Billionaires jump in to favour their candidates in US elections

NEW JERSEY: As the Nov 5 election for the US presidential race is nearing, the richest persons of America are jumping in for their endorsements.

At least 100 billionaires are supporting either former President Donald Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris — with many more backing Harris. But unlike the world’s richest man Elon Musk, who stumps extensively on Republican candidate’s behalf, many have elected to watch from the sidelines, like Warren Buffett and Mark Zuckerberg.

Music star Taylor Swift, Hollywood director Steven Spielberg and Melinda Gates endorsed Democrat candidate. Forbes records show that 82 billionaires are supporting Harris and 52 backing Trump so far.

Many more billionaires may still financially back a candidate, but their donations won’t be learned until after the election, when final Federal Election Commission reports are issued in December.

A letter signed by more than a dozen billionaires last month endorsing Harris explained their belief Harris “will continue to advance fair and predictable policies that support the rule of law, stability, and a sound business environment,” indicating the support for the status quo as the US economy and stock market exhibit strength, while a recent survey of millionaire investors—which found a 57 percent to 43 percent split in Harris’s favour—identified technology, healthcare and sustainability stocks as the sectors most poised to benefit from a Harris win, a mix friendly to many of her billionaire backers from Silicon Valley, who grew familiar with Harris during her time as a California prosecutor.

The Amazon founder and world’s fourth-richest man wrote Trump “showed tremendous grace and courage under literal fire” following the assassination attempt at a July 13 rally, but Bezos has not endorsed or financially backed him. In a strongly worded editorial in the Bezos-owned Washington Post, the centi-billionaire explained his decision to reportedly strike down the newspaper’s endorsement of Harris amid a storm of controversy, explaining he believed it would help restore the public’s faith in the paper’s journalism. “Presidential endorsements do nothing to tip the scales of an election,” wrote Bezos.

Griffin, one of the wealthiest hedge fund managers in the world and one of the deepest-pocketed Republican donors in prior election years, told Bloomberg financial markets’ “expectation today is that Donald Trump will win the White House,” echoing a chorus of Wall Street money flows seemingly pricing in such a scenario. But regardless of who wins, “the reduction of uncertainty is almost positive for asset prices and we’re at that moment of peak uncertainty,” offering a positive prognostication for investors.

Though his ex-wife French Gates is among Harris’ deepest backers — her reported $13 million donation to Harris groups would place her among the top individual donors this cycle — the Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates has not officially endorsed a candidate, but appeared to offer positive words toward Harris in a July interview, saying it is “great to have somebody who’s younger, who can think about things like AI and how we shape that in the right way.” But “I don’t tell other people how to vote” due to his work with his nonprofit Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Gates added.

Later, Gates told allies he donated $50 million to the non-profit wing of a Democratic political action committee supporting Harris, The New York Times reported Tuesday, citing three sources familiar with the situation. The bombshell report goes against Gates’ history of public nonpartisanship. Though Gates did not confirm the donation to the Times, he hinted at his Harris backing in a statement, saying he supports “candidates who demonstrate a clear commitment to improving health care, reducing poverty and fighting climate change” and “this election is different” than those of the past.