America’s Wealthiest Banker Just Backed Trump’s Tariff Plan: ‘The Opportunity Is Now’

Andy Beal, the richest banker in the United States, is urging former President Donald Trump to remain firm on his “shock and awe” approach to tariffs—offering a sharp contrast to the advice Trump is hearing from other billionaires.

Speaking on Tuesday, Beal shared his views just before Trump revealed on Wednesday a 90-day halt on increased reciprocal tariffs. Despite this pause, a base 10 percent tariff remains as the administration works to renegotiate trade agreements.

Beal—who founded Beal Bank in Dallas—believes that a bold restructuring of international trade is worth the economic disruption it may initially cause.

“Our huge and perpetual balance of trade deficit and our continual multitrillion-dollar fiscal deficit are simply not sustainable, and the sooner we deal with them the better and the less long-term pain,” he told Market Watch. “A dollar of government borrowing and spending is not the same as a dollar earned by inventing or building a widget.”

In 2024, the U.S. trade deficit exceeded $918 billion, rising from about $785 billion in the previous year. Meanwhile, the federal budget deficit climbed to $1.8 trillion, with $881 billion in interest payments alone—more than the Pentagon’s entire budget.

Beal contends that such rampant spending and borrowing have thrown the U.S. economy off balance.

He also called out investor Bill Ackman—who had publicly backed Trump’s 2024 run—for encouraging the former president to ease up on tariffs.

“Bill Ackman is wrong. We don’t need another moratorium for 90 days,” Beal stated. “The opportunity is now. Don’t let this opportunity pass. We have been living in a fantasy world for decades.”

Ackman, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), had said, “The country is 100% behind the president on fixing a global system of tariffs that has disadvantaged the country. But, business is a confidence game and confidence depends on trust.”

Ackman warned that by pushing ahead with steep tariffs, Trump risked undermining that trust with international allies. He suggested a temporary pause would allow for negotiation of more balanced trade agreements and spur massive investment in the U.S.

“The president has an opportunity to call a 90-day time out, negotiate and resolve unfair asymmetric tariff deals, and induce trillions of dollars of new investment in our country,” Ackman posted, adding that failing to do so could result in “a self-induced, economic nuclear winter.”

On the same day Trump announced the tariff pause, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon appeared on Fox Business and encouraged the administration to pursue careful negotiations.

“If you want to calm down the markets, show progress in those things [of negotiating trade deals], and let [Treasury Secretary] Scott [Bessent] take the time,” Dimon said.

He noted that “Trade deals are very large and very complex. They can’t be done overnight. But you really have to have teams working on them to get them right.”

“Let them [the markets] settle down, take a deep breath, [and] negotiate some trade deals. That’s the best thing they [the administration] can do,” he concluded.

Following the tariff announcement last week, markets plunged—only to bounce back strongly on Wednesday after Trump’s 90-day pause was made public.

Trump’s decision seemed to straddle the positions of Beal and Ackman: maintaining the 10 percent baseline tariff while delaying the harsher reciprocal increases.

Speaking at a White House event Wednesday afternoon, Trump said the pause was necessary because people were “getting a little bit yippy, a little bit afraid.”

“We have a big job to do,” he added, referring to the task of overhauling trade agreements. “No other president would have done what I did … but somebody had to do it … because it was not sustainable.”