Leaders | Don’t do it

America’s billionaires should resist the urge to support Donald Trump

A Trump victory would reward them. But not enough to justify the risks

A dollar bill torn through the middle, revealing the face of Donald Trump
Illustration: The Economist/Getty Images/Alamy

WHEN DONALD TRUMP faces American voters in November he will do so with a band of billionaire backers. Last month Stephen Schwarzman, the chief executive of Blackstone, the world’s largest private-equity firm, said he would support Mr Trump. Miriam Adelson, a casino magnate who sat out the primaries, is expected soon to do the same. Bill Ackman, a hedge-fund manager who has previously donated to Democrats, is said to be edging towards a Trump endorsement. The former president even enjoys increasingly friendly relations with Elon Musk, with whom he once traded insults.

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This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “Don’t do it, billionaires”

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