Top billionaire donor Stephen Schwarzman said he’s backing the former president.
Stephen Schwarzman, the CEO and co-founder of real estate giant Blackstone, said Friday that he is planning to support former President Donald Trump’s campaign as a “vote for change.”
Mr. Schwarzman cited what he called a “dramatic rise of antisemitism” in the United States that has led him to “focus on the consequences of upcoming elections with greater urgency.”
While he did not go into specifics, the Blackstone CEO is likely referring to a number of left-wing protests across U.S. college campuses and elsewhere against Israeli activity in Gaza following the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks led by Hamas.
“I share the concern of most Americans that our economic, immigration and foreign policies are taking the country in the wrong direction. For these reasons, I am planning to vote for change and support Donald Trump for President. In addition, I will be supporting Republican Senate candidates and other Republicans up and down the ticket,” he told multiple news outlets Friday.
Mr. Schwarzman, a billionaire, had been a supporter of the former president while he was in the White House. But after the 2022 midterm elections, he suggested that Republicans look for a “new generation of leaders” and didn’t back a GOP primary candidate for the 2024 presidential election.
He also said at the time that wouldn’t back President Trump’s reelection bid. Before that, he was critical of the former president after the breach at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Mr. Schwarzman, however, was among the top 10 donors during the 2022 elections, according to records filed with the Federal Elections Commission. He and his wife gave some $35 million to preferred candidates during that election cycle, with much of it going toward Republican candidates.
The vast bulk of President Trump’s fundraising historically has come from small donors. Since he left office, about 90 percent of the people donating to his political groups have given less than $650 per calendar year, according to a Reuters analysis of disclosures filed by WinRed, the dominant Republican donation portal, in early 2024.
