Billionaires’ Shifting Political Allegiances: From Liberal Leanings to Trump Support
Is the Left to Blame for Alienating the Rich or are they Incompatible with Left-wing Ideology?
Related Articles: Zohran and Tying Democrats to the Radical Left, Mainstream Democrats and the Left, Techno-facists and Communists, Big Beautiful Bill and Tax Cuts for the Rich, Musk and Drug Use, and Social Media and Political Polarization.
Introduction
In recent years, several high-profile billionaires and ultra-wealthy individuals have undergone striking political transformations. Many of these figures were once aligned with liberal causes or Democratic candidates, yet they have shifted to openly supporting former President Donald Trump or advocating for right-wing policies. This report examines two prominent cases – Elon Musk and Bill Ackman – analyzing their public statements, political donations, and social media behavior to trace their ideological shifts. It also highlights other wealthy individuals who have made similar pivots, outlining their past affiliations versus current stances. The goal is to provide a comprehensive overview of this trend, supported by reliable news sources, public records, and the individuals’ own statements.
Source: Slow Boring.
Elon Musk: From Democratic Votes to GOP Endorsements
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, exemplifies this evolution. Previous Alignment: Musk historically identified as politically moderate and has voted for Democratic candidates such as Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. He has donated to politicians from both parties over the years, with his contributions roughly split between Democrats and Republicans. In 2016, Musk stated Donald Trump was “not the right guy” for president and participated in Trump’s advisory council only briefly (resigning in protest over climate policy).
Musk and Obama discussion SpaceX. Source: Flickr.
Shift and Current Stance: By 2022, Musk’s outlook had taken a decisive turn to the right. In May 2022, he announced, “In the past I voted Democrat, because they were (mostly) the kindness party. But they have become the party of division & hate, so I can no longer support them and will vote Republican”. Perhaps implicit in this is that despite championing Democratic values like clean energy and tepid support of Ukraine, he was often lambasted on the left for his wealth. Around this time, Musk’s relationship with his transgender daughter began to degrade over, among other things, his wealth. He warned that political attacks against him would follow this party switch. Indeed, Musk soon began explicitly urging his followers to vote Republican in the U.S. midterm elections. By 2023, he publicly endorsed GOP candidates – for example, hosting Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on a Twitter Spaces event and stating that he would support DeSantis for president. Musk also indicated that he would back Republicans in 2024 and form a PAC to support Trump’s campaign. In 2024, he followed through, becoming one of Trump’s biggest financial boosters. Musk helped launch a pro-Trump super PAC and poured tens of millions of dollars into it – making him a major GOP megadonor by the 2024 cycle. Reports indicate Musk ultimately contributed well over $75 million (and possibly upwards of $100+ million) to Trump-aligned political groups during 2023–24.
Notable Statements & Actions: Alongside his financial support, Musk’s public statements and social media behavior starkly reflect his political drift. After taking over Twitter (now X) in 2022, he increasingly amplified conservative talking points. Musk has accused the Democratic Party of espousing “division and hate” and railed against “woke” liberal culture (at one point tweeting “take the red pill,” a meme associated with moving rightward). Musk’s tweets have at times promoted or flirted with right-wing conspiracy theories – for example, he has frequently promoted falsehoods about Democrats, election fraud and immigration since 2022, according to media analyses. One high-profile instance was when he tweeted (then deleted) a link to an unfounded conspiracy about an attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, attracting widespread criticism. Musk’s engagement with far-right influencers on X and his posts mocking gender pronouns and public health officials also endeared him to conservative audiences. By mid-2024, Musk’s transformation was essentially complete: he endorsed Donald Trump for president and became virtually inseparable from Trump’s inner circle. In fact, Musk was described as one of President-elect Trump’s closest allies, even being considered for an influential role in a future Trump administration. This represents a dramatic shift for someone who once championed green energy and donated to Barack Obama’s reelection.
Timeline of Change: Musk’s rightward shift accelerated from 2020 onward. Between 2018 and 2020, he still courted both parties — for example, donating to a GOP PAC for business related reasons while endorsing Democrat Andrew Yang’s presidential campaign. By late 2021, Musk’s rhetoric had grown openly critical of Democrats (often targeting proposals to tax billionaires and provide greater support for union-made vehicles, which he opposed). In 2022, he declared he had given up on Democratic Party and would vote Republican. In 2023, Musk actively promoted GOP figures and culture-war issues on Twitter. By 2024, he was both financially and publicly all-in for Trump. In sum, over a few years Musk went from a politically neutral innovator (and one-time Obama voter) to a major advocate for Trump and right-wing causes.
