Billionaire venture investor Bill Ackman, previously a supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump, has also been hit hard by Trump’s tariff policies.
Ackman has reversed his stance, opposing Trump’s tariff policies and warning that they could plunge the U.S. economy into a “nuclear winter.”
Wall Street billionaires who supported Trump in the last election are now unable to hide their bewilderment at Trump’s decision to enforce tariffs. They had initially dismissed Trump’s tariff rhetoric as mere negotiation tactics, but are now shocked by his determination to follow through.
The Trump administration seems intent on using tariffs not as a bargaining tool, but as a source of funding for the repeal of income taxes.
15% Drop
The Financial Times reported on Monday that Ackman’s flagship fund, Pershing Square Holdings, has seen its stock price plummet by 15% this year due to Trump’s trade war.
This decline has dealt a heavy blow to Ackman, one of Wall Street’s major Trump supporters.
Pershing Square, listed on the London Stock Exchange rather than on New York Stock Exchange, has suffered a 15.4% drop year-to-date.
These losses have prompted a dramatic shift in Ackman’s stance, leading him to publicly criticize Trump’s tariff policies.
Economic Nuclear War
On Sunday, Ackman warned on social media platform X that April 9 – the day Trump plans to implement reciprocal tariffs – will be the day the “economic nuclear war” trigger is pulled.
Trump’s basic tariffs, announced on April 2, have already taken effect as of April 5, imposing a 10% tariff on all imports.
“If on April 9, the U.S. launches an economic nuclear war against every country in the world, business investment will grind to a halt and consumers will close their wallets and pocket books,” Ackman stated.
Ackman warned that once the economic nuclear war of tariffs begins, even if the tariffs stop, the world economy will be covered in the fallout, like after a nuclear explosion.
Ackman noted, “We will severely damage our reputation with the rest of the world that will take years and potentially decades to rehabilitate.”
Tariff Impact
Pershing Square holds significant stakes in Nike, Chipotle, Brookfield Asset Management, and Alphabet.
These stocks have suffered severe blows this year.
Trump, not even 100 days into his term, has sent shockwaves through financial markets with his aggressive tariff policies.
Ackman’s holdings, including Nike, have each plummeted by over 20% year-to-date.
As of late last year, Ackman’s Pershing Square held nearly $2 billion in Alphabet shares and $1.8 billion in Brookfield.
Appeal for a 90-day Timeout
On Sunday, Ackman appealed to Trump for a 90-day suspension on reciprocal tariffs, suggesting this “timeout” could be used for negotiations.
On the same day, he publicly lambasted Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, a strong supporter of tariffs, during a live TV broadcast. Although he later apologized, Ackman raised suspicions about whether Lutnick and his asset management firm, Cantor Fitzgerald, would profit from the economic self-destruction of the U.S., speculating that he may have placed options betting on the decline of the U.S. stock market.
Ackman, who had been an enthusiastic supporter of Trump’s re-election campaign, had previously claimed that Trump’s second term would be the most business-friendly administration in U.S. history.
