Citadel hedge fund CEO Ken Griffin criticized President Biden’s “incoherent” economic policies Tuesday at the Qatar Economic Forum, Bloomberg reports.
Griffin said the Biden administration’s decision to quadruple tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles from 25% to 100% is senseless.
Even though the EVs China is churning out are far more affordable EVs than Western-made models, Griffin said, the 25% tariff was already effectively keeping them from flooding the U.S. market.
“We’ve seen this giant push toward green energy over the course of the last several years and, at the same time, a set of policies that run completely contrary to the stated goal of trying to head toward a zero-carbon world,” said Griffin, whose net worth is more than $38 billion.
“Placing enormous tariffs on Chinese EVs which are low cost, high quality and of great value to American consumers is yet another part of the incoherent Biden economic strategy,” Griffin said.
Biden’s tariffs announced Tuesday are especially confounding in light of his policy on liquified natural gas, Griffin said.
In January, the Biden admin announced it was placing a temporary pause on exports of LNG, which, Griffin said, caused him to “scratch my head about that.”
“If you want the world to head toward a lower carbon footprint and move away from coal, access to LNG is a really important part of the equation,” the billionaire said.
Praise for Trump
At the same time, Griffin lavished high praise on Republican candidate and former president Donald Trump for his vision and strength.
Griffin said, however, he is waiting to see who Trump picks as his running mate before backing Trump’s candidacy for president.
“He will exude a level of strength that will help stabilize the world in these trying times,” Griffin said. “You could never be certain about President Trump. And that’s part of the reason that he is more intimidating to our adversaries. You never know exactly what the response is going to be.”
Griffin said he did not think that either Biden or Trump are likely to reduce the U.S. federal spending — which the Citadel CEO said is critical to reducing the rate of inflation in the U.S.
Griffin has become increasingly outspoken on his opinions on U.S. political issues, although so far this election cycle, he has donated most of his money to congressional candidates.
Griffin gave $5 million to a super political action committee (PAC) that supported former ambassador Nikki Haley when she was jockying to become the Republican candidate.
So far, Griffin, a prolific donor to Republicans, has doled out $60 million, mostly to Senate and House races.
Seeking Sovereign Wealth
Citadel, which has $63 billion of assets under management, has yet to establish a major presence in the Middle East, as its competitors have.
In his wide-ranging interview Tuesday, Griffin said that sovereign wealth funds in the region should not put “superficial” fees ahead of their interests when deciding where to invest their vast sums of money.
“Simply put, Coca-Cola doesn’t publish its recipe on the web,” Griffin noted. “When you’re trying to pick a brain surgeon, do you find the doctor with the lowest fees?”
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