Tag: billionaires

Bloomberg pours more cash into Cuomo super PAC, bringing his total contribution to $8.3M

Mike Bloomberg’s vast wealth is continuing to power Andrew Cuomo’s front-running mayoral bid.

The billionaire former mayor contributed $3.3 million to a super PAC supporting Cuomo’s attempted comeback in the nation’s largest city — a donation made public on Wednesday that comes just days after Bloomberg gave $5 million to the group.

With the latest gift, Bloomberg is now single-handedly responsible for one-third of the PAC’s total haul of $24 million since it launched in March, according to a POLITICO analysis. Other real estate and finance executives who make up New York’s monied elite, including billionaire Donald Trump supporter Bill Ackman, have poured cash into the group.

A spokesperson for the super PAC, which is called Fix the City, did not comment on Bloomberg’s latest contribution.

The money — and the flood of mailers and TV ads funded by it — indicate Cuomo supporters are nervous about the rise of his principal opponent, democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani. The state lawmaker has been running a strong second to the ex-governor in most polls; a Marist College survey on Wednesday found Cuomo would defeat Mamdani after seven rounds of ranked-choice voting, 55 percent to 45 percent. But early voting is high in some neighborhoods that would appear to benefit Mamdani, and temperatures are expected to hit 100 degrees next Tuesday, which could suppress turnout among older New Yorkers Cuomo is counting on.

Likely motivating Bloomberg, who had a rivalry with the former governor during their overlapping tenures, are Mamdani’s far-left politics and criticism of Israel. He wants to raise taxes on the rich to pay for services like free bus fare and as recently as this week, refused to criticize the phrase “globalize the Intifada,” calling it an expression of Palestinian rights.

The former mayor endorsed Cuomo last week, and called him the “one candidate whose management experience and government know-how stand above the others.” Cuomo is 67 and worked in and around government and politics his entire career; Mamdani is 33 and counters criticisms of his thin résumé with reminders of the scandals that drove Cuomo from office.

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Musk says he is providing Iran with Starlink as regime restricts internet

Elon Musk signaled late Friday night that he is providing Iranians with Starlink satellite internet after conservative analyst Mark Levin asked him to turn the service on in Iran during Israel‘s conflict with the country.

“The beams are on,” Musk said in a response to Levin’s request on X.

Levin’s initial post argued that if Starlink is turned on in the country, “Musk can put the final nail in the coffin of the Iranian regime.” Starlink is Musk’s satellite internet service.

Iran restricted internet access for millions of people following Israel’s strike on the country. Internet usage in the country heavily declined after the restrictions were issued, according to the internet monitoring group Netblocks. There hasn’t been a complete block of traffic, however, as Levin’s post suggested.

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The Truth About Fort Knox and Gold Leasing

Whatever happened to the Donald Trump and Elon Musk visit to Fort Knox?

You’ll recall the buzz from earlier this year. Trump and Musk loudly announced they were going to visit the U.S. bullion depository at Fort Knox, Kentucky to make sure the U.S. gold was actually there. The press was invited to tag along. Musk claimed that his DOGE team was ready to “audit” the gold bars to see that there were none missing. I had my own views on the announcement (described below) but I certainly agreed this would be the mother of all photo ops.

For the record, the U.S. Treasury holds 8,133.5 metric tonnes of gold in the U.S. reserve position. Slightly less than half of this gold is stored in Fort Knox. The remainder is mostly stored in a secure vault at West Point, New York. The exact location of that vault is classified although I happen to know where it is. A small amount is held at the Denver Mint for coinage purposes. Legally the U.S. Treasury owns the gold reserve, but I point out that the U.S. Army actually controls it since almost all of the gold is stored on two Army bases – Fort Knox and West Point.

A Fort Knox Extravaganza

None of this nuance about storage and location deterred Trump and Musk. In the popular imagination, all of the gold is in Fort Knox. That’s where they were headed to prove once and for all that the gold was actually there. Elon Musk planned to livestream the entire visit using his Starlink satellite system. Trump vaguely threatened that if any gold were missing, there would be disastrous consequences for any wrongdoers who removed it. The plot was set. The drama seemed irresistible.

