Ackman recently laid out his case in a lengthy X post that quickly went viral, writing, “I am reaching out to the @X community for advice,” and vowing to “fight this nonsense to the end of the earth.”

He said last Saturday that he launched his family office, called Table, about 15 years ago, putting it in the hands of a friend he described as “someone that I trusted implicitly.” The office later “grew massively” as headcount and costs ballooned despite having a largely administrative role, he added.

Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman claims he is facing a $2 million “shakedown” from a former employee. Bloomberg via Getty Images

Ackman said he remained mostly hands-off — conducting only an annual review — with the goal of having the firm “handle everything other than my day job so that I would have more time for my job and my family.”

As costs and turnover “ballooned,” he brought in his Harvard-educated nephew — who did a “superb job” turning around another investment, according to Ackman — to review operations, leading to layoffs of about a third of staff.

I am reaching out to the @X community for advice with the likely risk of sharing TMI. I have been sufficiently upset about the whole matter that I have lost sleep thinking about it and I am hoping that this post will enable me to get this matter off my chest.

By way of…

— Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) April 4, 2026

Most employees exited “professionally,” Ackman said — except for an in-house lawyer he called “Ronda” who rejected three months’ severance and demanded two years’ pay after working just two-and-a-half years.

Tech entrepreneur Bryan Johnson was among online supporters urging Bill Ackman to fight the $2 million dispute. Bloomberg via Getty Images

Ackman said she refused to speak with him before the firm received a “threatening letter” alleging “harassment and gender discrimination” and an “unsafe work environment” — claims he called “interesting” given she oversaw compliance.

The letter alleged his nephew made “inappropriate and genderbased [sic]” remarks about a female employee’s age, appearance and family planning, and warned she would “seek all appropriate relief” in court if a deal isn’t reached.

Ackman said the issue had been raised internally and that he pushed for “workplace sensitivity training,” adding that accounts from others did not match the allegations and that “no one, as far as I understand, was offended,” adding there was “no evidence whatsoever” of broader problems.

Former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes was among the high-profile figures reacting online as Ackman’s dispute gained traction. REUTERS

He suggested the $2 million demand was opportunistic, noting “Ronda” was aware of a medical crisis his daughter was undergoing and his firm’s pending IPO, and blasting what he called “fake” discrimination claims as a costly “tax on the economy.”

Destroy them! Good work.

— Joe Lonsdale (@JTLonsdale) April 4, 2026

Ackman stated that the lawyer was part of broader layoffs and had “too much horsepower” for the role, for which she got $1.05 million last year. He also hinted that she wanted to settle to avoid reputational damage.

The post struck a chord online, drawing support from some of the biggest names in tech and finance.

Agreed this nonsense has to stop.

— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) April 5, 2026

Chamath Palihapitiya, the Silicon Valley angel investor, likened the situation to a “tax” on wealthy executives.

Fight it. This kind of extortion happens way more than people realize. It’s easy money for the accuser and the lawyers.

The accuser and their attorney can say whatever they want, without evidence and without penalty, to harm the person’s reputation and try to force them into…

— Bryan Johnson (@bryan_johnson) April 5, 2026

“Destroy them!” Joe Lonsdale, a co-founder of Palantir, wrote in response to Ackman’s account.

“Fight it,” urged tech and anti-aging entrepreneur Bryan Johnson. “This kind of extortion happens way more than people realize. It’s easy money for the accuser and the lawyers.”

Donald Trump Jr. backed Ackman, writing: “Agreed … This nonsense has to stop.” Bloomberg via Getty Images

I’ve dealt with a bunch of this nonsense in the past. It’s the “tax” I spoke about on the pod this week. It was simpler to pay it for a while because it was relatively small dollars each time (a few million here or there) but then the system realizes I am a mark and won’t stop.…

— Chamath Palihapitiya (@chamath) April 4, 2026

You have the $ to fight injustice.

Most others I’d suggest they settle.

