Country’s Most-Powerful Banker Is Quietly Backing Kamala Harris
Josh Fiallo
Tue, October 22, 2024 a
Jamie Dimon waves his hand and smirks outdoors.
We may finally know where the country’s most-powerful banker really stands politically this election season.
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, 68, is quietly backing a Kamala Harris win on Election Day despite his public praise of Donald Trump earlier this year, according to a report from The New York Times Tuesday.
That’s quite the coup for Harris’ campaign, as Dimon is overwhelmingly viewed as one of the most influential players in the banking world and on Wall Street—areas that tend to back Republicans more often than Democrats.
Word of that support is likely to be largely muffled to the masses, however, as Dimon has stopped short of outright endorsing Harris publicly. Instead, the Times reports he’s merely been “supportive” of the vice president in “private conversations with Wall Street executives.”
Dimon has also reportedly told those close to him that he’d be open to serving in a Walz-Harris administration, perhaps as its Treasury secretary. Harris has said repeatedly that she plans to appoint a Republican to a cabinet position, though its unclear what party—if any—Dimon is a registered member of. He’s been CEO of JPMorgan Chase since 2006.
“I’ve always been an American patriot,” Dimon said on a call earlier this month, hinting at his willingness to work in the federal government, the Times reported. “And my country is more important to me than my company.”
The Times reports that Harris’ campaign approached Dimon about endorsing. Trump’s camp has reportedly done the same, going as far as claiming they’d won over Dimon’s endorsement even when they didn’t have it.
Jamie Dimon was quick to say that he never endorsed Donald Trump, but the former president’s post remained online more than two weeks later.
Trump posted to Truth Social on Oct. 4 that Dimon had endorsed him—a claim that was quickly shot down by Dimon’s camp. Trump denied making the post but, perhaps bizarrely, never took down the false graphic he shared to his personal account.
That endorsement, before it was revealed to be a farce, didn’t appear to come totally out of left field. He said on CNBC’s morning show Squawk Box in January that Trump was “kind of right about NATO, kind of right about immigration,” and that “he grew the economy quite well.”
In that same appearance, Dimon said many Americans recognized Trump was spot-on on certain “critical issues.”
“I don’t like how Trump said things, but he wasn’t wrong about those critical issues,” Dimon said. “That’s why they’re voting for him. People should be more respectful of our fellow citizens. I think this negative talk about MAGA will hurt Biden’s campaign.”
Despite those comments, Trump and Dimon have also bickered with each other over the years.
Among the recent rifts between the two New York-born billionaires—Dimon is worth $2.2 billion, according to Forbes, while Trump is worth $4 billion—came when Dimon urged corporate leaders to support Nikki Haley’s primary bid over Trump.
Trump responded in typical fashion, raging in a post to Truth Social that he was “never a big fan” of Dimon, whom he called a “highly overrated Globalist.”
“I guess I don’t have to live with him anymore, and that’s a really good thing,” Trump said.
Donald Trump and Jamie Dimon shake hands in 2017.
Trump, perhaps realizing the influence Dimon holds, changed his tone when speaking about Dimon in July. That’s when he told Bloomberg Businessweek that he has “a lot of respect” for Dimon and that he’d consider him for Treasury Secretary should he win re-election.
In a statement to the Times on Tuesday, a spokesperson for Dimon said his usually-outspoken boss hasn’t been talking about the election much because his “comments are often weaponized by the left or right when he weighs in on politics or politicians.”
This, the spokesperson added, “is not constructive to helping solve our country’s biggest problems.”
The Daily Beast.
JPMorgan chief Dimon would consider a role in Harris administration, NYT reports
Reuters
Updated Tue, October 22, 2024 at 5:46 PM MDT·2 min read
(Reuters) -JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon would consider a government role, perhaps that of the Treasury Secretary, if Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris wins the U.S. presidential election, the New York Times reported on Tuesday.
Dimon is not making his stance known publicly for fear of retribution should Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, win, according to the report.
The CEO of the largest U.S. bank has long been floated for senior positions on U.S. economic policy.
But at JPMorgan's post-earnings call earlier this month, Dimon said the chance of him being asked to take up a government role was "almost nil."
"And I probably am not going to do it. But I always reserve the right" to reconsider, he said.
Dimon's thinking has not changed since then, a source close to him told Reuters.
However, down the road if there is a position where he can have significant impact in the role then he may consider it, irrespective of the political party, the source added.
The source declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the information.
