Billionaire GOP Mega-Donor Rips Trump Corruption: Been ‘Very Enriching to the Families’ of Admin Officials
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
Billionaire GOP mega-donor and past Trump supporter Ken Griffin accused the Trump administration this week of corruption and warned that business leaders are concerned about getting trapped in a loop of government coercion.
“This administration has definitely made missteps in choosing decisions or courses that have been very, very enriching to the families of those in the administration,” Griffin said during a conference in West Palm Beach on Tuesday. The Citadel founder was speaking at an event hosted by The Wall Street Journal and added, “That calls into question: is the public interest being served?”
“One of the things that you want to believe is that those who serve the public interest have the public interest at heart in everything they do,” Griffin added.
Griffin’s comments come amid new reporting that Trump and his sons pocketed an eyepopping $500 million investment linked to the United Arab Emirates in their crypto company just ahead of Trump’s second inauguration. The New York Times also reported last month that by its count, Trump and his family have made $1.4 billion since taking office a second time, a figure the Times called a “minimum” accounting.
White House spokesman Kush Desai responded to Griffin’s comments in a statement to the Financial Times:
The only special interest guiding the Trump administration’s decision-making is the best interest of the American people. The fact that major stock indexes have hit multiple all-time highs, real wages have grown, and inflation has cooled since President Trump took office is proof that this administration is delivering for every American.
Griffin donated tens of millions to the GOP in 2024, but declined to endorse Trump directly. He has since been a tough critic of the president on various issues, namely tariffs, which he warned put the U.S. “on a slippery slope to crony capitalism.”
Griffin also slammed the administration’s approach to corporate America and the seemingly quid-pro-quo relationships Trump has forged with major business leaders.
The FT reported on Griffin’s comments, writing, “Griffin said the dynamic has generated concerns that the US would enter a continuous cycle of corporate leaders needing to pander to whomever is in power, instead of relying on the success of their business.”
Griffin was quoted on the subject as warning, “Most CEOs just don’t want to find themselves in the business of having to in some sense suck up to one administration after another to succeed in running their businesses.”
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