What happens when half a trillion dollars come together to fight antisemitism? After the leading law firms in the United States, now comes the turn of Wall Street investors.
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A growing group of managers and executives of hedge funds and investment banks is in the process of signing a petition against the employment of people who are involved in antisemitic actions or statements. The document, which was signed by hundreds of senior financial institutions within a few days, was called "Asset Manager Community Statement of Support for Israel". This is undoubtedly a laconic name that does not reflect the power and the huge amount of capital behind the signatures. If you add up the amount of managed assets behind the signatories, you easily reach half a trillion dollars or more.
"The attack on Israel is an attack on all of us. Israel is the Start-Up Nation. Its innovations make the world a better place", the petition reads. "We are profoundly disturbed by people who are indifferent when confronted with Jewish suffering or who organize to blame Jews and celebrate hate. Supporters of hate will have no place in our organizations or our community," the signatories of the statement translate the words into actions.
They represent top American capital companies, with an emphasis on hedge fundsץ This is meaningful action from private capital firms who depend on the funds of wealthy clients, many of whom, most likely, come from the Arab world.
Those who have or would sign the petition normally rarely express opinions publicly on matters other than the stock market or debentures, including market analysis or predictions on stock movements and mostly prefer to keep a low public profile.
At the top of the list is Bill Ackman, founder and CEO of Pershing Square hedge fund. Since the October 7 attack, Ackman has been a prominent advocate for Israel and has come out actively against antisemitism in the business community. Ackman, with his wife Neri Oxman, a well-known scientist, had donated to Israel in the last month, including delivering equipment for evacuees and soldiers.
Ackman, who manages a 20 billion dollars fund, was not particularly active on X until October 7, but since the attack, has used his platform to document events in Israel and in the U.S. on nearly an hourly basis.
He sent a personal letter, a number of few weeks ago, to Claudine Gay, President of Harvard University, his alma mater, and demanded that decisive action be taken against the pro-Palestinian movements that are rampant on campus.
Other than Ackman who's support for Israel and condemnation of antisemitism were already well known, the current petition also includes names of economic giants such as David Einhorn, who heads Greenlight Capital, which also manages billions of dollars in asset. Einhorn, who is also an amateur poker player, is a colorful and well-known figure in the United States, with a net worth estimated by "Forbes" at more than one billion dollars.
Also signing the petition was Paul Singer of the Elliott Management Fund, an activist fund that has also invested in Israeli companies, such as Bezeq Telecom. Singer, whose net worth was recently estimated at more than 6 billion dollars, is considered one of the more aggressive investors on Wall Street who has not been afraid to go up against the likes of Warren Buffett, and his Berkshire Hathaway.
Michael Steinhart, also signed the petition. He is a founder and CEO of Wisdom Tree Investments, which managed at its peak 65 billion dollars asset. Another interesting name is Cliff Asness, who heads the investment giant AQR, which manages a total of $143 billion. His fund is considered one of the largest on Wall Street and also one of the most mysterious, as is typical of funds based on quantitative and algorithmic trading. His partner in the field, who also signed the statement, is Boaz Weinstein, a son of Israeli parents who manages the SABA Capital Management fund, controlling about 4 billion dollars.
Wall St. tycoons discuss withholding contributions to universities over inaction against antisemitism
This initiative by the tycoons of Wall Street comes as a direct follow-up to the letter sent by about 24 major U.S. law firms to the deans of 100 of America's top-ranked law schools, stating that they would not recruit graduates who expressed antisemitic views or engaged in acts of harassment and threats of violence towards the Jewish community.
There are already discussions in the United States about candidates losing job offers after being identified as antisemitic, and quite a few students were trying to erase their history on social media or remove their names from petitions, out of concern for their future careers.
Beyond the statements, a group of well-known donors have already announced they would halt donations to universities after antisemitic statements on campuses. Among the key figures leading the "closing the wallet protest" was Leslie Wexner, Victoria's Secret founder and the man behind Wexner Foundation.
Another prominent figure who takes an active part in trying to connect antisemitism with its consequences in the labor market was Marc Rowan, CEO and founder of Apollo Global Management, one of the biggest private equity firms in the world. According to reports, Rowan has been in touch with “half of Wall Street” about halting donations to some of U.S. most prestigious universities. Rowan himself, by the way, signed a $50 million check to UPenn's Wharton School in 2018, which was the largest private donation the business school had ever received. At the end of October, he held a Zoom meeting with a group of Wall Street executives to discuss ways of using financial leverage among other things, to bring a change the leadership at universities which were not doing enough to stop the waves of antisemitism sweeping the campuses.