Bill Ackman: A Hedge Fund Titan’s Rightward Turn
Billionaire investor Bill Ackman, CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, has likewise shifted from a Democrat-leaning stance to vocal support of Trump-aligned positions. Previous Alignment: Ackman was a longtime Democratic-aligned donor, contributing mostly to Democratic candidates and causes for years. He even publicly rejoiced when Joe Biden won the 2020 election, and in the wake of the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot, Ackman was harshly critical of Trump. On January 7, 2021, Ackman tweeted that Trump should “resign and apologize to all Americans” for the attack. This indicated that, at the time he found Trump’s behavior unacceptable. Ackman’s voter registration was reportedly Democratic, and his donation history up to that point skewed heavily toward Democratic causes.
Shift and Current Stance: Despite those earlier views, by 2023–2024, Bill Ackman had undergone a stark change of heart. In a surprise to many, he endorsed Donald Trump for President in the 2024 race. Ackman formally announced in July 2024: “I am going to formally endorse @realDonaldTrump”, emphasizing that he made the decision carefully, rationally, and based on as much empirical data as possible.
This public endorsement of Trump marked a clear break from Ackman’s post-Jan.6 stance. Ackman himself acknowledged the shift, noting that friends were “surprised” given his predominantly Democratic giving history and prior registration. He had, in fact, been signaling a turn for months on social media — by mid-2023 he was frequently defending or praising Trump’s policies and criticizing the Biden administration online. Ackman even hinted at this move earlier; in late 2022 he suggested that if Biden did not change course, he might support Trump (or a Republican) in 2024. By the time of his endorsement, he admitted many of his followers had “already understood from my supportive posts of Trump and my criticisms of Biden” that his allegiance had shifted.
Notable Statements & Actions: Ackman’s public statements and actions illustrate his evolution. In the immediate aftermath of Jan. 6, 2021, he condemned Trump, aligning with mainstream Democratic sentiment. However, as the Biden presidency progressed, Ackman became an outspoken critic of Democratic policies. He often took to Twitter (now X) to argue that the Democrats were undermining economic prosperity and personal freedoms. Notably, in October 2024, Ackman posted a lengthy 1,800-word tweet (essentially a mini-essay) listing 33 reasons why he now preferred Trump’s agenda over that of Democrats. Among these reasons were positions commonly heard on the right: Ackman lambasted Democrats for vaccine mandates and COVID policies, voicing skepticism about vaccine safety and outrage that dissenting scientific views were “censored”. He accused Democrats of allowing a proliferation of new vaccines without proper risk analysis, and of shielding pharmaceutical companies from liability – echoing talking points of the anti-vaccine movement. These statements were remarkable coming from someone whose wife is a scientist and who had not previously been associated with anti-vax rhetoric. Additionally, Ackman decried so-called “woke” policies in universities and corporations, and he engaged in highly publicized campaigns such as demanding accountability from Harvard’s administration over its handling of campus activism (he sided with a conservative viewpoint in a controversy about alleged anti-Israel bias and diversity programs).
On the financial front, Ackman’s donations also flipped. Records show that in the 2024 cycle, he quietly began funding Republican causes: Ackman donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Republican-aligned PACs during the general election. This was after a period of hedging when he supported a mix of candidates across party lines: for instance, he first backed Democrat Dean Phillips (a centrist challenging Biden in the 2024 Democratic primary), and also donated to two of Trump’s Republican primary rivals (Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy) earlier in 2024. By the general election, however, Ackman threw his financial weight behind Trump’s campaign and GOP groups. In short, a man who once funneled money to Democrats had become a Republican donor advocating for Trump.
Timeline of Change: Ackman’s transformation was largely a 2021–2024 phenomenon. Immediately after 2020 election, he leaned Democratic (relieved at Trump’s loss).
2021: Jan. 6 was a breaking point where he opposed Trump.
2022: Ackman grew dissatisfied with Democratic governance (tweets from that year show him criticizing inflation, crime policy, and suggesting Democrats were driving the economy “off a cliff”). He also began voicing more libertarian learning views on mandates and regulation.
2023: The hedge-fund billionaire became conspicuously active on social media championing free speech (criticizing what he saw as censorship by liberals) and echoing conservative positions on crime and education. By late 2023, he publicly entertained supporting RFK Jr. (an independent with right-wing appeal) or other alternatives.
