Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood said she would vote for former President Trump over President Biden in the November presidential election.
Wood took part in an interview with ‘Meet Kevin’ financial analyst and YouTuber Kevin Paffrath, during which she was asked the popular question, “Trump or Biden?”
Wood told the host she has three children with whom she has discussed the upcoming election and its consequences.
“As I’ve said to them, ‘Look, I am going to vote for the person who’s going to do the best job for our economy,’” Wood told Paffrath. “I am a voter when it comes to economics, and on that basis, Trump.”
She further explained that Laffer Associates founder and chairman Art Laffer “describes the first three years of the Trump presidency as the best in U.S. economic history, not the last one because of COVID, and I would agree.”
Watch:
🔥🔥Cathie Wood Ark investor and one of the most influential people in the business world just publicly announced that she'll be voting for Trump and that he had the best economy in history.
Dont vote based off personal feelings. Vote based off personal experience.
Mr. Mellon is now the first donor to give $100 million in disclosed federal contributions in this year’s election. He was already the single largest contributor to super PACs supporting both Mr. Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is running as an independent. Mr. Mellon has previously given $25 million to both.
Billionaire Stephen Schwarzman, the CEO and co-founder of Blackstone, announced last month he will back Trump in the 2024 race after he previously called for the Republican Party to turn to a “new generation of leaders.”
The White House from Washington, DC, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Donald Trump’s last Republican rival has landed a fresh new job.
Nikki Haley the former two-term South Carolina governor who served as ambassador to the United Nations in the Trump administration, is joining the Washington, D.C.-based Hudson Institute.
“Nikki is a proven, effective leader on both foreign and domestic policy,” Hudson President and CEO John P. Walters said in a statement Monday. “In an era of worldwide political upheaval, she has remained a steadfast defender of freedom and an effective advocate for American security and prosperity. We are honored to have her join the Hudson team.”
Haley, who received the Hudson Institute’s global leadership award in 2018 during her tenure as U.N. ambassador, will serve as the institute’s Walter P. Stern Chair. According to the Hudson Institute, the position was created four years ago to commemorate a former chair “who was instrumental in making Hudson one of Washington’s most respected research organizations.”
The institute emphasized that “it is fitting that Nikki has taken on this title” because “she is a courageous and insightful policymaker.”
Haley announced that she was suspending her White House campaign on March 6, the day Trump swept 14 of 15 GOP nominating contests on Super Tuesday.
To date, Haley has declined to endorse Trump.
“It is now up to Donald Trump to earn the votes of those in our party and beyond it who did not support him. And I hope he does that,” Haley said last month, as she pointed to those who supported her during her White House run.
“This is now his time for choosing,” she emphasized.
Kevin O’Leary, co-host of the TV show “Shark Tank” and a successful investor in his own right, stated in a Monday interview with Fox News host Neil Cavuto that he will never invest in New York after a judge ordered Donald Trump to pay over $350 million in penalties in a civil fraud case.
“I’m not different than any other investor. I’m shocked at this. I can’t even understand or fathom the decision at all. There’s no rationale for it,” O’Leary told Cavuto.
🚨NEW: Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary condemns AG Letitia James and Judge Arthur Engoron's corrupt and baseless ruling against Donald Trump.
🔥🔥🔥
"I would NEVER invest in New York now! And I'm not the only one saying that!"
In his New York fraud case, Trump was ordered by Judge Arthur Engoron to pay more than $350 million, and the former president was also barred from doing business in New York for three years. Trump was accused of fraud through past valuations of his properties that were inflated and used to get more beneficial agreements in a civil lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
O’Leary called Trump’s actions a victimless crime and said other companies are now going to be even more fearful to conduct business in New York, which the Canadian-born O’Leary called a “loser state.”
“It doesn’t matter what the governor says, New York was already a loser state. Like California‘s a loser state. There are many loser states because of policy, high taxes, uncompetitive regulation, it was already on the top of the list of being a loser state. I would never invest in New York now, and I’m not the only person saying that,” he said.
O’Leary, long a vocal critic of New York’s policies for business, described running into massive amounts of red tape while trying to set up a “high end data center” in New York and he’s now abandoning the state for “winner states,” like the Oklahoma, North Dakota, and West Virginia.
