Blackstone Ceo Steve Schwarzman Will Back Trump

Blackstone Group CEO Steve Schwarzman announced on Friday that he will back Donald Trump in the 2024 election, giving the former president the support of one of the biggest names on Wall Street.

Schwarzman, the billionaire co-founder and chair of the world’s largest private equity firm and a GOP megadonor, said in a statement that the “dramatic rise of antisemitism has led me to focus on the consequences of upcoming elections with greater urgency.”

Like many top Wall Street donors to Trump, Schwarzman distanced himself from the former president shortly after the 2020 election and subsequent attempts to overturn its results.

But Schwarzman says he now shares “the concern of most Americans that our economic, immigration and foreign policies are taking the country in the wrong direction.”

His decision to endorse Trump comes amid signs that major donors to the former president are returning to the fold. Trump is also finding fresh support from leaders in the technology and financial industries.

President Joe Biden counts Blackstone President and Chief Operating Officer Jon Gray among his top donors and his former ambassador to Israel, Tom Nides, is now the firm's vice chair.

Schwarzman’s announcement was first reported by Axios.