Benzinga - by Chris Katje, Benzinga Staff Writer.
Ukraine has been at war with Russia for more than a year and a half and continues to face struggles to defend itself without financial help from other countries.
The leader of the Ukraine met with several billionaires and business leaders Wednesday in a potential financing move.
What Happened: Ahead of a planned meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with several billionaires.
A meeting was held Wednesday night to discuss efforts to help provide financing to rebuild Ukraine and its economy, according to sources from CNN.
Among the rumored in attendance big names were former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, Mike Bloomberg, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, Barry Sternlicht, Bill Ackman and former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.
The meeting between Zelenskyy and the billionaires and key figures was said reportedly put together by JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE: JPM).
Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan, was not at the meeting due to travel obligations. The company’s CEO of asset and wealth management, workplace CEO and head of alternative investments were all present.
News of the meeting with billionaires was first reported by Fox Business.
Sources said the meeting lasted longer than expected, but no details on any financial commitments to Zelenskyy or Ukraine were available.
Related Link: 5 Things You Might Not Know About Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President Of Ukraine
Why It’s Important: The meeting with billionaires came ahead of Zelenskyy meeting with Biden at the White House today. The U.S. President is trying to line up an additional $24 billion in support for Ukraine.
“If we don’t get the aid, we will lose the way,” Zelenskyy said in a meeting with over 50 senators Thursday, according to the New York Times.
This week’s visit to Washington D.C. by Zelenskyy is his second he has made since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
JPMorgan has been vocal in the potential reconstruction of Ukraine with the bank sending a delegation to the country in February.
The company’s delegation met with Zelenskyy in February to discuss options on financial access to help with a rebuild of the country. Ukrainian officials signed a “memorandum of understanding” with the bank in efforts to help with reconstruction, CNN reported.
Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman has been vocal in speaking out against Russia previously and offered up advice to Biden earlier this year on how to help Ukraine.
“Is there a point at which we say it is un-American to sit back and watch this transpire?” Ackman asked Biden.
Ackman said the U.S. was simply fighting an economic war with Russia and supplying weapons with our allies and watching from the sidelines.
“Putin is rallying the nuclear saber as he gets more desperate. Do we wait for him to kill millions before we intervene?”
Ackman argued no one wants to put American lives at risk, and it’s easier for him to support sending troops into the conflict, since he has no children in the military. “But our lives are already at risk if Putin gets his way.”
Ackman also referenced the U.S. didn't stop Russia from invading Crimea and Georgia. “Here we have an opportunity to set a real red line and establish for future generations what it means and what America stands for.”
“We can’t sit back and allow hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians and perhaps millions to die. I don’t want to live in that world and you don’t either,” he added.
Ackman ended the thread by saying it's in Biden’s hands to fix the errors of the past and protect the future.
The hedge funder previously said the U.S. should use “every economic lever” the country has to shut down all Russian banks and also provide the Ukrainians with “everything they need to fight.”
Ahead of the 2024 presidential election, Ackman also shared advice with GOP candidate Vivek Ramaswamy telling him he needs to clarify his position on the Ukraine war for voters.
More details will likely emerge in the coming months as to whether any of the billionaires are helping to finance the rebuild efforts in Ukraine.
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Photos: Ackman, Senate Democrats via Flickr Creative Commons; Zelenskyy, Shutterstock
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