As an aside, I was hoping that Trump and Musk were each reasonably fit and had been lifting some free weights. Gold is heavy! In fact, it’s one of the most dense materials in the periodic table of the elements, leaving aside radioactive elements like uranium and some of the trace elements that only exist in minute atomic-level quantities. A standard 400-Troy Ounce bar weighs 27.4 pounds in the English system. I’ve lifted a few during my visits to secure gold vaults. I always smile for the camera, but inside it takes a lot of strength to keep the gold bar in the air. I was concerned that Trump or Musk might strain their backs putting on a show for the press.

Trump mentioned the proposed visit to Fort Knox in a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron. He mentioned it to reporters aboard Air Force One. He mentioned his plan again in remarks before the National Governors Association Conference and at the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) annual meeting.

Then suddenly the whole story went away. Trump never mentioned it again after February 26. Musk went radio silent on the topic after April 6. There was no visit to Fort Knox. There was no announcement about why there would be no visit. It was as if the whole story never happened. It just went away.

Now, Elon Musk is leaving his position as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). That was always in the cards. Musk’s appointment was as a temporary government employee; he was always going to leave about now. But why not put on a memorable gold show during his time in office? It simply never happened.

The Question Is, Why?

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Shanghai Billionaire Connected to Chinese Communists and Husband of Code Pink Founder Is Behind the Recent Anti-Ice Riots

In August 2023, The New York Times published a rare informative and honest journalism. The New York Times wrote exposed the so-called anti-war group Code Pink as a Communist China shill or front group.

Kristinn Taylor reported at the time.

Code Pink co-founder Jodie Evans, 68, has deep roots in the Democratic Party, having served as the campaign manager for the 1992 presidential campaign of former California Governor Jerry Brown. In the 2008 presidential campaign, Evans served as a host for Obama fundraisers in Hollywood with her then husband Max Palevsky (who passed away in 2010 at age 85) and as a campaign bundler.

Evans married Singham, 69, in 2017.

Fellow Code Pink co-founder Susan ‘Medea’ Benjamin protested against President Trump at his arraignment in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, reported TGP’s Jordan Conradson.

Trump was the only U.S. president to not start any new wars, yet the so-called antiwar group Code Pink stood against him in his first term – and now in his second term.

It is clear Code Pink is not an “anti-war” group. Instead, Code Pink is a shill for the communists.

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House GOP Launches Probe of China-Based Billionaire Over Potential Link to LA Riots

House Republicans on Friday launched an investigation into a China-based billionaire allegedly funding protest groups in the United States, including one reportedly linked to riots against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Los Angeles.

The probe targets Neville Roy Singham, a Chicago-born businessman and self-described socialist. He lives in Shanghai with his wife, Jodie Evans, a prominent social justice activist and co-founder of advocacy group Code Pink.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) said the House Oversight committee will be calling Singham to testify regarding the funding of what she described as “a communist group” tied to both the Los Angeles riots and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

“If he refuses to appear, he will be subpoenaed, and if he ignores that, he will be referred to the DOJ for prosecution,” Luna wrote in a post on social media platform X.

In a letter to Singham, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and Luna cited his alleged financial backing of far-left groups linked to recent unrest, including violence in anti-Israel demonstrations and the anti-ICE riots in Los Angeles.

Representatives of Singham could not immediately be reached for comment.

Among the groups named is the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), a Marxist political organization that has fielded presidential candidates since 2008. PSL has been associated with an individual charged in the May 21 killing of two Israeli embassy staffers in Washington, D.C., and is reportedly a leading organizer of the anti-ICE protests.

PSL is also affiliated with the People’s Forum, a New York City–based nonprofit known for promoting radical leftist activism and hosting Marxist thinkers. In 2021, the People’s Forum described Singham as a “Marxist comrade” who sold his company to fund activist movements, indicating that the forum itself ran on donations from him.

The committee is also looking at Singham’s potential ties to the ANSWER Coalition, a far-left protest group that has organized major demonstrations against U.S. foreign policy and Israel’s military actions in Gaza following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attacks.

Pointing to the CCP’s known doctrine of strategic subversion, the lawmakers raised concerns that these organizations may be operating to advance Beijing’s interests.

“Under General Secretary Xi [Jinping], the CCP is known for its ‘Strategy of Sowing Discord,’ which refers to efforts to make internal disputes amongst the enemy so deep that they become distracted from conflict,” Comer and Luna wrote in the letter, which was co-signed by 19 other Republican members of the committee.