Dimon took the reins at JPMorgan in 2006. He has emphasized that he and the rest of the board will "do the right thing" on succession when he eventually leaves, without specifying details.
He has been outspoken on economic and policy matters and has often celebrated American exceptionalism, including in his widely read annual letter in April.
"I've always been an American patriot and my country is more important to me than my company," he told analysts on a call this month.
The bank declined to comment on the report. Spokespeople for the Harris and Trump campaigns did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.
(Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru and Nupur Anand in Washington; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Stephen Coates)
Bill Gates Makes Unprecedented $50 Million Pledge to Back Kamala Harris: ‘This Election Is Different’
Sharon Knolle
Tue, October 22, 2024
Bill Gates has donated $50 million to Kamala Harris’ campaign, a political backing that was originally intended to be private.
The Microsoft founder confirmed the donation to The New York Times on Tuesday, saying “this election is different,” although he is still not endorsing Harris publicly.
“I support candidates who demonstrate a clear commitment to improving health care, reducing poverty and fighting climate change in the U.S. and around the world,” he said in a statement. “I have a long history of working with leaders across the political spectrum, but this election is different, with unprecedented significance for Americans and the most vulnerable people around the world.”
Two people close to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, as the Times phrased it, “expressed concern about what a second Donald Trump presidency would look like.” Among the issues where the philanthropic organization tallies with Harris is on preventing cuts to family planning and global health programs.
Gates made his donation to Future Forward, a fundraising group supporting Harris, according to the Times’ report. Sources told the outlet that the tech giant had discussed his donation with former New York City mayor and one-time Democratic presidential hopeful Mike Bloomberg, who “has considered a similarly sized gift.”
Conservative politicians Gates has previously backed include Alaskan Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s Denali Leadership PAC and Arizona’s Charles Horne, according to OpenSecrets. But in the last two years, he has primarily donated to Democrats, including Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker.
An OpenSecrets graph shows that in 2018, he donated more than twice as much to Republican candidates ($4.72 million) as he did to their Democratic opponents ($2.18 million).
On the other side of the political spectrum, X owner and fellow billionaire Elon Musk has pledged to spend $140 million to get GOP rival Donald Trump re-elected.
The post Bill Gates Makes Unprecedented $50 Million Pledge to Back Kamala Harris: ‘This Election Is Different’ appeared first on TheWrap.
Bill Gates privately said he donated $50 million to a pro-Harris super PAC, report says
Thibault Spirlet
Wed, October 23, 2024
Bill Gates said he donated millions to a pro-Harris super-PAC, three sources told The New York Times.
He reportedly donated $50 million to Future Forward's nonprofit arm, which doesn't disclose donors.
The billionaire didn't confirm or deny this, but told the Times this election was "different."
Bill Gates has privately said he donated about $50 million to a pro-Harris super-PAC, The New York Times reported, citing multiple sources.
The billionaire Microsoft founder, who has not publicly endorsed either candidate for president, made the donation to Future Forward's nonprofit arm, Future Forward USA Action, three people briefed on the matter told the newspaper.
Future Forward USA Action does not disclose its donors, meaning any contributions would not be made public.
Two of the sources said that Gates has talked about his donation with Mike Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor, among others, per the Times.
In a statement to the Times, Gates didn't confirm or deny the donations.
He said that "this election is different," adding that he supports candidates who show a "clear" commitment to improving healthcare, reducing poverty, and fighting climate change in the US and worldwide.
The Gates Foundation didn't immediately respond to a Business Insider request for comment, made outside working hours.
Gates has previously said that he chooses not to make large political donations.
"There are times it might feel tempting to do so, and there are other people who choose to do so, but I just don't want to grab that gigantic megaphone," he said at a New York Times Dealbook conference in 2019.
After Harris announced her candidacy in July, Gates told France 24 it was "great" to have "somebody who's younger, who can think about things like AI."
The views of America's billionaires on the election have been the subject of intense speculation and reporting.
Former President Donald Trump claimed Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg called him to say, "There's no way I can vote for a Democrat in this election." A Meta spokesperson denied this and said that Zuckerberg would not be endorsing anyone, nor revealing how he would vote.
Earlier this month, JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon also had to deny he was endorsing the former president after Trump posted a photo on Truth Social with a caption saying he had.
These billionaires' guarded stances are in stark contrast with Elon Musk, who has said he is "all in" supporting a Trump victory.
Elon Musk's super PAC, America PAC, has spent more than $100 million on the election, most of which went toward supporting former President Donald Trump and opposing Harris.
