(Bloomberg) — Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman is defending Elon Musk after a major advertiser pulled ads from social media site X over anti-Semitic comments.
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Musk faced backlash after agreeing with a post that said Jews have a “dialectical hatred” of white people. “You are telling the truth,” the billionaire owner of X tweeted on Wednesday.
Read more: Musk’s angry comments about X-fuel and rampant anti-Semitism
That sparked criticism from the White House and shareholders of Tesla Inc., Musk’s only publicly traded company, with some investors saying he should be suspended as chief executive of the electric car maker. Advertisers from Apple to The Walt Disney Co. also criticized the move. Pause or stop spending on X.
Pershing Square Capital Management CEO Ackman is worth about $2.2 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The hedge fund manager said in October he was interested in doing a deal with X Corp. as part of a new investment vehicle seeking to raise $1.5 billion or more and potentially convert it into Publicly traded private companies. .
Ackman also said he invested $10 million through his company’s foundation to establish the social media platform.
He is a frequent contributor on social media and has been outspoken in calling on his alma mater, Harvard University, to take steps to address anti-Semitism.
Read more: Ackerman urges Harvard to suspend classes over anti-Semitism
(Add details about Ackman’s relationship to X starting in fifth paragraph.)
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