“The fine people of New York should ask themselves, why are we such a loser state? How are we going attract business?” O’Leary continued. “It’s not just the existing businesses that are fleeing out to Texas and Florida. What about new money like what I’m talking about?”
“This is a New York problem now,” the businessman, investor and philanthropist concluded.
This article originally appeared on American Liberty News. Republished with permission.
Former president of PayPal David Marcus announced he has switched political parties and endorsed Donald Trump via X.
I am crossing the Rubicon and backing the Republican Party and President Trump.
Many — including a former version of myself — get trapped in a mental framework that becomes their identity and prevents them from radically evolving their thinking with new facts and information. I…
“I am crossing the Rubicon and backing the Republican Party and President Trump. Many — including a former version of myself — get trapped in a mental framework that becomes their identity and prevents them from radically evolving their thinking with new facts and information. I finally broke free from it.”
“My journey has been a gradual political 180 from where I stood in every previous election. It has been an eye-opening process of disenchantment, zero-basing lifelong beliefs, and rebuilding from there,” wrote Marcus.
Marcus cited an anecdote where, in 2017, he was enlisted to raise $100M from Silicon Valley for the Democratic National Convention in order to “prevent a repeat of Hillary Clinton’s inadequate, outdated 2016 campaign.”
David Marcus is aligned with Trump on technology innovations like crypto and AI as well as foreign policy–especially the Middle East. Marcus opined, “on Iran, this administration is continuing a misguided Obama-era plan to bring Iran closer to the West by unfreezing Trump-era sanctions, thus giving the Mollahs’ regime the ability to fund terrorism and pursue its anti-America, anti-Israel, and anti-Jewish agenda.”
“I believe we need a President who is unequivocally pro: America, the Constitution, business, Bitcoin/crypto, innovation, Israel, small government, legal immigration, free speech, meritocracy, and common sense — and anti: regulatory proliferation, illegal immigration, unjust wars, Iran’s current regime, and domestic groups that oppose American values.”
Marcus completed his post by referencing the attempt on former President Trump’s life at a rally in Butler, PA on July 13.
“It’s impossible to close this post without mentioning President Trump’s recent assassination attempt. The courage and resolve he displayed seconds after being hit by a bullet was awe-inspiring for his followers and detractors alike. This was a man, however imperfect, who, at that moment, incarnated the American spirit in the most vivid way, starting to bring a split nation together,” wrote Marcus.
“In this pivotal moment, confronted with the choices we have, I am endorsing and supporting a return to a Republican administration in 2025,” the post concluded.
Trump has seen a number of prominent pro-business donors flock to his campaign this season as Republicans seek to a return to the White House.
On Monday, former President Donald Trump moved to overturn his criminal conviction in the Manhattan hush-money case after the Supreme Court ruled presidents have immunity for “official acts” committed while in office.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged the former president in May with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. Trump pleaded not guilty to all counts in the Manhattan case.
Lawyers for Trump had filed a motion to dismiss the verdict hours after the Supreme Court’s ruling.
Duncan Lock, Dflock, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The motion came on the same day that the district attorney’s office sent sentencing recommendations to Judge Juan M. Merchan – who presided over the Manhattan trial – though it remains unclear whether that will be seen by the public, per reporting from The New York Times. Judge Merchan has received a letter from Trump’s lawyers, a person familiar with the matter confirmed to Fox News Digital.
The letter asks for permission to file a motion to vacate the jury’s Manhattan verdict, asks for a delay of the July 11 sentencing, and cites the high court’s decision in arguing that evidence was included at trial that should not have been admitted.
To file a motion in New York, defendants must first request permission from the judge in the case.
🚨 #BREAKING: President Trump’s July 11 sentencing likely to be DELAYED, as the Manhattan DA’s office declines to push back on Trump’s requests to throw the case out.
On Tuesday, Manhattan prosecutors agreed with Donald J. Trump’s request to postpone his criminal sentencing so that the judge overseeing the case could weigh whether a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling might impact his conviction, according to The New York Times.
On Monday, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that a former president has absolute immunity for his core constitutional powers.
Former presidents are also entitled to at least a presumption of immunity for their official acts. There is no immunity, the court holds, for unofficial acts.