You have the luxury and duty to preserve the truth, no matter the cost.

— Elizabeth Holmes (@ElizabethHolmes) April 5, 2026

Elizabeth Holmes, who is serving a 10-year prison sentence for defrauding investors in the Theranos scandal, wrote on X: “You have the luxury and duty to preserve the truth, no matter the cost.”

“This nonsense has to stop,” said Donald Trump Jr.

Ackman later said it was “reassuring that there appears to be a consensus” backing his decision to fight rather than settle.

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The new head of the US Securities and Exchange Commission made a thinly veiled dig at disclosure red tape such as Environmental and Social Governance rules that he lambasted as “regulatory creep”, claiming the Dem commander-in-chief and his allies “weaponized” financial disclosure rules “to advance social and political agendas”

“The path to public ownership has become narrower, costlier, and overly burdened with rules that often create more friction than benefit,” the 68-year-old lawyer said.

Trump’s SEC chair Paul Atkins was speaking at the New York Stock Exchange with a vow to Make IPOs Great Again. James Franey/NY Post

“These trends have eroded American competitiveness; locked average investors out of some of the most dynamic companies; and pushed entrepreneurs to seek capital elsewhere, either in theprivate markets or on foreign shores,” he added.

“These decades of accretive rulemakings have produced reams of paperwork that can do more to obscure than to illuminate,” Atkins, who took up the role in April, said, criticizing lengthy annual reports and proxy statements that burden companies with high costs while overwhelming investors.

His comments come as the final Democrat SEC commissioner, Caroline Crenshaw, prepares to leave office when her term in up next month.

It leaves just GOP appointees Atkins, Hester M. Peirce, and one-time acting chair Mark T. Uyeda as the only members left in office.

Atkins rang the Opening Bell on Wall Street on Tuesday before his speech calling for a return to the basic of American capitalism. James Franey/NY Post

Atkins, who previously served at the SEC in the 1990s and returned as chairman earlier this year, tied the critique to a broader historical narrative as America approaches its 250th anniversary in 2026.

He issued a full-throated defense of America’s capitalist past and a return to Founding Father Alexander Hamilton’s vision of ecpnomic freedom.

“Hamilton understood that markets, structured properly, can unleash the might of American dynamism as no monarch or government ministry possibly could,” Atkins told an audience of officials and bankers earlier.

The SEC is Wall Street’s top financial watchdog. Atkins was speaking at an event to make this nation’s 250 anniversariy earlier today in New York. James Franey/NY Post

Our prosperity is no accident of history—nor is our primacy assured in the future,” he added. “In recent years, our regulatory frameworks have veered from the founding ideals that helped the United States
to once stand without peer as the world’s destination for public companies.”

The crypto-friendly Trump appointee pointed to a 40% drop in US-listed companies since the mid-1990s, from over 7,000 to about 4,200, blaming rules that multiplied faster than the problems they aimed to solve.

Atkins in an interivew with Fox Business in July hinted that he would support combining the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, a smaller regulator that focuses and derivatives, as lawmakers grapple how to oversee the burgeoning US crypto market.

But he said he has supported the idea “for years” and that it “makes a lot of sense — especially with the potentially overlapping jurisdictions” between the two.

This is breaking news story. Check back for updates.

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Trump fumed over a revised analysis released Monday by Goldman’s chief economist Jan Hatzius forecasting that households will soon cover 64% of tariff costs — after absorbing 22% through June.

“I think David should go out and get himself a new economist, or maybe he ought to just focus on being a DJ, and not running a financial institution,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon performs as DJ D-Sol at a music event. David Solomon/Instagram

The slap at Solomon referred to the Wall Street titan’s side gig as DJ D-Sol, which landed him in hot water with insiders at the bank as profits and morale declined after the pandemic.

Trump went on to blast Goldman for being wrong about its predictions earlier this year that the economy could fall into a recession because of tariffs.

