Key Takeaways
- • Bill Ackman, founder of Pershing Square Capital Management, donated $10,000 to a GoFundMe supporting ICE agent Jonathan Ross, who fatally shot Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis, and has publicly defended the contribution on social media.
- • The GoFundMe for Ross had accumulated nearly $700,000 from over 14,000 donors as of Wednesday morning, positioning Ackman's donation among the largest individual contributions to the legal defense fund.
- • Ackman stated he made the donation based on a principle of presuming innocence before trial and investigation completion, claiming he conducts similar legal defense funding across multiple cases he believes warrant support.
- • The billionaire clarified his contribution was not political and noted he also intended to donate to Good's family GoFundMe, which had already met its $1.5 million fundraising goal, but faced significant public backlash for his decision to support Ross.
- • Ackman acknowledged conducting minimal due diligence on the case beyond reviewing circulating videos before making his donation decision.
Summary
Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman has mounted a public defense of his $10,000 donation to Jonathan Ross, the ICE agent involved in the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis. In a statement posted to X on Tuesday evening, the 59-year-old founder of Pershing Square Capital Management explained his rationale for contributing to a GoFundMe established by Clyde Emmons to support Ross's legal defense costs.
Ackman framed his donation as consistent with a longstanding personal practice of funding legal defenses for individuals he believes are innocent. He stated that his "instinctual reaction to the media convicting someone before an investigation has begun" drives him to remain open to the possibility that accused individuals are innocent until proven otherwise. The billionaire emphasized that he has invested "substantial funds" in similar legal defense cases over the years, positioning his $10,000 contribution as aligned with this established principle rather than as a reactive or politically motivated decision.
The GoFundMe for Ross had accumulated nearly $700,000 from approximately 14,000 donors by Wednesday morning, making Ackman one of the largest individual contributors to the legal defense fund. Ackman acknowledged conducting limited due diligence before donating, noting he "did not do any due diligence on the case other than quickly reviewing the handful of videos that were circulating online" before contributing to the first GoFundMe he found supporting Ross.
Despite his stated intentions to also support Good's family, Ackman noted that contributions to that fundraiser had already met its $1.5 million goal at the time of his donation. He emphasized this second contribution was "the right thing to do," separating his support for Good's family from his legal defense funding for Ross. However, Ackman acknowledged that his donation to Ross's defense fund resulted in significant public criticism, with detractors accusing him of "giving a reward to the murderer." The billionaire pushed back against characterizations of his donation as political, despite his 2024 endorsement of President Donald Trump.
Ackman framed his donation as consistent with a longstanding personal practice of funding legal defenses for individuals he believes are innocent. He stated that his "instinctual reaction to the media convicting someone before an investigation has begun" drives him to remain open to the possibility that accused individuals are innocent until proven otherwise. The billionaire emphasized that he has invested "substantial funds" in similar legal defense cases over the years, positioning his $10,000 contribution as aligned with this established principle rather than as a reactive or politically motivated decision.
The GoFundMe for Ross had accumulated nearly $700,000 from approximately 14,000 donors by Wednesday morning, making Ackman one of the largest individual contributors to the legal defense fund. Ackman acknowledged conducting limited due diligence before donating, noting he "did not do any due diligence on the case other than quickly reviewing the handful of videos that were circulating online" before contributing to the first GoFundMe he found supporting Ross.
Despite his stated intentions to also support Good's family, Ackman noted that contributions to that fundraiser had already met its $1.5 million goal at the time of his donation. He emphasized this second contribution was "the right thing to do," separating his support for Good's family from his legal defense funding for Ross. However, Ackman acknowledged that his donation to Ross's defense fund resulted in significant public criticism, with detractors accusing him of "giving a reward to the murderer." The billionaire pushed back against characterizations of his donation as political, despite his 2024 endorsement of President Donald Trump.
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