A very different type of jury, one gathered at the opulent Pierre hotel on Fifth Avenue, had rendered its own decision prior to 12 New Yorkers labeling Donald Trump a felon.
The rich Wall Streeters at the Pierre determined that even if the jury in the courtroom convicted him guilty as charged, he would still be their pick for the White House. That discussion exposed the cool calculations now at play in American finance, sixteen days before Thursday's momentous decision.
An increasing number of well-known leaders in US industry and finance are welcoming the prospect of a Trump comeback, criminal conviction be damned, from ardent supporters to reluctant fellow travelers.
As he took in the news Thursday night, Omeed Malik, the president of 1789 Capital and co-host of the Pierre fundraiser for Trump, stated, "This verdict will have less than zero impact on my support." Malik described the entire hush-money trial as a "weaponization of the legal system" and "jurisdictional justice," echoing Trump and Republican leaders.
One thing is for sure: Some financiers who distanced themselves from Trump when his followers invaded the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, and who remained silent when he erroneously claimed that the 2020 election was rigged, are now supporting him once more. In a word, money is a major factor. Trump has pledged to do away with regulations and lower taxes for the wealthiest. Joe Biden, the president, desires the opposite.
Billionaire Howard Lutnick threw a lavish party at the Pierre that attracted wealthy Manhattanites, as tawdry details of Trump's historic trial were being revealed in a seedy downtown courthouse. Malik believed that anyone present would be persuaded otherwise by the guilty judgment. or, apparently, many other people's brains. Shortly after the event, and without waiting to find out the jury's verdict, longtime Republican supporter and private equity tycoon Stephen Schwarzman declared he was once again supporting Trump. Based on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the co-founder of Blackstone Inc. has a $41 billion fortune, placing him among the 40 richest persons in the world.
Hours before the decision sent shockwaves over Wall Street and Washington on Thursday, hedge fund investor Bill Ackman, another well-known billionaire in New York, was reportedly leaning toward supporting the former president as well. Later, Ackman cited a tweet from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in a post on X, in which he implied that the jury, judge, and Manhattan prosecutor in the case had all been "bent" politically. Similar assertions spread on social media.
Following the guilty decision, it was unable to get in touch with Schwarzman or Lutnick, and an Ackman representative declined to comment.
The events, along with their timing, highlight how Trump's relationship with some of the country's most powerful bankers is evolving. That's never been clearer than in wealthy Manhattan, where Trump first became well-known and wealthy. For many years, the wealthy in Trump's birthplace mocked and disregarded him, viewing him as a sideshow act that should occasionally be catered to but never acknowledged.
With only five months before Election Day, the former president's pledges on regulations and taxes are starting to resonate with CEOs, despite the fact that Trump was found guilty in the country's first-ever presidential criminal trial.
Schwarzman used to work for an investment firm called Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, co-founded by Dan Lufkin, who remarked, "Wall Street has never been known for high character and high values."
"Will people back Trump if it appears like he is headed in the right direction? Indeed, Lufkin continued."I'm not a part of that, and I'm not proud of that." (Lufkin first backed Nikki Haley, a popular candidate on Wall Street who had the backing of Ken Griffin of Citadel and other others.)
Some, such as millionaire Barry Sternlicht, desire that the candidates win over moderate voters. A few minutes prior to the decision, he sent out an email stating, "I am currently, sitting this out."
Following two days of deliberations, a jury comprised of Trump's peers found him guilty of fabricating financial documents to hide a payment of hush money to a porn star. The decision ended an incredible seven-week trial that turned well-known moments and customs of election-year politics into a scandalous and sex-filled split-screen tableau.
The presumed Republican nominee, Trump, now faces a black mark that might terminate the career of almost any other presidential candidate as he heads into the closing stretch of an extremely competitive battle for the presidency. He is scheduled to be sentenced just before the July Republican National Convention, and an appeal is very guaranteed. It remains to be seen how voters would respond to this unprecedented development.
However, supporters of the former president, such as those in the banking and economic world, have already started to unite around him. In fact, Trump has taken advantage of his legal issues to gather money from wealthy backers. It was the first time this election season that his campaign raised $25 million more in April than Biden's.
Shortly after the guilty decision, Trump's campaign sent out a fundraising email in which it referred to the outgoing president as a “political prisoner” and posed the question, “Is this the end of America?”
Despite being "personally disappointed" by the decision, Scott Bessent, the former chief investment officer of Soros Fund Management and a potential contender for Trump's Treasury Secretary, stated that he doesn't think it will matter in November.
"I believe individuals have already made their decisions," Bessent stated, going on to say that this development would possibly increase support for Trump. Even a few Wall Street titans who had previously taken a hard stance against Trump have softened.
Hours after the decision, on Thursday night, Jamie Dimon addressed a group of JPMorgan Chase & Co. alumni at the Morgan Library & Museum in Manhattan. He underscored the importance of honoring the former president's 74 million votes in the 2020 election. It was different from his foul-mouthed outburst against Trump at an earlier group get-together when everyone was still reeling from what had happened on January 6.
The statements were similar to those made by Dimon earlier this year at the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he stated the Democrats need to "be a little more respectful" of Trump's followers and that Trump was "kind of right" on a few things. There were many present on Thursday night who fervently conjectured that Trump's supposed sacrifice would actually benefit him heading into the November election.
Trump's Wall Street supporters maintain in private that this is about more than just money. Some criticize progressive Democrats for what they see as a growing tolerance for antisemitism, particularly in the wake of Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7 and the Jewish state's ensuing bombing campaign in Gaza. (Schwarzman separated himself from the first Trump administration when Trump appeared evasive when questioned about right-wing protestors brandishing torches and shouting antisemitic epithets during a 2017 march in Charlottesville, Virginia.)
Others claim that Biden and the Democratic Party have been taken over by progressives who have a negative opinion of capitalism, particularly Wall Street capitalists. Biden, 81, is deemed too elderly to serve as president by some, with Trump being 77.
Even in the face of consecutive stock market highs, low unemployment, and skyrocketing corporate profits, some colleagues in the financial industry are growing less favorable toward Biden, which confounds people like Whitney Tilson.
Former head of the $200 million hedge fund Kase Capital Management Tilson observed, "The Joe Biden presidency has been extraordinarily good for people in the investing business. It is perplexing to me that the individuals who have performed the best under Joe Biden also appear to be the most unhappy with this administration."
There is no lack of opportunists in the financial world. Tilson also believes that Trump's supporters in the higher echelons of the corporate sector are affected. Tilson declared, "They've concluded Trump is going to win. And it's in their self-interest to back him early if he becomes the next president.”
