Washington [US], April 8: U.S. billionaires are turning their backs on President Donald Trump over plans to impose tariffs on trading partners, amid a heavy drop in global stock markets.
Many billionaires and wealthy business leaders in the United States have publicly criticized President Trump's tariff policy in recent days, worried about the economic impact that has made the market more unstable, according to CNN.
Billionaire investor Bill Ackman, who has been a supporter of Trump's 2024 presidential campaign, warned on April 7 that the implementation of new tariffs would be tantamount to triggering an "economic nuclear war".
Trump announced a 10 percent base tariff on all trading partners (which took effect on April 5) and significantly higher "reciprocal" tariffs on dozens of economies with the largest trade deficits with the U.S. from April 9.
In a post on social media X, Mr Ackman wrote that "business investments will stop, consumers will stop spending" if the new tariffs are indeed imposed.
"We will seriously damage our reputation to the world and it may take years or even decades to recover," he further warned.
The billionaire said that if President Trump does not change course, "we are heading for a nuclear economic winter of our own making, and it is time to prepare for it."
"Is there a CEO or board of directors who is willing to make big, long-term economic commitments in the U.S. in the midst of an economic nuclear war?" asked Ackman, CEO of investment management firm Pershing Square Capital Management. He commented that the owner of the White House is losing the trust of global business leaders.
"This is not something we voted for," Ackman said of the new "excessive" and "disproportionate" tariffs, and called for a 90-day moratorium for negotiations.
Billionaire Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, warned on April 7 that these tariffs risk driving up prices, pushing the global economy into recession and weakening the U.S. position on the international stage.
Billionaire Stanley Druckenmiller, founder of investment firm Duquesne Family Office, also said he "does not support taxes exceeding 10%". According to Bloomberg's ranking of the world's billionaires, Mr. Druckenmiller currently has a net worth of about $11 billion.
On the same day, billionaire Ken Fisher, the founder and executive chairman of Fisher Investments, was also heavily critical of the White House's policy, saying Washington was "trying to solve a problem that doesn't exist with the wrong tools."
Fisher also said he rarely publicly commented on the president's actions, "but in terms of tariffs alone, Trump has exceeded all acceptable limits."
Earlier, billionaire Elon Musk, a close adviser to Mr. Trump on efforts to streamline the government apparatus, also criticized Mr. Peter Navarro, who is considered the architect of Mr. Trump's tax policy. The world's richest billionaire even supports bringing U.S. and European tariffs to zero and wants to see a free trade zone between Europe and North America.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
