Billionaire SoulCycle Investor Defends Holding Trump Fundraiser After Backlash

Stephen Ross, the owner of the Miami Dolphins and an investor in Equinox gyms and SoulCycle, defended his decision to hold a Donald Trump fundraiser, saying he likes to “engage directly and support the things I deeply care about.”

After reports of a planned Trump luncheon at Ross’s home in New York’s Hamptons drew boycott threats and criticism from within his own businesses, the billionaire said he engages with political leaders out of “deep concern for creating jobs and growing our country’s economy.”

“I always have been an active participant in the democratic process,” Ross, 79, said in an emailed statement. “I have known Donald Trump for 40 years, and while we agree on some issues, we strongly disagree on many others and I have never been bashful about expressing my opinions.”

SoulCycle Chief Executive Officer Melanie Whelan, meanwhile, sought to distance the company from Ross as calls for boycotts spread on social media. The furor was over a fundraiser where attendees will reportedly pay $250,000 for lunch, a photo and private round-table discussion.

“We believe in diversity, inclusion and equality,” Whelan said on Twitter. “Mr. Ross is a passive investor and is not involved in the management of SoulCycle.” Equinox issued a similar statement.

Ross made much of his fortune as founder of Related Cos., the real estate behemoth. The company doesn’t disclose Ross’s interest in its properties, including Equinox and its SoulCycle unit, and big developments like New York’s Hudson Yards. Bloomberg calculates his wealth at $9.9 billion, based on his ownership of Related’s assets, plus stakes in Equinox and SoulCycle.

Kenny Stills, a receiver for the Dolphins, said on Twitter that the fundraiser in the Hamptons was inconsistent with efforts to fight racial inequality. The billionaire has a nonprofit called the Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality with a mission of championing social justice and improving race relations.

Ross wasn’t one of the nine NFL owners that reportedly contributed to Trump’s original campaign, or his inauguration. America’s richest sports league has often been at odds with the president, including a high-profile row in 2017 over the league’s handling of players who chose to protest during the national anthem.

In his statement, Ross said he is “and will continue to be, an outspoken champion of racial equality, inclusion, diversity, public education and environmental sustainability, and I have and will continue to support leaders on both sides of the aisle to address these challenges.”

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[Witchygirl]

It would have been great if the links that popped up on the screen were moved elsewhere, lol I couldn't even see the words to read them at the end.. So I could only read part of the statement that the cycle company released.

[XtremeCookiez]

1. At least crop your videos properly. If you're going to re-purpose Instagram videos for YouTube, don't include black bars so mobile users can watch the video in the intended format. Handbrake literally has an auto crop feature that could fix this at the time of upload.
2. Spend the money to pay an intern for 10 minutes to read the subtitles. This type of content would have been great to listen to while cooking or driving, but instead I have to stare at the screen and read because you couldn't spend $5 on a voice actor.

[andrewofaiur]

Put ominous music to trigger a sense of fear, what media does best to not really inform but sell us their agenda

[jeremyv]

Why don’t we do this with George soros
Oh wait I forgot the media is biased.

[michelem]

Bloomberg has crossed the creepy line with anti-Trump propaganda. SoulCycle rules! Thanks for the reminder to get back to spinclass. That's where my consumer spin dollars shall go.

[adamjones]

I hope they raise 15 million that night

[domusdebellum]

theres 2 different kinds of people gonna come out of this whole thing. those who are embarrassed to be known as trump donors, and those who dont care if theyre known trump donors.

[tfcooks]

When did the news become a bad acid trip? WTF?

[wreckim]

I thought Trump didn't need anybody's money. Hmm.

[aliciao.]

Why doesn't he help poor people instead.

[dogsevenfive]

So, are we now vilifying Trump supporters in the media?

[rbr]

A New York billionaire? Gee I wonder why he likes Trump...

[GourmetGilda]

Stop buying anything this guy has invested in!

[MoY]

What's the point of all those billions if it can't unite a nation

[Julie-qrow]

A billionaire supports Why is this news?

[guapodel]

Keeping your politics private was once the norm. It was respected as you weren’t pushing your politics on anyone else. Now like everything else people need to know how u stand. Just like in the past people kept their diaries and journals to themselves. Now people have Facebook to put their dark secrets in

[hernalexito]

Ohh the yoga pants ladies are going to be furious when they see soulcycle being part of this

[jG-gmmz]

What's wrong with him supporting ther g.o.p and what's with the drastic music to make it seem like Democrats don't get funded by billionaires like George soros.

[ydtech]

Yeah it's called political freedom.

[chrisjo]

I was going to read this story but the ads got in the way