Early 2024: Ackman donated to a Democrat Dean Phillips challenging Biden, indicating he wanted to move on from the current Democratic leadership. When that fizzled, he decisively moved to Trump – endorsing Trump in mid-2024 and donating to GOP PACs. This marked a full circle from where he stood in early 2021. Ackman’s case underscores how even members of the business elite long associated with Democrats can shift to the other end of the spectrum due to a combination of ideological shifts and policy disagreements.
Other Billionaires and Wealthy Figures Who Shifted Rightward
Musk and Ackman are not isolated examples. A number of other billionaires and high-net-worth individuals have similarly transitioned from liberal or bipartisan affiliations to openly supporting Donald Trump or conservative causes. This may be cause for concern for Democrats. Below are several notable cases, along with their previous alignment and current stance:
Nelson Peltz – From Clinton Friend to Reluctant Trump Backer: Nelson Peltz, a billionaire investor and corporate raider, was traditionally seen as a moderate Democratic-leaner in business circles. He has been friendly with the Clintons and did not support Trump in 2016 (Peltz said he voted for Hillary Clinton and initially kept distance from Trump). In 2020, however, Peltz hosted a lavish fundraiser for Trump at his Palm Beach estate, raising $10 million. He supported Trump’s policies on the economy, though after Jan. 6, 2021 Peltz publicly apologized for having voted for Trump in 2020, calling the Capitol riot a “disgrace” and saying “As an American, I’m embarrassed”. By 2024, Peltz had swung back to Trump – albeit begrudgingly. Citing concerns over President Biden’s age and leadership, Peltz admitted “It will probably be Trump and I’m not happy about that” regarding his 2024 vote. He convened fellow GOP-leaning donors and argued that, personal misgivings aside, “we can’t afford Joe Biden” and “we’ve all got to throw our support behind [Trump]”. In essence, Peltz went from apologizing for Trump to viewing him as the lesser of two evils compared to a Democratic administration – a striking turn for someone who once distanced himself after January 6. His political donations follow this trajectory: earlier in his career Peltz gave to both Republicans and Democrats, but in 2020 he donated to Trump, then paused support, only to donate again to GOP efforts in 2024 (reportedly giving $100,000 to a pro-Tim Scott PAC before ultimately returning to Trump).
Marc Andreessen – Tech Liberal Turned “Techno-Right” Champion: Marc Andreessen, the Silicon Valley billionaire and co-founder of Netscape and venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, provides another example. For most of his life Andreessen was a Democrat; he backed Barack Obama and supported Hillary Clinton in 2016, even publicly explaining that he preferred Clinton over Trump. In Silicon Valley circles he was considered part of the liberal mainstream. However, Andreessen’s views have shifted alongside the tech industry’s own political realignment. By 2023–24, Andreessen became an outspoken critic of the Democratic Party’s approach to tech regulation and taxes. He authored a viral “Techno-Optimist Manifesto” that implicitly rejected progressive critiques of Big Tech, and he began praising Republican stances. Current Position: In July 2024, it was revealed that Marc Andreessen and his business partner Ben Horowitz had donated to former President Trump’s election effort, aligning with the growing MAGA wing of the tech elite. Andreessen has explicitly criticized President Biden’s proposals to tax billionaires’ unrealized capital gains, claiming such policies “would absolutely kill both startups and venture capital” – He argues Trump would be better for the tech sector as his partner Horowitz said on a podcast, “For little tech, we think Donald Trump is actually the right choice,” signaling their belief that Trump’s deregulatory, anti-tax stance favors tech entrepreneurs. This is a remarkable shift for Andreessen: he went from sitting on Facebook’s board and donating mostly to Democrats, to endorsing Trump and contributing to Republican coffers. Andreessen Horowitz even indicated it would support candidates “advancing technology” – a mission that in their view pointed to GOP figures by 2024. In sum, Andreessen’s transformation illustrates how Silicon Valley’s political center of gravity has moved: once reliably Democratic, now even some of its biggest investors are lining up behind Donald Trump as they bristle at Democratic regulatory policies.
