Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman backs Donald Trump for president after refusing to back him in 2022 – billionaire Republican megadonor reveals why he changed his mind
Donald Trump will receive money during his campaign from a multi-billionaire who previously promised not to support the former president in this case.
Stephen Schwarzman, the CEO and co-founder of private equity giant Blackstone, had called for “a new generation of leaders” to emerge and said he would no longer support Trump in the aftermath of January 6.
But now, in a stunning turnaround, he shared Axios his attempt to support Trump in 2024 is a ‘vote for change.’
He plans to donate money to Trump’s campaign, along with those of Republican Senate candidates.
Stephen Schwarzman, the multi-billionaire CEO of Blackstone, pictured above at the Met Gala with his wife, said he will donate to the campaigns of Donald Trump and other Republicans
Schwarzman’s decision to support Trump has come to a head as his concerns about rising anti-Semitism have grown.
He also expressed skepticism about Biden’s political agenda.
“The dramatic rise of anti-Semitism has led me to focus with greater urgency on the implications of the upcoming election,” he told Axios in a statement.
“I share the concern of most Americans that our economic, immigration and foreign policies are moving the country in the wrong direction.”
“For these reasons, I plan to vote for change and support Donald Trump for president.”
“Additionally, I will support Republican Senate candidates and other Republicans from top to bottom,” his statement continued.
The Blackstone boss previously supported Trump in the White House during his first presidency, acting as chairman of the former president’s Strategic and Policy Forum – a group charged with improving the US economy.
In fact, Trump and Schwarzman were so close that the former president attended the private equity giant’s lavishly extravagant birthday party in 2017, shortly after taking office.
But in 2022, he quickly turned his back on Trump, saying, “America does better when its leaders are rooted in today and tomorrow, not today and yesterday.”
“It is time for the Republican Party to turn to a new generation of leaders and I intend to support one of them in the presidential primaries,” Schwarzman’s 2022 statement continued.
Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman listens to then-US President Donald Trump during Trump’s strategy and policy forum with CEOs of major US companies at the White House in Washington, February 3, 2017
Donald and Melania Trump have a long friendship with the billionaire and even attended his glamorous 70th birthday party in 2017
Schwarzman laughs with former President Donald Trump during an economic meeting in 2017
He could even convince some major donors who were hesitant about backing Trump to reconsider their positions.
His support will certainly also provide the former president with an extensive network of donors in Schwarzman’s circle.
And for Trump, the support of some of Wall Street’s biggest titans shows how he is winning back the support of the Empire State’s most influential crowd.
Especially after his campaign rally Thursday in The Bronx, which drew an estimated 25,000 attendees.