Wall Street Billionaires including Elon Musk, Bill Ackman, Jamie Dimmon, have lashed out at Donald Trump’s imposition of strong tariffs against US trading partners which have disrupted the global stock market.
Billionaire investor Bill Ackman, who endorsed Trump’s 2024 presidential bid, warned that going ahead with the new tariffs was tantamount to launching an “economic nuclear war.” after Trump had revealed on Wednesday that he would impose significantly higher “reciprocal” tariffs on dozens of countries that have the highest trade imbalances with the United States.
In a post on X, Ackman said “Business investment will grind to a halt, (and) consumers will close their wallets” if the new levies do indeed come into force. “We will severely damage our reputation with the rest of the world that will take years and potentially decades to rehabilitate,” he added in the post, which was viewed 10.6 million times.
“It does not help our country’s and our president’s negotiating position to be trying to strike deals while our market is collapsing,”
Unless Trump changes tack, “we are heading for a self-induced, economic nuclear winter, and we should start hunkering down,” the CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management warned.
“What CEO and what board of directors will be comfortable making large, long-term economic commitments in our country in the middle of an economic nuclear war?” he said, adding that “the president is losing the confidence of business leaders around the globe.”
“Whoever is recommending that idea to President @realDonaldTrump should be fired right now.” He concluded.
Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, warned on Monday that the tariffs threatened to raise prices, drive the global economy into a downturn and weaken America’s standing in the world.
“The recent tariffs will likely increase inflation and are causing many to consider a greater probability of a recession,” Dimon said in an annual letter to shareholders. “Whether or not the menu of tariffs causes a recession remains in question, but it will slow down growth.”
Elon Musk who had been a major component of the Trump administration on his part noted he hoped for a “zero-tariff situation” between Europe and the US. In an interview with Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini via video link.
About $270 billion was wiped off the net worths of the world’s billionaires on Thursday, according to a Forbes calculation, with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon chief Jeff Bezos, Oracle founder Larry Ellison and Musk among those who were the hardest hit. . Trump’s top 10 billionaire donors lost more than $10 billion in the stock market on Thursday alone, as stocks plunged in the immediate aftermath of Trump’s tariff announcement.
In his response, Trump has dug his heels in on his tariffs and repeatedly doubled down in support of them. “The United States has a chance to do something that should have been done DECADES AGO,”.
Similarly, Trump posted on Truth Social on Monday morning regarding tariffs. “Don’t be Weak! Don’t be St*pid! Don’t be a PANICAN (A new party based on Weak and St*pid 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.”
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