the second quarter.
