Should CEOs like Jamie Dimon endorse presidential candidates?

Billionaire CEOs are increasingly making their presence and influence known in the 2024 election through endorsements and super PACs, especially big names like Elon Musk and Bill Gates. Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase (JPM) General Director. This begs the question: Should CEOs support presidential candidates?

In the last series Acquisitions of the CapitolYahoo Finance Rachel AkuffoWashington Correspondent Ben Vershkuland senior columnist Rick Newman discuss the concept behind the CEO endorsement and whether it is wise to keep election thoughts out of the picture.

Newman believes Dimon has a right not to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump. “I’m not sure if it makes any difference that a business leader is endorsing someone,” Newman says. “The (CEO’s) first responsibility is not to any voting bloc, but to their shareholders to make sure they preserve the value of the company.”

Verschkul says it’s more complicated because it comes down to not only deciding the potential negative consequences of supporting a candidate, but also whether the candidate’s policies, such as Harris’ policies on corporate tax rates or Trump’s tariffs, will have a positive or negative impact on the CEO’s business . .

Listen to the full episode of Capitol Gains to learn more here.

This post was written by Lauren Pokedoff.