On April 5, 2025 large-scale protests took place against Donald Trump’s regime. These protests have been described as being “oppositional,” but a movement of deconstruction is not sufficient for leveraging systemic power on the scale wielded by the Trump regime. These protests are but a first step to transform the government to make it more accountable to people’s needs. In addition, one must present a comprehensive alternative program and link that to mechanisms that further protest Trump’s regime. Millions of persons patronize businesses which leverage their capital to support Donald Trump. Donald Trump’s policies are partially designed to favor their interests. So certain consumers become a kind of indirect financier for the Trump regime.
Even if businesses backing Trump are hurt economically by his policies, placing additional economic pressure on these businesses could deepen a wedge between such organizational power and the Trump regime. Note Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling’s article in The New Republic which explains: “Donald Trump’s 2025 inaugural entourage was noticeably flush, with several of the world’s richest people—including Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Sergey Brin, Bernard Arnault, and Jeff Bezos—standing behind the president as he was sworn in. But seven weeks later, that cohort has lost a significant sum of cash, with the five billionaires’ collective net worths tanking by a staggering $209 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.” Additional pressure includes political campaigns that target the brands and reputational or symbolic capital of companies.
When a company experiences a financial loss, it does not necessarily damaged its reputational capital. An article by Derek Saul in Forbes (April 4, 2025) says that Trump’s tariffs have been linked to losses approaching $5 trillion in financial value. Yet, these are partially depoliticized losses. The losses are triggered by Trump, not by opposition to Trump. In theory a well-designed financial pressure campaign would gain some allies among the economic interests hurt by Trump, if it figured out how to win them over to actions or movements opposing Trump. How could that occur? First, one could patronize the competitors of Trump’s businesses. Second, one could solicit financial support from economic interests hurt by Trump and link them to a platform financing advertisements attacking Republicans in the House of Representatives. Third, one could try to get companies hurt by Trump to lobby the Trump regime or Congressional offices directly. We have an opportunity to leverage some businesses against other businesses and the state in the form of the Trump regime.
In an article by Leo Camin published in Forbes on August 14, 2024, he identified the top 25 billionaire supporters of Donald Trump. Instead of boycotting U.S. goods, the domestic and foreign opponents of Trump should be targeting these businesses instead. Anti-Tesla protests have been documented here. In Australia alone, Tesla sales decreased by 75% in February 2025 compared to a year earlier: Australia’s “best-selling electric vehicle brand recorded 1592 sales in February, which was more than double the disastrous 739 deliveries notched in January. But that number [was] significantly down on the 5665 sales of February 2024.” The downward pressure on Tesla stock can be seen here. An analysis by Barchart found: “In the first quarter of 2025, Tesla reported 336,681 vehicle deliveries, a 13% decrease from the same period in 2024 and a 32% sequential decline. This marks the company’s lowest quarterly deliveries in nearly three years. Production numbers also fell, with 363,000 vehicles produced, a 16% decrease year-over-year.” Foreign boycott movements exist in Canada and Denmark. These don’t include countries placing tariffs on U.S. imports. In some cases boycott protests aim at more passive supporters of Trump related to Amazon and Jeff Bezos. This tactic seems limited if not misguided, compared to dropping subscriptions to The Washington Post and going after more active Trump supporters. One might argue that if Trump’s positioned weakened, Bezos would more actively oppose Trump.
The elaboration of Camin’s list was put together with the help of ChatGPT.
One academic study found that “consumer boycotts launched by individuals on the internet are ineffective in inflicting economic harm on the targeted firm.” In contrast another study used “a time-series methodology in an effort to assess the impact of 21 consumer boycott announcements upon the wealth of stockholders of target firms.” This study found that “consumer boycott announcements were followed by statistically significant decreases in stock prices for the target firms. In addition, the overall market value of the target firms dropped by an average of more than $120 million over the two-month post-announcement period.” Clearly, the design and historical context of the boycott efforts matter. It is not enough to boycott companies. Rather, you should boycott certain companies but re-direct your funding in cooperative and community-controlled enterprises whose economic activity services progressive goals. This process has already been outlined by the author in a series of articles of which the most significant can be found here and here.
Billionaire Trump Donors and Their Consumer-Facing Ventures
- Timothy Mellon
Net Worth: ~$1B
Donations to Trump groups: $76.5M
Product/Business: Railroad industry (Pan Am Systems, former chairman of Guilford Rail)
Boycott: Pan Am Systems (where applicable)
🔗 Pan Am Railways
- Linda McMahon
Net Worth: $3.1B
Donations: $16M
Product/Business: World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)
Boycott: WWE (1,600+ live events/year, ~300 wrestlers under contract)
🔗 wwe.com
- Diane Hendricks
Net Worth: $20.9B
Donations: $6.3M
Product/Business: ABC Supply (building materials)
Boycott: ABC Supply (800+ locations in the U.S.)
