Billionaire investor and major Universal Music Group (UMG) shareholder Bill Ackman issued a warning about US President Donald Trump’s global tariffs, describing them as potentially triggering an “economic nuclear winter” if implemented as planned on Wednesday (April 9).
The assessment comes from a notable Trump supporter, who has been campaigning to relocate UMG’s financial headquarters and stock listing to the US from Amsterdam.
In July last year, Ackman endorsed Trump for president, shortly after an assassination attempt that saw Trump get shot in the ear at a campaign rally. Four months later, Ackman requested that UMG move its domicile and listing to the US, which he said would offer “highly material benefits.”
According to UMG’s 2024 annual report, Ackman, via Pershing Square Holdings, controls 7.48% of the company’s stock, making him UMG’s second-largest individual shareholder behind Vincent Bolloré.
Ackman issued a lengthy statement on X on Monday (April 7), expressing support for addressing trade imbalances but cautioning that Trump’s approach could destroy business confidence and investment.
Trump last week imposed a minimum 10% tariff on all countries, a 25% tariff on car imports, and additional “reciprocal” tariffs on countries with which the US has trade deficits, arguing that many countries had long taken advantage of the US through their trade policies.
“we are in the process of destroying confidence in our country as a trading partner, as a place to do business, and as a market to invest capital.”
Bill Ackman, Pershing Square Holdings
“President @realDonaldTrump has elevated the tariff issue to the most important geopolitical issue in the world, and he has gotten everyone’s attention,” Ackman said. “So far, so good.”
However, Ackman’s support turned to criticism as he outlined the potential consequences of what he termed an “economic nuclear war on every country in the world.” The hedge fund manager warned that Trump’s tariff action would destroy international confidence in the US as a trading partner and investment destination.
“By placing massive and disproportionate tariffs on our friends and our enemies alike and thereby launching a global economic war against the whole world at once, we are in the process of destroying confidence in our country as a trading partner, as a place to do business, and as a market to invest capital,” Ackman wrote.
“When markets crash, new investment stops, consumers stop spending money, and businesses have no choice but to curtail investment and fire workers.”
Ackman sold a portion of his stake in UMG about a month ago. Bloomberg reported, citing a term sheet, that Pershing Square sold 50 million shares of UMG at €26.60 ($29) apiece, raising a total of €1.33 billion ($1.45 billion).
As of Monday, UMG’s Amsterdam-listed shares fell 2.3% from the previous session to €23.04, the lowest level since late November 2024. The drop comes amid a global stock rout fueled by Trump’s tariff announcements.
“We are heading for a self-induced, economic nuclear winter, and we should start hunkering down.”
Bill Ackman, Pershing Square Holdings
A US listing for UMG would potentially shield much of the company’s international income from Trump’s tariffs, as the company largely derives revenue from digital and cloud-based goods. UMG’s recorded music subscription streaming revenue in 2024 rose 9.1% YoY to EUR €4.624 billion ($5 billion).
In his statement, Ackman urged Trump to declare a 90-day “time out” before implementing the sweeping tariffs scheduled to take effect on Wednesday. Ackman suggested that this pause would allow for negotiations to resolve “unfair asymmetric tariff deals” and potentially attract “trillions of dollars of new investment” to the US.
“The President has an opportunity on Monday to call a time out and have the time to execute on fixing an unfair tariff system,” Ackman said. “Alternatively, we are heading for a self-induced, economic nuclear winter, and we should start hunkering down.”
He added: “Business is a confidence game. The president is losing the confidence of business leaders around the globe… This is not what we voted for.”
In addition to Ackman, other billionaires have also expressed concerns over Trump’s tariff actions.
Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, on Monday warned that the tariffs could drive up prices and cause a global economic downturn. “The recent tariffs will likely increase inflation and are causing many to consider a greater probability of a recession… Whether or not the menu of tariffs causes a recession remains in question, but it will slow down growth.”
Even Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk, who heads the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, said he hopes for a “zero-tariff situation” between Europe and the US. “At the end of the day, I hope it’s agreed that both Europe and the United States should move ideally, in my view, to a zero tariff situation, effectively creating a free trade zone between Europe and North America,” Musk was quoted by news outlets as saying.
You can read Bill Ackman’s full statement below:
The country is 100% behind the president on fixing a global system of tariffs that has disadvantaged the country. But, business is a confidence game and confidence depends on trust.
President @realDonaldTrump has elevated the tariff issue to the most important geopolitical issue in the world, and he has gotten everyone’s attention. So far, so good.
And yes, other nations have taken advantage of the U.S. by protecting their home industries at the expense of millions of our jobs and economic growth in our country.
But, by placing massive and disproportionate tariffs on our friends and our enemies alike and thereby launching a global economic war against the whole world at once, we are in the process of destroying confidence in our country as a trading partner, as a place to do business, and as a market to invest capital.
The president has an opportunity to call a 90-day time out, negotiate and resolve unfair asymmetric tariff deals, and induce trillions of dollars of new investment in our country.
If, on the other hand, on April 9th we launch economic nuclear war on every country in the world, business investment will grind to a halt, consumers will close their wallets and pocket books, and we will severely damage our reputation with the rest of the world that will take years and potentially decades to rehabilitate.
What CEO and what board of directors will be comfortable making large, long-term, economic commitments in our country in the middle of an economic nuclear war?
I don’t know of one who will do so.
When markets crash, new investment stops, consumers stop spending money, and businesses have no choice but to curtail investment and fire workers.
And it is not just the big companies that will suffer. Small and medium size businesses and entrepreneurs will experience much greater pain. Almost no business can pass through an overnight massive increase in costs to their customers. And that’s true even if they have no debt, and, unfortunately, there is a massive amount of leverage in the system.
Business is a confidence game. The president is losing the confidence of business leaders around the globe. The consequences for our country and the millions of our citizens who have supported the president — in particular low-income consumers who are already under a huge amount of economic stress — are going to be severely negative. This is not what we voted for.
The President has an opportunity on Monday to call a time out and have the time to execute on fixing an unfair tariff system.
Alternatively, we are heading for a self-induced, economic nuclear winter, and we should start hunkering down.
May cooler heads prevail.Music Business Worldwide