Chamath Palihapitiya – Obama Donor to Trump Fundraiser: Chamath Palihapitiya, a venture capitalist and former Facebook executive, was an active supporter of Democrat Barack Obama and generally moved in progressive circles in the past. Historically, he was a Democratic Party donor and supported liberal tech initiatives. But in recent years, Palihapitiya has taken a sharp libertarian and contrarian turn. He became critical of the Democratic Party on issues like business regulation and even made controversial remarks that downplayed human rights concerns (which distanced him from the left). By 2024, Palihapitiya made headlines for co-hosting a major Trump fundraising event in San Francisco – something almost unthinkable a few years prior, given the Bay Area’s liberal reputation. Along with David Sacks (a fellow tech investor), Palihapitiya invited Donald Trump to a fundraiser on June 6, 2024 at his mansion in San Francisco. The event was a whirlwind stop that reportedly raised $12 million for Trump’s campaign in one evening. Palihapitiya helping lead this effort signaled his alignment with Trump’s candidacy. He justified his shift in libertarian terms – arguing that Democrats stifle innovation and that Trump’s policies would be better for growth. Indeed, many Silicon Valley libertarians, Palihapitiya included, were drawn to Trump’s opposition to certain regulations (on cryptocurrencies, AI, etc.) and his tax stance. Thus, Palihapitiya went from a high-profile Obama fundraiser a decade ago to a key fundraiser for Trump in 2024, reflecting a broader trend of tech mavericks “breaking ranks with the Democrats” in favor of Trump’s agenda.
David O. Sacks – Liberal-Tolerant Libertarian to MAGA Ally: David Sacks, while perhaps not a household name, is a wealthy venture capitalist (part of the PayPal mafia) whose political journey mirrors this pattern. Sacks was long a libertarian-leaning figure; he wasn’t a Democrat per se, but he moved in socially liberal circles in California and donated to some candidates across the aisle. In the 2000s and 2010s, Sacks supported causes like same-sex marriage and even backed a Democrat for California governor in 2018. However, in the past few years Sacks has emerged as one of Trump’s staunch defenders in tech. He became a vocal critic of “woke culture” and COVID-19 mandates, often echoing right-wing themes on his podcast. By 2022, Sacks was fundraising for Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and by 2024, he had shifted to supporting Donald Trump directly. Current Role: Sacks hosted the same Trump fundraiser with Palihapitiya in San Francisco, opening up his home to Trump and wealthy donors. He also moderated Twitter discussions favorable to GOP candidates — including the high profile DeSantis presidential campaign launch on Twitter Spaces in 2023. Sacks’ transformation was less about a party switch (he always leaned libertarian) and more about an intensity of support for the MAGA movement that was unexpected in Silicon Valley. His prominence on social media and podcasting platforms amplifying Trump talking points and controversial views — for example, questioning the 2020 election results, opposing aid to Ukraine cemented his status as a tech mogul firmly on the right. While Sacks may not have the same prior Democratic bona fides as others on this list, he exemplifies the broader shift of tech money toward Trump: once, tech billionaires donating to Trump were rare outliers, but Sacks helped make it increasingly common by 2024.
Other examples could be noted as well: Larry Ellison, the Oracle co-founder, was historically an independent who occasionally donated to Democrats, but by 2020 he became one of Trump’s top donors and hosted a Trump fundraiser. Similarly, hedge-fund billionaires like Kenneth C. Griffin and Stephen A. Schwarzman, though long Republican-leaning, shifted in their support – distancing themselves after Jan. 6 only to consider backing GOP nominees again later. Even celebrity figures such as Kanye West shifted from aligning with Democrats (famously criticizing President Bush in 2005 and supporting Obama) to wearing a MAGA hat and praising Trump by 2018. These cases reinforce the trend of wealthy individuals moving right, but the focus here remains on those with clear liberal-to-conservative trajectories.
In the previous election, the GOP was backed by billionaires than Democrats. Source: Americans for Tax Fairness.
In summary, if Democrats want to court the economic elite and those with the best business acumen, there needs to be some self-examination over why the rich are moving to a demagogue like Trump. Are the rich caught in a social justice dragnet that considers them to be the oppressors? Maybe Democratic policies appear to be anathema to economic growth as the rich see it. Perhaps there is some selfishness in recognizing their lower tax bill, but this was on the table long before so many of the wealthy have shifted to the GOP. If the Democrats want to continue to build a big tent coalition including many of the nation’s wealthy, something needs to change.
Sources: Public statements from the individuals on X/Twitterreuters.comtherevolvingdoorproject.org; campaign donation data (OpenSecrets, FEC)opensecrets.orgtherevolvingdoorproject.org; reporting by Reuters, New York Times, Business Insider, Axios, Los Angeles Times, and others that documented these shiftsreuters.comnewyorker.comaxios.comlatimes.com. All evidence indicates a clear pattern: these billionaires, once counted among (or at least friendly to) the political left, have realigned themselves with the Republican Party’s Trump-era platform – often due to disagreements with Democratic policies on taxation, regulation, and social issues, as well as personal affinity for Trump’s style or policies. Each has used their considerable influence (through endorsements, social media, and donations) to bolster the rightward movement in U.S. politics.
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