The Supreme Court returned the case to the trial court to determine what is left of special counsel Jack Smith’s indictment against the former President.
Former President of the United States Donald Trump speaking with attendees at the 2022 Student Action Summit at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, Florida. [Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons]
On a bustling Thursday night in San Francisco, former President Donald Trump marked another impressive milestone in his 2024 presidential campaign. The presumptive Republican nominee and front-runner, according to the polls, celebrated a monumental $12 million fundraising haul. The fundraising event, hosted by prominent Silicon Valley figures, David Sacks and Chamath Palihapitiya, highlighted the undeniable shift in the tech industry, an arena traditionally dominated by liberal ideologies.
“These are brilliant guys – AI guys – these are the guys that are doing all the things you read about,” Trump gushed to Fox News Digital. These are just a brilliant group of people. And they can’t relate to Biden because he is a stupid person – and I have a high IQ.”
Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
“They don’t like dealing with an IQ that’s like, you know, 1/3 of theirs, because it is a difficult thing when someone has an IQ of 180, it is difficult to deal with a man with an IQ of 70 – or maybe lower,” Trump added, attempting to goad the current president.
Sacks endorsed Trump hours before the high-dollar fundraiser at his multimillion-dollar home, located near the residence of Nancy and Paul Pelosi, symbolizing the growing willingness of certain tech industry leaders to publicly support Trump, a stance that previously rendered individuals persona non grata in Silicon Valley. (RELATED: San Francisco Sued Over Gender Scheme Targeting Minority Men)
Known for his business acumen and successful investments, including his status as an angel investor for Facebook, Uber, SpaceX, and Airbnb, Sachs’ support signals a broader acceptance of Trump’s candidacy within a traditionally GOP skeptical community.
Trump told Fox News Digital that Sacks’ “strong” endorsement “is a great testament to what I’ve accomplished.”
“David Sacks — the king of that world — David Sacks and the group that we were with are the most respected people in San Francisco from both a business and high tech standpoint,” Trump told Fox News Digital. “They love our country and they understand what’s happening into the future with technology better than any group, anywhere in the world.”
“One of the primary reasons for the endorsement was the four years that we had in office, which was the best four years ever for high tech, which will play an increasingly important role in the future of our country, especially as it relates to AI and all of the other new and brilliant technologies coming right at this moment,” Trump said. “It is a very exciting time and it is a great honor to have the most brilliant minds supporting, by far, the most brilliant leader.”
Why I’m Backing President Trump
As many press accounts have reported, I’m hosting a fundraising event for President Donald J. Trump at my home in San Francisco this evening.
Over the last couple of years, I have hosted events for presidential candidates Ron DeSantis, Vivek…
“My reasons rest on four main issues that I think are vital to American prosperity, security and stability — issues where the Biden administration has veered badly off course and where I believe President Trump can lead us back,” Sacks said Thursday.
Other guests at Sacks’ Pacific Heights fundraiser included the Winklevoss twins, who successfully sued Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg for allegedly stealing their idea, which later became Facebook.
JD Lasica from Pleasanton, CA, US, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
“He wasn’t the guy I see on TV,” one source told the New York Post. “He was very thoughtful and self-deprecating.” More than 100 guest attended the San Francisco soirée, paying as much as $300,000 a head.
Historically, Silicon Valley has been a bastion of liberal politics, with many tech leaders supporting Democratic candidates and policies. This alignment was driven by shared values around social issues and environmental sustainability. (RELATED: Google Shuts Down Its AI Chatbot ‘Gemini’ For Being Woke And Racist)
However, the dynamics may be changing. The industry’s rapid growth has brought increased scrutiny and regulatory pressures from Democratic lawmakers. Concerns over antitrust actions, data privacy regulations and labor practices have strained relationships between tech giants and the Democratic Party.
In contrast, Trump’s deregulatory stance, pro-business policies and tax reforms align with the interests of a growing number of Silicon Valley insiders.
On Thursday, a Manhattan grand jury found financier Bruce Garelick guilty of insider trading charges in a scheme that involved the merger of former President Donald J. Trump’s social media company with a publicly traded shell company.
Federal prosecutors had charged Garelick with five counts of securities fraud and conspiracy.
