Bill Ackman Defends Elon Musk After Backlash Over Antisemitism

(Bloomberg) — Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman defended Elon Musk after major advertisers pulled ads from social media site X over antisemitic commentary.

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Musk received backlash after he agreed with a post that said Jewish people hold a “dialectical hatred” of white people. “You have said the actual truth,” the billionaire owner of X posted on Wednesday.

Read more: Musk’s Comment and Rampant Antisemitism on X Fuel Outrage

That prompted criticism from the White House and shareholders of Tesla Inc., Musk’s only publicly traded company, with some investors saying he should be suspended from his position as chief of the electric carmaker. Advertisers from Apple Inc. to Walt Disney Co. have also suspended or halted spending on X.

Ackman, who is chief executive officer of Pershing Square Capital Management, is worth roughly $2.2 billion, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index.

The hedge fund manager said in October that he would be interested in pursuing a deal with X Corp. as part of a new investment vehicle that targets private companies seeking to raise $1.5 billion or more and possibly take them public, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Ackman also said he’s backed the social media platform via a $10 million investment through his firm’s foundation.

A frequent contributor to social media, he has been vocal in calling for his alma mater Harvard to take steps to address antisemitism.

Read more: Ackman Urges Suspensions at Harvard to Tackle Antisemitism

(Adds details on Ackman’s ties with X starting in the fifth paragraph.)