Billionaires Including Elon Musk Lash Out Over Global Market Meltdown And Trump Tariffs
Key Facts
Elon Musk: Trump’s new right-hand-man hasn’t explicitly spoken out against the tariffs, but after criticizing Trump’s top trade adviser over the weekend for defending the tariffs, the Tesla CEO shared a video early Monday of economist Milton Friedman touting free trade and the benefits of importing goods.
Jamie Dimon: The JPMorganChase CEO issued his annual letter to shareholders Monday morning, which expressed concerns about Trump’s tariffs, saying that while there are some “legitimate reasons” for imposing them, they “will likely increase inflation and are causing many to consider a greater probability of a recession” and expressing concerns about the continued uncertainties around Trump’s tariffs and how they will “affect America’s long-term economic alliances.”
Bill Ackman: The hedge fund manager is a longtime Trump supporter but has turned against the president’s tariffs, railing against Trump’s Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and how the Trump administration calculated the tariffs and calling for the White House to pause them, writing Sunday that if the tariffs do take effect, “We are heading for a self-induced, economic nuclear winter, and we should start hunkering down.”
Daniel Loeb: While Loeb said in February he thought Trump’s initial tariffs on Mexico and Canada wouldn’t harm the stock market, the hedge fund manager has spoken out against Trump’s more sweeping policy, most recently sharing a post Monday that noted the stock market chaos is “all in the head of 1 person. Who can change his mind at any time” and writing, “Exactly.”
Big Number
More than $10 billion. That’s how much Trump’s top 10 billionaire donors lost in the stock market on Thursday alone, as stocks plunged in the immediate aftermath of Trump’s Wednesday tariff announcement. That’s only a fraction of the $270 billion in total that was wiped off the net worths of the world’s billionaires on Thursday, Forbes calculated, with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon chief Jeff Bezos, Oracle founder Larry Ellison and Musk among those who were the hardest hit.
What Has Trump Said?
Trump has dug his heels in on his tariffs and repeatedly doubled down in support of them, even as they’ve spurred chaos in the markets. “The United States has a chance to do something that should have been done DECADES AGO,” Trump posted on Truth Social on Monday morning regarding tariffs. “Don’t be Weak! Don’t be Stupid! Don’t be a PANICAN (A new party based on Weak and Stupid people!). Be Strong, Courageous, and Patient, and GREATNESS will be the result!” The president also defended his tariffs to reporters Sunday night aboard Air Force One, saying that while he didn’t want global markets to fall from his tariffs, “Sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something.”
Key Background
Trump announced his sweeping tariff policy during a “Liberation Day” event Wednesday, levying tariffs of 10% and up on imports from nearly all foreign countries—even uninhabited ones. The tariffs fulfill a longtime promise by the president to impose sweeping tariffs in order to restore manufacturing to the U.S. and punish other countries for purportedly unfair trade practices, which Trump has pushed despite economists long warning that doing so would raise prices for U.S. consumers and harm the economy. Billionaires’ criticism of Trump’s tariffs comes after dozens of them backed the president in the November election. More than 50 billionaires expressed support for Trump and billionaires funneled millions into his campaign, even as the now-president made sweeping tariffs a signature plank of his platform.
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