Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman is defending his decision to donate $10,000 to Jonathan Ross, the ICE agent who fatally shot Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis last week.
As of Wednesday morning, a GoFundMe page created by Clyde Emmons has raked in nearly $700,000 in donations from more than 14,000 people, including Ackman, the founder of Pershing Square Capital Management. In a statement shared to X on Tuesday evening, the 59-year-old billionaire revealed he has invested “substantial funds providing for the legal defense of individuals that I believe are innocent” over the years.
“My instinctual reaction to the media convicting someone before an investigation has begun – let alone a trial and a determination by a court and/or jury – is to be very open to the possibility that the accused is innocent,” Ackman continued.
“When the tragic Ross/Good case blew up on X, I did not do any due diligence on the case other than quickly reviewing the handful of videos that were circulating online,” he continued. “A few minutes later, I contributed $10,000 to the first gofundme I found which supported Ross.”
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Ackman — who endorsed President Trump in 2024 — said he also intended to support Good’s fundraiser, but that contributions had already met the campaign’s $1.5 million goal.
“I supported Ross because I knew he would need significant funds to cover his defense costs,” he wrote. “I supported the gofundme for Good’s family as I thought that it was the right thing to do.”
Despite his intentions, Ackman said he has been “widely reviled (and worse) by many on social and mainstream media” for donating to Ross’ fundraising campaign. He explained that many have accused him of “giving a reward to the murderer of Renee Good,” but he also emphasized his contribution was not political.
“I was simply continuing my longstanding commitment to assisting those accused of crimes of providing for their defense,” Ackman wrote.
Ross fatally shot 36-year-old Good in a residential neighborhood south of downtown Minneapolis the afternoon of January 7.
Video of the confrontation shows an officer approaching an SUV stopped in the middle of the road, then demanding the driver open the door and grabbing the handle. At that point, the vehicle begins to move forward and a different ICE officer pulls his weapon and immediately fires at close range, then quickly jumps out of the way.
Good died on the scene from a gunshot wound to the head.
‘The whole situation is a tragedy,” Ackman wrote. “Our country is stronger if we work together to resolve the complex issues that are tearing us apart.”
According to Forbes, Ackman’s net worth is approximately $9.3 billion.
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