More than one-third of billionaires who responded to Forbes’ survey thought Lincoln was the best president in U.S. history.
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Billionaires poured hundreds of millions into Donald Trump’s presidential run and poured on praise when he won. They’ve congratulated him on social media, donated to his inauguration fund through their companies and in some cases changed company policies in hopes of earning his favor during a second term so far characterized by layoffs of federal workers, new tariffs and testy words with certain foreign leaders.
The wealthy have always weighed in on politics, making massive donations and more recently taking to social media to talk to legions of people who want to listen. But when their reputation or company isn’t at stake, what do they really believe? This year, we surveyed the world’s billionaires on who they think was the best president in U.S. history; most responses were submitted in late February or early March. Of the 45 billionaires that Forbes surveyed, 35 answered that question (all questions were optional). Of them, only one anonymous respondent called Trump the best president in the country’s history, while two others wrote positive messages about Trump without picking another president as the best.
“Ha Ha Ha … he hasn’t finished his term yet so I can’t call him ‘best yet,’” billionaire real estate developer Igor Olenicoff wrote as his answer. He didn’t choose any president. Similarly, another anonymous response read, “Trump on the way but too early.”
The bulk of the billionaire respondents cast their votes for past presidents. Ten favored Ronald Reagan, perhaps unsurprisingly, as he is known for lowering taxes on the rich, with the promise that the wealth would “trickle down” to all Americans. Those who selected Reagan include David Hoffmann, a Naples, Florida real estate developer; Larry Connor, a thrill-seeking real estate billionaire; and Raj Sardana, a former missile engineer turned IT outsourcing billionaire.
“Reagan ushered in a new era of conservatism that had been absent for more than fifty years,” wrote Hoffmann, who made his first fortune in executive search and now owns a number of other businesses. He “was an excellent communicator, was liked by both parties and represented the nation’s greatest generation.”
Twelve billionaires cast their votes for Abraham Lincoln. Indian billionaire Anurang Jain lauded Lincoln “for his leadership during the civil war & abolition of slavery.” Among his other supporters: car dealership billionaire Norman Braman, finance mogul Stephen Smith and telecom titan Rob Hale.
How do the survey responses compare to opinions of non-billionaires? Lincoln also takes the No. 1 spot in a 2021 C-SPAN survey, which polls historians every four years rating past presidents’ leadership. In that poll, Reagan came in ninth, and Trump ranked 41st. According to a similar poll from the Siena College Research Institute in 2022, Lincoln was ranked second to Franklin D. Roosevelt, while Reagan was 18th.
The next-most popular president among billionaires Forbes surveyed was George Washington, with three votes, followed by Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, who received two votes each. Rounding out the list: Dwight Eisenhower, George Bush, Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy and Trump, with one vote each.
Many billionaires, with more wealth than anyone could ever need, prefer to stay away from politics. “I don’t like to get political,” one anonymous billionaire wrote, one of 10 who answered other questions on the survey but stayed away from picking the best president.
