WASHINGTON — Blackstone Inc. Chief Executive Officer and Republican megadonor Stephen Schwarzman won’t be backing former President Donald Trump’s bid for a return to the White House, saying it is time for the party to move on.
“America does better when its leaders are rooted in today and tomorrow, not today and yesterday,” Schwarzman said in a statement Wednesday. “It is time for the Republican Party to turn to a new generation of leaders and I intend to support one of them in the presidential primaries.”
Schwarzman’s defection from Trump, reported earlier by Axios, marks the second time in recent days a major GOP donor has said publicly they will not be giving to Trump’s 2024 effort.
Citadel’s billionaire founder, Ken Griffin, who said last week he was supporting Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, Tuesday called Donald Trump a “three-time loser” who should not run again.
Schwarzman didn’t support Trump until he was already president, giving $344,400 in December 2017 to a committee that supported his campaign and the Republican National Committee. In all, Schwarzman gave $3.7 million to committees that supported Trump.
Blackstone is the world’s largest alternative-asset manager and Schwarzman is listed among the world’s 50 richest people.
Trump has a massive war chest he built up through donations from smaller donors around the country, but the defection of two major GOP fundraisers could give cover to elected officials who are still deciding who to back.
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(Bloomberg staff writers Bill Allison, Rick Green and Amanda Gordon contributed to this story.)
