Volodymyr Zelensky is used to having his way with money. He looks at the untold sums of money that American taxpayers have dedicated to the country to defeat Russian aggression.
Raising funds from the private sector is not so easy. Witness the frosty reception he received from bankers at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, last week. The article spoke volumes about the enormous task Zelenskiy faces: not only defeating President Vladimir Putin's forces, but also repairing the damage they have done to his country's economy.
Of course, the WEF is an annual fest where Wall Street elites and globalist financiers discuss important issues, even if they seem to accomplish nothing. This year's event promised that Zelensky would at least achieve something tangible, as he sat down with some of the world's most powerful bankers and desperately needs their money.
Wall Street has shown strong interest in investing in Ukraine. The banking class (like the rest of us) admires the country's resilience. The financial community also recognizes the geopolitical imperative of preventing President Vladimir Putin from rebuilding the former Soviet Union with the support of the Ukrainian people.
And they liked Zelenskiy's pitch at Davos. Despite continued hostilities, his country's inflation rate has fallen from a high of 30% to less than 6%. The economy is growing. He plans to open the key Kiev airport in the coming months. The western part of the country is fairly safe from bombing, he explained.
An investment fund led by the team of Mary Erdoes and Vince La Padula from JPMorgan and Jamie Dimon is ready and awaiting launch. As noted in this column, JPMorgan has held a series of private meetings with potential investors because the country is in many ways a great investment opportunity. Ukrainians are also educated and productive when bombs are not aimed at their homes and businesses.
In addition to banking heavyweights such as JPMorgan's Mr. Dimon, Bridgewater Associates' Ray Dalio, Carlyle Group's David Rubenstein, and Blackstone's Steve Schwartzman, Black, led by Larry Fink, Representatives of the Rock Asset Management empire acted as if they were ready to make a deal in front of the cameras for the first time. And in a closed-door meeting, in the presence of Zelensky himself, where they discussed ways to repair infrastructure, build a tech economy, and manufacture.
However, I heard that Zelenskiy went home empty-handed. Last week, there were no strong promises made by the people running the world's largest investment firm.
There was some good news for Zelenskiy from Davos. Robert Kraft, yes, Robert Kraft, the billionaire owner of the New England Patriots, has been part of the J.P. Morgan-led discussions about rebuilding Ukraine for the past year or so. And he is now seriously considering building a factory in Ukraine.
Before Robert became synonymous with a team that (until recently) regularly won the Super Bowl, he was a big name in the paper industry. Sources told the Post that he and his son and business partner Jonathan (who run the eponymous Kraft Group holding company) were working on a property in war-torn western Ukraine. The company is keeping an eye on the company and may decide to move forward with building one or two factories. later this year.
A Kraft Group spokesperson said the company had “several preliminary discussions about the possibility of doing something in the future, but nothing is imminent.”
The impending investment in Kraft is estimated at approximately $100 million. That's good, but it's small compared to the private investment needed to create jobs and economic growth, and the amount of money that Wall Street could raise under the right conditions.
And money is waiting, which is a good sign. My banker said Mr. Zelenskyy convinced investment magnates that he was rooting out corruption, a major obstacle to large-scale financing. They also like hearing that his economy is improving.
It's the war that keeps Wall Street from fully opening its wallets. The problem, simply put, is that investors know that there is no return on capital in tech startups that blow up.
During the closed-door meeting, which I first reported on FOX Business, Zelenskiy may have made his predicament even worse. He gave no indication he was open to peace talks with Putin, whom he recently called “Hitler.”
In other words, a large inflow of private funds will not occur for some time. Mr. Dimon believes that's exactly what he told Mr. Zelenskyy. The JPM director told Zelensky that the moment the bullets stopped flying, Ukraine would have access to billions of dollars from private equity, institutional investors and wealthy Americans, but not a second before that. It must be.
Manchin on the march
Last week, at the home of PR impresario Robert Dilenschneider, powerful West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, a longtime political moderate, asked a group of potential donors why Donald Trump He explained why he can't stand Joe Biden's divisiveness and weakness, and why he takes a different position. A candidate needs to run for the White House because the future of the country is at stake.
Mr. Manchin did not explicitly say he would run for president as an independent from the so-called “No Label,” a nonpartisan organization he has been a member of in recent years.
But there's no reason to be in Darien, CT on a cold winter's night unless you want to run. Please pay attention to it.
