Top business leaders, investors, and philanthropists have been reacting to Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election.
Fox News called the race early Wednesday morning. A little under four hours later, projections from CNN and other news organizations put Trump over the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the presidency.
Throughout the campaign, Silicon Valley has been divided on which candidate to back.
Although Silicon Valley has historically leaned left, some of tech’s biggest names, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk and venture capitalist David Sacks, tilted right this election season.
Still, 875 venture capitalists pledged to vote and donate to Harris through an effort called VCsForKamala. A Business Insider analysis of publicly available FEC data revealed that VCs favored Democrats overall.
Some CEOs and executives have said Trump will better protect their business interests. Trump is expected to cut the corporate tax rate, extend tax cuts from his first term — the largest of which centered on businesses and wealthy Americans — ease some regulations, and increase tariffs.
Labor experts believe Trump may reverse policies making joining unions easier and could loosen workplace safety rules.
Others, though, are nervous that Trump’s economic plans could be inflationary. Prices are up over 20% over President Joe Biden’s first 45 months, which the administration has attributed to the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Economists at think tanks across the political spectrum have written that mass deportations and tariffs — which could be between 10% to 20% on most foreign goods — could spike inflation or hurt GDP.
Here is what some of the wealthiest and most influential business figures have to say about the election outcome.
Elon Musk
Musk was quick to celebrate Trump’s victory, even before the election was called in the former president’s favor.
In an X post on Wednesday, Musk said Trump had been given a “crystal clear mandate for change.”
The people of America gave @realDonaldTrump a crystal clear mandate for change tonight
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 6, 2024
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO had plenty at stake in this election. Musk, who is the world’s richest person, has donated at least $119 million to a super PAC supporting Trump.
The billionaire tech mogul also launched a $1 million giveaway for signers of a conservative-leaning petition supporting the First and Second Amendments.
Musk, who rallied with Trump in Pennsylvania, has previously posted that the election could determine “the fate of Western civilization.”
Musk will likely benefit from a Trump victory, from lower tax rates to relaxed enforcement of some regulations. He is likely to play a role in Trump’s second administration, given their mutual interest in having Musk lead a government efficiency commission.
Mark Cuban
The former principal owner of the Dallas Mavericks, and “Shark Tank” star Mark Cuban posted about a Trump victory before the election was officially called.
“You won fair and square,” Cuban wrote on X on Wednesday morning.
Congrats @realDonaldTrump. You won fair and square. Congrats to @elonmusk as well. #Godspeed
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) November 6, 2024
Cuban’s tone online changed as the night wore on — shortly before 7 p.m., he posted on X that he Facetimed students waiting in long lines at the University of North Carolina Charlotte.
The billionaire investor initially endorsed President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign, but shifted his support to Harris after she became the Democratic nominee.
Cuban was part of the Business Leaders for Harris and VCsForKamala efforts and signed the letter from nearly 90 CEOs endorsing her bid for the White House.
As the race picked up, Cuban started to hit the campaign trail with Harris, appearing at rallies in swing states like Arizona, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
David Sacks
On X, the Silicon Valley venture capitalist and donor said of the election: “Nixon ’68 was The Greatest Comeback — until tonight.”
As Trump inched closer to victory, Sacks was vocal on social media.
“Stop denying the election and call it already,” he posted on X at 1:07 a.m. Eastern, four hours before CNN called the race for Trump.
Sacks endorsed Trump in June, writing on X that Trump would be better for the economy because the Biden administration contributed to heightened inflation and slowed growth. He further backed Trump’s foreign policy efforts and border policies. Sacks hosted a San Francisco fundraiser for Trump that raised $12 million and remained active on social media to support Trump’s reelection.
“Four years ago, Kamala Harris & the Democrats came into power promising a ‘return to normalcy,’” Sacks posted on X on Tuesday afternoon. “What did they give us? Open borders, felons released from jail, runaway spending & inflation, partisan lawfare & censorship, a world on fire. They had their chance — vote for change!”
Anthony Scaramucci
Anthony Scaramucci, who founded the investment firm SkyBridge Capital, posted on X to congratulate Trump and Musk.
“Congratulations to @realDonaldTrump and @elonmusk the campaign was incredibly well executed. Excelsior,” he said in a post.
Scaramucci briefly served as Trump’s White House communications director but was dismissed 10 days after his appointment. He supported Joe Biden in 2020 and Harris in 2024. OpenSecrets data shows that Scaramucci made two donations of $3,300 to Harris.
Scaramucci has been active on social media in support of Harris.
Early on Election Day, he posted on X, “If a political candidate wants to declare victory before the polls close, remember they are doing that to damage the country, not to serve it.” He posted on Sunday, “Harris will win.”
Aaron Levie
Aaron Levie, CEO of cloud company Box, posted on X congratulating Trump before he officially clinched the White House.
“Wild Ride. Congrats to @realDonaldTrump on becoming President again,” Levie said. “What’s great about America is that we’re on a rocket ship right now and can keep accelerating with the right policies and execution.”
Levie has been an outspoken Harris supporter throughout the campaign, frequently calling her pro-business in posts on X and touting her support from the tech sector. He previously told Business Insider that the Harris campaign meaningfully engaged the tech sector throughout the election. FEC filings show Levie donated more than $145,000 to the Harris Victory Fund.
In an Election Day post on X, Levie said that he was confident Harris would win the election.
Andrew Yang
Andrew Yang, a tech entrepreneur and former presidential candidate, took to X to congratulate Trump.
“Defending democracy means accepting election results that don’t go your way. Congrats to Donald Trump – I hope that he brings people and the country together,” he said in a post.
On Election Day, he urged Americans to vote in multiple Twitter posts, and on November 2 posted a picture of himself hugging the vice president with the caption: “I voted for Kamala Harris.”
He announced his support for Harris in July and, in October, called her the “change” candidate in an appearance on CNN.
Despite his support, Yang openly critiqued the Harris campaign through the very end. In an Election Day post on Twitter, Yang said that Harris should have sat for an interview with Joe Rogan, who eventually endorsed Trump.
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