Statement of U.S. Attorney Damian Williams on the conviction of Bruce Garelick
Authorities claimed Garelick shared confidential information with his boss and at least one other person that Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of Truth Social, was close to announcing a merger with Digital World Acquisition Group, the shell company.
Mr. Garelick, 54, a former hedge fund manager, had been a board member of Digital World.
The information helped two brothers — Michael Shvartsman and Gerald Shvartsman — make nearly $23 million in illegal trading profits by buying Digital World securities in advance of the announcement, which sent the stock soaring. Mr. Garelick, who worked for Michael Shvartsman at a small Miami-based venture capital firm called Rocket One, made about $50,000 by trading off what authorities said was nonpublic information.
Last month, the Shvartsman brothers decided to forgo a trial and pleaded guilty to securities fraud charges. In their plea agreements, prosecutors have recommended a sentence of roughly four to five years for Michael Shvartsman; and three to four years for his younger brother.
Digital World raised about $300 million from investors in its initial public offering in September 2021. A little over a month later, the SPAC announced a deal to merge with Trump Media. After a long delay, the merger was completed in March and Trump Media became a publicly traded company. Mr. Trump’s nearly 70 percent stake in the firm is worth about $6 billion.
In a closing argument, Daniel Nessim, a federal prosecutor, described Mr. Garelick as a “sophisticated professional” who “cheated” and used inside information to benefit himself and his boss, Michael Shvartsman.
Garelick could face at least 25 years in prison.
This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
Former President Donald Trump will become one of the 500 richest people in the world after his media company begins public trading on Tuesday, according to a report by Bloomberg News.
Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, established the Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) in February of 2021 to develop an alternative social media website, following his removal from Twitter after the events of Jan. 6, 2021, with the new website “Truth Social” being unveiled in 2022. On Monday, TMTG completed a merging process with DWAC, a special-purpose acquisition corporation, that would allow the company to be publicly traded on the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations stock exchange, also known as the “Nasdaq” exchange, with Trump’s 58% stake in the company being valued at $3.9 billion, according to Bloomberg News.
The share price of DWAC increased by 35.22% to close at $49.95 on Monday when the closing of the deal was announced, with the new company retaining the TMTG name and changing its stock ticker to Trump’s initials, “DJT.” The process will increase Trump’s net worth to $6.4 billion, according to Bloomberg.
Trump’s net worth, which until recently has primarily comprised real property of The Trump Organization, has been subject to varying estimates. The Australian Financial Review estimated his net worth to be $9.8 billion following the TMTG acquisition process, while Forbes maintains his net worth at $2.6 billion as of Monday — making him the 1,265th richest person in the world — with its highest-ever estimate for his net worth being $4.5 billion in 2016.
Truth Social has reported many losses since its creation, with Trump being the primary user of the platform with the largest number of followers. He often announces major legal and campaign decisions on the platform, similar to his use of Twitter during his presidency.
Trump will not be able to sell his stake in TMTG for at least six months following the commencement of trading
President-elect Trump announced three special envoys on Thursday with the purpose of promoting business in Hollywood.
Those special ambassadors will be Jon Voight, Mel Gibson, and Sylvester Stallone, Trump said. All three actors are conservative and have appeared publicly with Trump or praised him publicly in the past. Stallone, for example, praised Trump as “the second George Washington” while introducing him at the America First Policy Gala in Palm Beach in November.
“It is my honor to announce Jon Voight, Mel Gibson, and Sylvester Stallone, to be Special Ambassadors to a great but very troubled place, Hollywood, California,” Trump wrote in a Thursday Truth Social post. “They will serve as Special Envoys to me for the purpose of bringing Hollywood, which has lost much business over the last four years to Foreign Countries, BACK—BIGGER, BETTER, AND STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE!”
“These three very talented people will be my eyes and ears, and I will get done what they suggest,” Trump added. “It will again be, like The United States of America itself, The Golden Age of Hollywood!”
The actors’ support for Trump is particularly significant given the strong anti-Trump sentiment voiced by many Hollywood progressives, such as George Clooney, who embrace politicians like former President Barack Obama.
“When George Washington defended his country, he had no idea that he was going to change the world,” Stallone said of Trump in November. “‘Cause without him, you can imagine what the world would look like. Guess what, we got the second George Washington.”
