Hedge fund billionaires lash Trump’s tariffs as rout deepens
Criticism mounts as Trump signals no retreat from Apr 9 trade overhaul battering markets
[SYDNEY] Bill Ackman and Stanley Druckenmiller slammed President Donald Trump’s decision to launch expansive global tariffs, which have plunged markets into chaos.
The new trade regime is a “mistake,” said Ackman, the founder of Pershing Square and vocal Trump supporter, in a post on X. Druckenmiller, the former George Soros protégé and longtime deficit hawk, also took to the platform to write a rare post expanding on criticisms he made of the policies from an interview in January.
“I do not support tariffs exceeding 10 per cent which I made abundantly clear in the interview you cite,” Druckenmiller also wrote on Sunday, in response to his earlier interview with CNBC. Bloomberg News couldn’t independently verify Druckenmiller’s account.
The widening criticism came as Trump offered no indication he was prepared to claw back a punishing trade overhaul set to begin on Apr 9 that has pummelled markets.
“I strongly believe launching tariffs on Apr 9 against the entire world – massively in excess of what we are being charged – is a mistake,” Ackman wrote in a post on X.
For Ackman, the comments mark the sharpest divergence yet by one of the President’s top Wall Street backers, who announced his support for Trump following an attempted assassination in July during the campaign trail.
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The pair’s comments add to earlier public writings from the founder of the world’s largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates Ray Dalio, who said “the first order consequences of them will be significantly stagflationary in the US.”
A 90-day pause was needed to give Trump time to “carefully and strategically resolve our historically unfair global trading position,” according to Ackman’s post.
Neither Ackman nor Pershing Square have any margin leverage or other instruments which will create liquidity issues if the market crashes. “We don’t use margin. Never have. Never will,” he added.
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Pershing Square only has one investment – Nike three-year call options – directly affected by the tariffs, a position that represents 1.5 per cent of the firm’s portfolio, he said. Ackman said the firm wouldn’t be “sellers in a declining market,” even as it sees mark-to-market losses if the market crashes.
“We will be buyers of great businesses at highly discounted prices which will benefit us and our investors over the long term,” according to the post.
Ackman said Trump’s attempt to strike deals while the market is collapsing doesn’t help his negotiating position.
“Whoever is recommending that idea to our president should be fired promptly,” he added.
Markets were set for another tough week, with US equity futures plunging Sunday. In the two days following Trump’s Apr 2 tariff announcement, more than US$5 trillion was wiped off the value of all US stocks. BLOOMBERG
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