LinkedIn Democratic Party co-founder and superdonor Reid Hoffman has stopped casting at least 10 million dollars to Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign to thinking about the US exodus in a few weeks.
Hoffman told close friends and associates that he was thinking about going abroad, three anonymous sources said he said The New York Times last week. The 57-year-old tech mogul, who helped finance E. Jean Carroll’s private sexual assault lawsuit against Donald Trump has reportedly said she fears retaliation from the president-elect. Trump was explicit in his intention to take revenge on his political enemies, saying“Sometimes revenge can be justified.” The remarks came after he was convicted of 34 offenses relating to undercover payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
Hoffman, through a spokesman, declined to comment Wealth.
The billionaire founder’s defeatism—and private musings about leaving the U.S.—is also shared by a cadre of wealthy Democratic supporters, left to lick their wounds and try to move forward after Harris’ defeat. time reported. More than 80 billionaires endorsed Harris’ election bid, with many others including Mark Cuban and the 21st Century Fox CEO James Murdoch, claiming ua September letter she would “continue to promote fair and predictable policies that support the rule of law, stability and a healthy business environment.” At the biennial meeting democratic alliance held last month in Washington, where Democratic donors agree where to allocate their money, participants described the event as a “funeral.”
The rich are fleeing
Hoffman’s potential move is an interesting prospect for America’s wealthy. More than half of America’s millionaires said they planned to leave the country after the election, regardless of who became president, according to global citizenship financial advocacy group Arton Capital. More Harris than Trump supporters expressed interest in the drastic move.
The search for a second or third passport comes at a time when economic uncertainty under the new president is peaking, according to Arton Capital CEO Armand Arton. While it is more likely that Trump’s policies will favor the richimmigrating elsewhere may simply seem like a liberating option for those who have the means to do so.
“Americans are caught in a political fire,” David Lesperance, an international tax and immigration consultant for the ultra-rich, told Wealth on the eve of the election. “Their natural reaction is to fight the political fire by voting, lobbying, political donations, etc. However, many realize that even with their most serious firefighting efforts, it is called a forest fire for a reason. That’s why they get second residence fire insurance or citizenship.”
Hoffman’s problem with Trump
Even before Election Day, Hoffman expressed concern about Trump’s re-election and its implications for entrepreneurs who have publicly criticized the former president. Hoffman’s own opposition to Trump had material consequences: In May 2023, a jury found Trump responsible for sexual abuse and for defaming Carroll over her allegations, awarding her $5 million in civil case judgments that Hoffman helped finance.
“I’m literally talking to business leaders who are afraid to speak out against this because they’re afraid of retribution,” Hoffman said in June CNN interview.
Former American Express CEO Ken Chenault supported Hoffman’s suspicions, claiming ua Bloomberg interview that fear is why CEOs have kept their mouths shut about Trump. That retaliation could take the form of IRS audits or the use of funds to imprison people without due process, Hoffman suggested.
“Americans who value the rule of law, stability and prosperity — including even business leaders who may value the latter the most — should take Mr. Trump literally and seriously,” Hoffman wrote in Economist.