“If you are, in fact, carrying out this strategy on behalf of the CCP, you may have a FARA registration obligation,” the letter continues, referencing the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which requires individuals acting on behalf of foreign principals to register with the U.S. Department of Justice and disclose their activities and financial ties.

“In addition, your funding and relationship with the PSL, which has been implicated in the violence and riots in Los Angeles, may violate other federal laws,” they said, before requesting that Singham hand over information that would explain his relationships with PSL, the ANSWER Coalition, and the People’s Forum.

In a separate letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi on the same matter, the committee asked the Justice Department to investigate an allegedly Singham-funded network of 19 activist groups, including Code Pink, for potential violations of FARA.

The investigation builds on concerns raised in December 2024 by then-Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who urged then-Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate whether the purportedly Singham-backed groups were sowing unrest and division on U.S. soil to advance CCP propaganda.

“The U.S. citizen, Neville Roy Singham, has reportedly funded many far-left and pro-Hamas organizations,” according to a press release from the Senate Committee on the Judiciary at the time. “These organizations appear to have a track record of parroting CCP talking points and opposing U.S. interests and, in some instances, receiving funding from CCP entities or working with CCP officials.”

That request, made in the closing days of the Biden administration, was not pursued further.

The Department of Justice did not respond to a request for comment by publication time.

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Peter Thiel’s Palantir Aims Military Grade, Central Intelligence Surveillance Weapons at Americans

In March, President Trump signed an executive order calling for the federal government to share data across various agencies, a move that has not been publicly discussed since but is being implemented with Palantir’s assistance.

This executive order lays the groundwork for Palantir’s involvement, as reported by Raw Story. Palantir’s Gotham software, already used by defense and intelligence agencies, will now profile domestic behavior, detect fraud, and identify risky individuals or patterns.

The Economic Times reported that Palantir is building “the most expansive civilian surveillance infrastructure in U.S. history,” integrating real-time data and AI. As stated in the article:

“Palantir isn’t just improving old databases—it’s building what some experts are calling the most expansive civilian surveillance infrastructure in U.S. history. Instead of scattered files and spreadsheets, the platform will use real-time data integration and artificial intelligence to profile behavior, detect fraud, and identify individuals or patterns deemed risky by the system.” – The Economic Times

This development underscores the scale and potential impact of Palantir’s involvement in domestic surveillance. Raw Story further highlighted the deployment of Palantir’s Foundry platform, noting:

“The push has put a key Palantir product called Foundry into at least four federal agencies, including [the Department of Homeland Security] and the Health and Human Services Department. Widely adopting Foundry, which organizes and analyzes data, paves the way for Mr. Trump to easily merge information from different agencies, the government officials said. Creating detailed portraits of Americans based on government data is not just a pipe dream.” – Raw Story

This expansion into multiple agencies amplifies concerns about privacy and data security. Additionally, the Trump administration seeks access to hundreds of data points, including bank accounts, student debt, medical claims, and disability status.

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The PayPal Mafia

Some may have heard of the tech geniuses who compose “The PayPal Mafia.” The mainstream media glamorizes them as “tech visionaries,” a band of rebellious geniuses who disrupted finance and went on to build empires. Yet, beneath the surface of the so-called PayPal Mafia is not innovation for the public good, but the construction of a new form of oligarchy—one more dangerous than the robber barons of the 19th century. Why? Because this new class of elites doesn’t merely build companies. These men influence monetary systems, shape global narratives, and fund policy engineering through unelected channels.

PayPal emerged in the late 1990s during the dot-com bubble, which I had warned would crash by 2000. PayPal became a clever workaround to bypass the traditional banking system, cloaked under the premise of convenience. This so-called “mafia” includes Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, Reid Hoffman, Max Levchin, David Sacks, Scott Banister, Roelof Botha, Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, Jawed Karim, Premal Shah, Yu Pan, and Yishan Wong, among others who had roots in PayPal. Each went on to build their own tech empire spanning across biotech, social media, space, venture capitalism, and surveillance.

Fortune Magazine ran an article about these men in 2007, and even asked them to dress up as traditional mafia gangsters. These men are the new tech elite who wield immense power and influence. Elon Musk’s deep ties to Donald Trump shone a new light on how deeply the so-called PayPal Mafia has become embedded in politics and geopolitical affairs.

I reported how Peter Thiel provided J.D. Vance a platform to enter politics. Thiel introduced Vance to Silicon Valley and welcomed him into the scene of the tech elite. Theil’s Palantir was recently awarded a massive contract to create the first US federal centralized government database that will house every piece of data on every American citizen. Again, this is happening under the premise of convenience.

