Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren has been flying high and gaining ground on Democratic primary front-runner Joe Biden, but the stock market won’t be flying high if she ends up winning the 2020 election, according to billionaire investor Paul Tudor Jones.
Jones on Monday joined the growing anti-Warren Wall Street contingent who say her proposed wealth tax will be a disaster, and her other plans would hurt the stock market and particularly the S&P 500, which will crater 25% if she becomes president, Tudor said Monday at the Robin Hood Investors Conference in New York.
Jones reportedly cited an internal poll at his hedge fund, Tudor Investment Corp., that also said U.S. economic growth will shrink to 1%, down from 2-plus percent estimates for 2019.
Warren is calling for a wealth tax of 2% on American family fortunes above $50 million, and a 3% tax on fortunes above $1 billion. Warren also is a big advocate for Medicare for All, though her tax plans don’t include even close to enough to pay for it, in addition to a swath of social programs and giveaways like free college, wiping out student debt, universal childcare and more.
Wall Street also is terrified at potential new regulations on private equity as she has moved to the forefront of the huge Democratic primary field.
Bloomberg also reported last week that Discovery Capital Management founder Rob Citrone said Warren is “the single biggest risk for the market.”
“I think if Elizabeth Warren is leading the way into the February primaries, the S&P will be down 10, 15, 20%,” Citrone said, per Bloomberg. “Her policies on regulation, on taxes, on a lot of different things, are substantially different than anything we’ve had in our country before.”
Perhaps in a bit of a surprise, Jones said if Bernie Sanders — a self-proclaimed Democratic Socialist — were to win, it would cause markets to fall about 20%.
Warren’s more centrist competition like the former Vice President Biden, South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar would cause about a 10% market drop were they to win the White House.
In contrast, the reelection of incumbent President Donald Trump would provide a boost to the S&P 500, pushing it up to about 3,600, 18% higher than Monday’s closing of 3,039.
Jones went on to say he has no idea who will win the nomination and doesn’t have a strong feeling on the market as a whole, but he is continuing to bet on gold.
He also said Monday he expects another interest rate cut followed by some profit-taking, along with a market rally to finish out the year, according to Bloomberg.
Tudor has donated to both Republican and Democratic candidates in the past and he reportedly said Buttigieg is “my man” for 2020.
“I love Mayor Pete because I think he would be the best administrator to run this country, and he’s got a compassionate heart,” Jones said. “I’m not politically active at all. But right now he’s getting me excited.”