Omeed Malik, CEO, Colombier Acquisition Corp at the New York Stock Exchange, June 17, 2021.
Source: NYSE
Veteran Wall Street executive Omeed Malik plans to raise more than $3 million and donate at least $100,000 to support the campaign of Donald Trump, the latest backer of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ failed attempt at the to help former presidents.
Malik, CEO of Farvahar Partners, said in an interview that after helping raise money and give a voice to people like DeSantis and independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., he now plans to move on to his extensive campaign Network to help finance Trump’s presidential campaign.
“I am committed to putting the resources that I have and the Rolodex that I have, both of which are material, behind the president going forward,” Malik said.
Malik’s honest convictions are rare in Trump’s environment. Until recently, he lived in New York City and identified as a Democrat. He donated regularly to both Democrats and Republicans, sat on the Council of Foreign Relations and built a traditional Wall Street resume with stints at Bank of America and the business law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP.
But Malik was troubled by what he saw as government overreach during the COVID-19 pandemic, prompting him to move to Florida and focus on the right side of the aisle. And like many Trump voters, he said it was what he saw as the “weaponization of regulatory and legal systems” that drew him to the former president.
“This is where it starts to become prime time [President Joe] Biden and Trump, and then I can be much more effective,” Malik said.
The pandemic also inspired him to pursue alternative ventures. Malik’s company, 1789 Capital, is a backer behind Tucker Carlson’s media company. The company wants to help create a kind of parallel economy that appeals to more conservative consumers. He is also behind PublicSquare, a conservative shopping app that aims to compete with Amazon.
Now he is focused on making a significant impact in the 2024 elections.
Malik plans to raise at least $3 million for Trump’s presidential campaign, an adviser to him told CNBC. That’s the same amount he raised for DeSantis’ 2022 gubernatorial campaign. The adviser was granted anonymity to describe private efforts to support Trump.
Former President Donald Trump holds a campaign rally at the Sportsman Boats manufacturing plant in Summerville, South Carolina on Monday, September 25, 2023.
Joshua Boucher | Tribune News Service | Getty Images
Malik also donated over $100,000 to the DeSantis-allied political action committee during his successful re-election bid in 2022, state campaign finance records show. When DeSantis was running for president, Malik co-hosted an event for him in the lucrative Hamptons region of New York.
The aide said Malik wants to donate at least $100,000 to a Trump fundraising committee but has yet to decide which one. He also plans to meet privately with Trump in Florida to discuss their fundraising strategy, the adviser said. Malik is already a member of Mar-a-Lago, the former president’s private club in Palm Beach.
Malik’s official move to help Trump marks former President DeSantis’ latest fundraising campaign, betting on the former president to win the Republican primary against Nikki Haley and possibly defeat President Joe Biden in the general election. Dan Eberhart, another DeSantis bundler, announced during the New Hampshire primary that he was withdrawing to help Trump.
Malik’s decision to so visibly and openly support Trump is a rarity among his colleagues in the Wall Street establishment. This group is known to maintain a safe distance from the former president. Many had chosen to support Haley and DeSantis or remain on the sidelines until a strong Trump alternative emerged – a donor dream that never became a reality.
Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley speaks at a rally at the Omni Mt. Washington Hotel & Resort in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, U.S., January 16, 2024.
Faith Ninivaggi | Reuters
And Malik had some poignant words for his contemporaries. He described a trend in the donor community that he sees as “virtue signaling” – and said it was common practice for them to agree with Trump’s policies; They just don’t like his character. But then he points to the Bill Clinton era when he says that the mindset of this same donor group was to put politics first and see personal failure as secondary or simply irrelevant.
“But everyone who supported Clinton now says they dislike Trump because of character. “It just doesn’t make sense,” Malik said. “The reason they hold their noses seems disingenuous and hypocritical to me.”
He also noted in the interview that he has seen growing frustration among donors toward Biden. And he sees controversies like the one over how college campuses should address anti-Semitism giving Trump big money again.
The attempt by Malik and several others on Wall Street, including John Paulson, to help Trump may not have come at a better time for the former president as his political operation continues to devour money.
According to an NBC News analysis of campaign finance filings, Trump’s affiliated committees collectively spent about $27 million on legal fees in the final six months of 2023 as the former president faces a host of criminal cases. One such entity, which pays Save America’s legal fees, came in for about $5 million this year.
Malik has had connections to Trump and his wider environment for years, including as a former Trump donor. According to Federal Election Commission records, he donated $25,000 to Trump Victory, a joint fundraising committee that benefited the former president’s 2020 campaign.
Donald Trump Jr. and his fiancée Kimberly Guilfoyle are reportedly investors in PublicSquare, the conservative shopping app that emerged thanks to a merger with Malik’s Colombier Acquisition Corp. went public on the New York Stock Exchange.
Donald Trump Jr. and his partner Kimberly Guilfoyle mingle with participants as they arrive in the debate hall to watch the Republican U.S. presidential candidates during their first primary debate of the 2024 election campaign in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, August 23, 2023.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
“Omeed is a close friend, business partner and one of the top donors and bundlers in Republican politics. “I am pleased that he is fully committed to my father’s re-election campaign and look forward to working with him this November to Make America Great Again!” Trump Jr. said in a statement to NBC.
Malik also has ties to one of Trump’s wealthier supporters during his 2016 campaign, Rebekah Mercer. She is part of a group of reported investors at 1789 Capital.
Mercer is the daughter of former Renaissance Technologies co-CEO Robert Mercer, who donated $15 million to a super PAC that supported Trump’s first successful presidential run.
Robert Mercer also invested in the controversial and now-defunct data company Cambridge Analytica, where his daughter served on the board.
After years of distancing themselves from Trump, the Mercers were considering whether to financially support his recent presidential bid. They have reportedly taken the step of endorsing the former president once again.
Others close to Malik include Nick Ayers, a former chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence who recently endorsed Trump, and Blake Masters, a congressional candidate and ally of Republican financier Peter Thiel.
CNBC’s Brian Schwartz reported from New York and NBC News’ Dasha Burns reported from Washington
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2024-02-13 21:32:16
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