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Trump says Elon Musk could face ‘serious consequences’ if he backs Democratic candidates

President Donald Trump is not backing off his battle with Elon Musk, saying Saturday that he has no desire to repair their relationship and warning that his former ally and campaign benefactor could face “serious consequences” if he tries to help Democrats in upcoming elections.

Trump told NBC’s Kristen Welker in a phone interview that he has no plans to make up with Musk. Asked specifically if he thought his relationship with the mega-billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX is over, Trump responded, “I would assume so, yeah.”

“I’m too busy doing other things,” Trump continued. “You know, I won an election in a landslide. I gave him a lot of breaks, long before this happened, I gave him breaks in my first administration, and saved his life in my first administration, I have no intention of speaking to him.”

The president also issued a warning amid chatter that Musk could back Democratic lawmakers and candidates in the 2026 midterm elections.

“If he does, he’ll have to pay the consequences for that,” Trump told NBC, though he declined to share what those consequences would be. Musk’s businesses have many lucrative federal contracts.

The president’s latest comments suggest Musk is moving from close ally to a potential new target for Trump, who has aggressively wielded the powers of his office to crack down on critics and punish perceived enemies. As a major government contractor, Musk’s businesses could be particularly vulnerable to retribution. Trump has already threatened to cut Musk’s contracts, calling it an easy way to save money.

The dramatic rupture between the president and the world’s richest man began this week with Musk’s public criticism of Trump’s “big beautiful bill” pending on Capitol Hill. Musk has warned that the bill will increase the federal deficit and called it a “disgusting abomination.”

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US billionaire dubbed ‘the most powerful man on Wall Street’ denies neighbours’ claims he’s plundering Wiltshire’s underground water to fill his nine-million-gallon lake

A US billionaire’s dream of creating a grand English country estate in the tradition of 18th Century landscape designer Capability Brown is facing a backlash from neighbours convinced he is tapping into their water supply.

American financier Stephen Schwarzman bought the magnificent Conholt Park in Wiltshire – described as one of the finest shooting estates in southern England – for £82million three years ago. 

He has funnelled millions of pounds into transforming the 2,100-acre estate’s parkland by building a huge lake that will hold more than nine million gallons of water.

But The Mail on Sunday can reveal that Mr Schwarzman, dubbed the most powerful man on Wall Street, is under fire from neighbours who believe he is using a borehole to extract groundwater to fill the lake. 

This, they allege, could lead to water shortages at their own properties because they rely on a shared aquifer.

There is also anger at plans to ‘enhance’ the estate’s pheasant shoots, with local sources claiming Mr Schwarzman is preparing for up to 500 birds to be shot a day.

‘I don’t like what he is doing,’ one local shooting enthusiast told the MoS. ‘That’s not sport.’

Last night a spokesman for Mr Schwarzman, 78, the boss of Blackstone, one of the world’s largest private-equity funds, denied the lake is being filled by a borehole and said the estate was instead using a ‘highly sophisticated water collection system’ that carries rainfall into the lake.

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Gory details of Elon Musk’s ‘rugby tackle’ of Scott Bessent spill out as White House leaks escalate

New details surrounding a White House brawl between Elon Musk and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have spilled out into the open – with one insider saying the Tesla CEO rammed his shoulder into Bessent’s ribcage ‘like a rugby player.’

The Daily Mail was the first to report on the heated confrontation between Bessent and Musk, who’s since been iced out of Donald Trump‘s inner circle after their public blow-up this week.

Former Chief Strategist Steve Bannon revealed that there was more to the mid-April tussle, insisting that both men ended up landing blows.

They lost their patience with one another following a tense meeting in the Oval Office in which Trump snubbed Musk and instead took Bessent’s advice on whom to name as acting IRS Commissioner, Bannon said.

When Bessent and Musk exited the Oval Office, they began hurling insults at one another in the hallway. But it was Bessent who struck Musk where it hurts.

According to Bannon, Bessent dared to say that the billionaire’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was a failure, since Musk didn’t root out the $1 trillion in wasteful and fraudulent federal spending he promised he would.

‘Scott said, “You’re a fraud. You’re a total fraud,”‘ Bannon said. 

That’s when Musk body-checked Bessent, who hit the world’s richest man right back, according to Bannon.

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