The latest available ad-revenue data from X, the social media company Musk bought in 2022, shows America PAC has spent $201,021 on advertising on X since July.
Last Sunday, Musk also said in an X post that he planned to give away $1 million a day to a different swing-state voter who has signed his petition to support free speech and the right to bear arms.
Sharon Knolle
Tue, October 22, 2024
Bill Gates has donated $50 million to Kamala Harris’ campaign, a political backing that was originally intended to be private.
The Microsoft founder confirmed the donation to The New York Times on Tuesday, saying “this election is different,” although he is still not endorsing Harris publicly.
“I support candidates who demonstrate a clear commitment to improving health care, reducing poverty and fighting climate change in the U.S. and around the world,” he said in a statement. “I have a long history of working with leaders across the political spectrum, but this election is different, with unprecedented significance for Americans and the most vulnerable people around the world.”
Two people close to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, as the Times phrased it, “expressed concern about what a second Donald Trump presidency would look like.” Among the issues where the philanthropic organization tallies with Harris is on preventing cuts to family planning and global health programs.
Gates made his donation to Future Forward, a fundraising group supporting Harris, according to the Times’ report. Sources told the outlet that the tech giant had discussed his donation with former New York City mayor and one-time Democratic presidential hopeful Mike Bloomberg, who “has considered a similarly sized gift.”
Conservative politicians Gates has previously backed include Alaskan Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s Denali Leadership PAC and Arizona’s Charles Horne, according to OpenSecrets. But in the last two years, he has primarily donated to Democrats, including Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker.
An OpenSecrets graph shows that in 2018, he donated more than twice as much to Republican candidates ($4.72 million) as he did to their Democratic opponents ($2.18 million).
On the other side of the political spectrum, X owner and fellow billionaire Elon Musk has pledged to spend $140 million to get GOP rival Donald Trump re-elected.
The post Bill Gates Makes Unprecedented $50 Million Pledge to Back Kamala Harris: ‘This Election Is Different’ appeared first on TheWrap.
Bill Gates privately said he donated $50 million to a pro-Harris super PAC, report says
Thibault Spirlet
Wed, October 23, 2024
Bill Gates said he donated millions to a pro-Harris super-PAC, three sources told The New York Times.
He reportedly donated $50 million to Future Forward's nonprofit arm, which doesn't disclose donors.
The billionaire didn't confirm or deny this, but told the Times this election was "different."
Bill Gates has privately said he donated about $50 million to a pro-Harris super-PAC, The New York Times reported, citing multiple sources.
The billionaire Microsoft founder, who has not publicly endorsed either candidate for president, made the donation to Future Forward's nonprofit arm, Future Forward USA Action, three people briefed on the matter told the newspaper.
Future Forward USA Action does not disclose its donors, meaning any contributions would not be made public.
Two of the sources said that Gates has talked about his donation with Mike Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor, among others, per the Times.
In a statement to the Times, Gates didn't confirm or deny the donations.
He said that "this election is different," adding that he supports candidates who show a "clear" commitment to improving healthcare, reducing poverty, and fighting climate change in the US and worldwide.
The Gates Foundation didn't immediately respond to a Business Insider request for comment, made outside working hours.
Gates has previously said that he chooses not to make large political donations.
"There are times it might feel tempting to do so, and there are other people who choose to do so, but I just don't want to grab that gigantic megaphone," he said at a New York Times Dealbook conference in 2019.
After Harris announced her candidacy in July, Gates told France 24 it was "great" to have "somebody who's younger, who can think about things like AI."
The views of America's billionaires on the election have been the subject of intense speculation and reporting.
Former President Donald Trump claimed Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg called him to say, "There's no way I can vote for a Democrat in this election." A Meta spokesperson denied this and said that Zuckerberg would not be endorsing anyone, nor revealing how he would vote.
Earlier this month, JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon also had to deny he was endorsing the former president after Trump posted a photo on Truth Social with a caption saying he had.
These billionaires' guarded stances are in stark contrast with Elon Musk, who has said he is "all in" supporting a Trump victory.
Elon Musk's super PAC, America PAC, has spent more than $100 million on the election, most of which went toward supporting former President Donald Trump and opposing Harris.
The latest available ad-revenue data from X, the social media company Musk bought in 2022, shows America PAC has spent $201,021 on advertising on X since July.
Last Sunday, Musk also said in an X post that he planned to give away $1 million a day to a different swing-state voter who has signed his petition to support free speech and the right to bear arms.
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