Finance titans meet with Ukraine's Zelenskiy in New York -sources (updated)

Pershing Square Holdings

20/09/2023 22:51

(Adds details on meeting, Ackman and Griffin, paragraphs 3,
7-9)
    By Svea Herbst-Bayliss
       NEW YORK, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Investors Ken Griffin and
Bill Ackman, who oversee billions of dollars in private funds,
are meeting with Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskiy in New
York, according to two sources briefed on the event scheduled
for Wednesday afternoon.
    Zelenskiy addressed the United Nations Security Council
earlier on Wednesday about Russia's February 2022 invasion of
his country and its consequences.
    The financiers, who are often invited to weigh in by central
bankers and policy makers on political issues, were invited to
speak with Zelenskiy along with other Wall Street investors, the
sources said.
    Fox News first reported his meeting with the investors.
    Representatives for Griffin's Citadel, and Ackman's Pershing
Square Capital Management and JPMorgan declined to comment.
    A spokesperson for Zelenskiy and Ukraine's mission to the
United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a
request for comment.
    Ackman, whose great-grandfather emigrated to the United
States from Ukraine, in February pledged $3.25 million to help
buy more than a dozen ambulances for Ukraine, according to his
college friend Whitney Tilson who leads the project to buy the
vehicles.
        Griffin, who last week laid out a roadmap for his
philanthropic giving, last year pledged to donate $3 million for
scholarships to support Ukrainian students study science,
technology, engineering and math.
        Before the meeting in New York, the White House appealed
to Congress to approve billions of additional dollars of support
for Ukraine.

 (Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss, additional reporting by
Andrea Shalal and  Michelle Nichols; Editing by Lananh Nguyen,
Megan Davies and Grant McCool)
 ((Lananh.Nguyen@thomsonreuters.com; +1 (646) 696 4829;))