Home Depot® MAGA Mega Donor Turns on Trump
Donald Trump and Tim Cook, 2018. Photo courtesy of The White House. Public domain.
Ken Langone, Home Depot® co-founder and GOP megadonor, is mad.
Not "grumble-into-his-silk-tie" mad or "this caviar is not being served at the correct temperature" mad — but instead "what is happening to my money?!" mad. The billionaire who once praised Donald Trump for shaking things up is now watching his portfolio take a beating, thanks to the very shake-up he helped bankroll.
Langone isn't alone. As the markets roller-coaster and America's economic confidence frays, a parade of ultra-wealthy backers who once toasted Trump's return to power is now sounding alarms. They're shocked. They're rattled. And they're angry.
Billionaires Bet Big...
Money in politics isn't exactly new, and it certainly isn't exclusive to one political party or the other.
However, many of Trump's billionaire backers didn't just contribute to Trump's campaign financially — they courted him. Tech CEOs threw black-tie parties, made pilgrimage-style visits to Trump's home at Mar-a-Lago, and lavished the president with praise and donations. Apple®, Google®, Meta®, and Amazon® each gave $1 million to his inauguration. Top executives, including Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, appeared on the dais beside Trump's cabinet during the inauguration, The Seattle Times reported.
Trump had made no secret about enacting "universal tariffs" on the campaign trail. He broadcast it. These policies were widely discussed before the election and confirmed as inevitable by policy insiders. Yet his elite supporters convinced themselves that he wouldn't actually do it. Surely, cooler heads would prevail.
... And Got Burned
And then Trump enacted the tariffs.
Last week, Trump's "Liberation Day" tariff kickoff imposed a 10% blanket tariff on all imports. Some nations, like China and Vietnam, have been staring down 104% and 46% levies, respectively.
Stocks have already plummeted and popped, with tech giants hit hardest. Apple, Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft® have collectively shed over 20% of their value since the inauguration — a staggering $3 trillion of wealth wiped out as tariffs threaten the global supply chain.
To Wall Street, it's a gut punch. To Main Street? It's invisible — at least for now. But to Trump's billionaire class of supporters? It's personal. They're the ones watching their carefully hedged bets unravel in real-time. Langone, 89, who poured millions into GOP candidates, has been vocal in his disapproval, saying, "I don't understand the god---- formula. I believe he's been poorly advised by his advisers about this trade situation — and the formula they're applying," as reported by The Independent.
'This Is Not What We Voted For'
If Langone is the canary in the proverbial coal mine, Bill Ackman is the air raid siren. Ackman, a hedge fund titan who endorsed Trump in 2024 after years as a Democratic donor, is now warning of an "economic nuclear winter," according to CNN. "This is not what we voted for," he wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter), pleading for a 90-day tariff pause so the president could "resolve unfair asymmetric tariffs deals" through negotiation — rather than a global economic war.
Ackman isn't alone, either. Stanley Druckenmiller, worth an estimated $11 billion, has called for a cap on tariffs at 10%. Ken Fisher, another billionaire investor, tried to bridle his anger, saying in a post on X, "What Trump unveiled (last) Wednesday is stupid, wrong, arrogantly extreme, ignorant trade-wise and addressing a non-problem with misguided tools. Yet, as near as I can tell it will fade and fail and the fear is bigger than the problem, which from here is bullish," CNN reported.
Even Elon Musk — Trump's own special adviser on government efficiency — has broken ideological ranks. He's publicly promoted a "zero-tariff situation" between the U.S. and Europe, saying a free trade zone would benefit both sides.
Yet, as the market continues to ping-pong, these ultra-rich complaints might be too little, too late.
Class War or Trade War?
America's billionaire class gambled that their power would shield them from the consequences of Trump's populism — that they could have the fireworks without the fire.
But now, as their investments stumble and their industries face new costs, they're learning something the working class figured out long ago.
Sometimes, you back a bulldozer and end up getting bulldozed.
References: GOP megadonor Ken Langone is latest billionaire to blast Trump's tariffs | Billionaires are turning on Trump | Jamie Dimon, Larry Fink and Bill Ackman warn of economic outlook with Trump's tariffs | Tech CEOs spent millions courting Trump. It has yet to pay off | GOP megadonor and Home Depot founder blasts Trump's 'bull----' tariffs | Some elite Trump supporters are having regrets. We asked them why.