Last month, the bank lowered the risk level of a recession to 30% from the 60% it had forecast following the “Liberation Day” rollout in April.

“David Solomon and Goldman Sachs refuse to give credit where credit is due,” Trump wrote.

“They made a bad prediction a long time ago on both the Market repercussion and the Tariffs themselves, and they were wrong, just like they are wrong about so much else.”

Goldman declined to comment.

Trump accused Solomon of refusing to acknowledge the benefits of his tariffs during a Truth Social post.

Trump claimed the duties have poured “trillions of dollars” into US coffers — a figure contradicted by Treasury Department data released last month that showed customs duties generated from April to June were $64 billion.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has projected the tariffs will bring in about $300 billion by the end of the year.

Solomon had built a high-profile career while moonlighting as a DJ, performing at major festivals and releasing Billboard-charting tracks.

President Donald Trump (left) criticized Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon over the bank’s warning that US consumers will bear more tariff costs. Will Oliver – Pool via CNP / MEGA

He put away the turntables, at least in public, in 2023 to focus on his Wall Street role, though he continues to DJ privately at personal events.

Inflation held steady in July, with the annual consumer price index at 2.7%, according to data released Tuesday.

Core inflation, which strips out food and energy, climbed to 3.1% in July, from 2.9% the previous month.

Food prices rose 2.9% year-over-year, used car prices jumped 4.8% and gasoline fell 9.5%, as tariffs earlier this year added some upward pressure on core prices.

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“It’s actually disadvantageous for me to be in the government, not advantageous,” the Department of Government Efficiency honcho, 53, argued during an interview with Fox News “Special Report” host Bret Baier.

“If I wasn’t in the government, I could lobby and I could push for things that are advantageous to my companies, and probably get it – probably receive them,” the SpaceX, Tesla and Neuralink founder explained. 

Musk argued that his job as DOGE chief hasn’t been good for business. FOX News

“My companies are suffering because I’m in the government,” he said, pointing to the recent spate of attacks targeting Tesla vehicle owners, dealerships and charging stations. 

“Do you think it helps sales if, you know, dealerships are being fire bombed? Of course, not.” 

The Trump administration official and tech tycoon then turned his attention to Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who mocked Tesla’s falling stock price during an event in Wisconsin last week. 

“I mean, you have Tim Walz, who’s a huge jerk, you know, running around on stage with the Tesla stock price, where the stock price had gone in half, and he was overjoyed,” Musk said. “What an evil thing to do. What a creep. What a jerk.”

“Like, who derives joy from that?”

Walz, former Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2024 running mate, claimed that he was joking when he said that watching Tesla’s stock price plummet gives him “a little boost during the day.”

“Does that sound like a good person to you? I don’t think so,” Musk said of the governor. 

When asked about what keeps him up at night, the father of 13 said it was the world’s declining birth rates, among other issues. 

“The birth rate is very low in almost every country, and unless that changes, civilization will disappear,” Musk said. “America had the lowest birth rate, I believe, ever — that was last year … and nothing seems to be turning that around.”

“Humanity is dying, and people — it’s just not something we’ve evolved to react to.” 

Musk said declining birth rates in countries around the world, including the US, keep him up at night. FOX News

Musk also expressed concern about “the strength of America.”

“America is the central column that holds up all of Western civilization,” he said. “If that column fails, it’s all over.” 

The DOGE chief also revealed what “basic level” changes President Trump’s cost-cutting initiative has made to the federal government that will survive beyond the commander in chief’s term in office. 

“We certainly would like a lot of what we’re doing to be permanently enshrined” via congressional action, Musk explained, adding, “but a lot of the changes we’re making are very basic things that I think are likely to remain in place, such as the improvements to the Treasury financial system.” 

Musk’s team at the Treasury Department has helped implement a mandatory code system for government payments that allows congressional appropriations to be tracked and requires agencies to explain what they’re spending taxpayer money on.  

“So we made those changes to the system. They weren’t there before. I think those changes will remain,” Musk mused. 

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