🔗 abcsupply.com
- Miriam Adelson
Net Worth: $27.8B
Donations: $5.8M
Product/Business: Las Vegas Sands casinos, Dallas Mavericks (NBA team)
Boycott: The Venetian, The Palazzo (Las Vegas Sands); Dallas Mavericks (NBA franchise)
🔗 venetianlasvegas.com, mavs.com
- Kelcy Warren
Net Worth: $6.2B
Donations: $5.8M
Product/Business: Energy Transfer (pipeline infrastructure)
Boycott: Energy Transfer brands including Sunoco LP (5,200+ retail stores), Stripes Stores (approx. 500)
🔗 sunoco.com, stripesstores.com
- Timothy Dunn
Net Worth: $2.2B
Donations: $5M
Product/Business: CrownQuest (oil well operations)
Boycott: CrownQuest Operating LLC
🔗 crownquest.com
- Elizabeth Uihlein
Net Worth: $6B
Donations: $5M
Product/Business: Uline (packaging and shipping supplies)
Boycott: Uline (distribution centers in 11 U.S. states)
🔗 uline.com
- Richard Uihlein
Net Worth: $6B
Donations: $5M
Product/Business: Uline (packaging and shipping supplies)
Boycott: Uline
🔗 uline.com
- Jeff Sprecher & Kelly Loeffler
Net Worth: $1.1B
Donations: $4.9M
Product/Business: Intercontinental Exchange (owns NYSE)
Boycott: NYSE-related financial services (limited direct consumer action)
🔗 ice.com
- Phil Ruffin
Net Worth: $2.6B
Donations: $3.3M
Product/Business: Trump International Hotel Las Vegas, casinos & hotels
Boycott: Treasure Island, Circus Circus Las Vegas, Trump Int’l Hotel Las Vegas
🔗 treasureisland.com, circuscircus.com
- Jimmy John Liautaud
Net Worth: $2.4B
Donations: $3.1M
Product/Business: Jimmy John’s (sandwich chain)
Boycott: Jimmy John’s (2,600+ locations across U.S.)
🔗 jimmyjohns.com
- Geoffrey Palmer
Net Worth: $3.1B
Donations: $3M
Product/Business: G.H. Palmer Associates (real estate – LA apartments)
Boycott: G.H. Palmer properties (multiple luxury apartments in Los Angeles)
🔗 ghpalmer.com
- Bernard Marcus
Net Worth: $9.9B
Donations: $2.7M
Product/Business: Home Depot (cofounder)
Boycott: Home Depot (2,000+ stores)
🔗 homedepot.com
- Robert “Woody” Johnson
Net Worth: $3.3B
Donations: $2.7M
Product/Business: Johnson & Johnson (heir), New York Jets (owner)
Boycott: Johnson & Johnson products (Aveeno, Tylenol, Neutrogena, etc.), New York Jets
🔗 jnj.com, newyorkjets.com
- Kenny Troutt
Net Worth: $1.7B
Donations: $2.2M
Product/Business: Excel Communications (telecom), racehorse ownership
Boycott: Horse racing stables affiliated with WinStar Farm
🔗 winstarfarm.com
- George Bishop
Net Worth: $3.2B
Donations: $2M
Product/Business: GeoSouthern Energy (oil & gas)
Boycott: GeoSouthern Energy
🔗 geosouthernenergy.com
- J. Joe Ricketts
Net Worth: $3.6B
Donations: $2M
Product/Business: TD Ameritrade (founder)
Boycott: TD Ameritrade
🔗 tdameritrade.com
- Andrew Beal
Net Worth: $12.2B
Donations: $1.8M
Product/Business: Beal Bank (finance), high-stakes poker player
Boycott: Beal Bank (Texas & Nevada)
🔗 bealbank.com
- Cameron Winklevoss
Net Worth: $2.7B
Donations: $1.3M
Product/Business: Gemini (crypto exchange)
Boycott: Gemini
🔗 gemini.com
- Tyler Winklevoss
Net Worth: $2.7B
Donations: $1.3M
Product/Business: Gemini (crypto exchange)
Boycott: Gemini
🔗 gemini.com
- Don Ahern
Net Worth: $1B
Donations: $1.1M
Product/Business: Ahern Rentals (construction equipment), Ahern Hotel Las Vegas
Boycott: Ahern Rentals (100+ U.S. locations), Ahern Hotel Las Vegas
🔗 ahern.com, ahernhotel.com
- Roger Penske
Net Worth: $6.3B
Donations: $1.1M
Product/Business: Penske Corporation (automotive), Team Penske (IndyCar, NASCAR)
Boycott: Penske Truck Rental (2,500+ locations), Team Penske racing events
🔗 penske.com, pensketrucks.com
- Steve Wynn
Net Worth: $3.4B
Donations: $1.1M
Product/Business: Wynn Resorts (casinos)
Boycott: Wynn Las Vegas, Encore, international Wynn properties
🔗 wynnlasvegas.com
- Richard Kurtz
Net Worth: $1B
Donations: $1M
Product/Business: Kamson Corporation (real estate)
Boycott: Kamson rental properties (100+ apartment communities in Northeast U.S.)
🔗 kamson.net
- Antonio Gracias
Net Worth: $1.2B
Donations: $1M
Product/Business: Valor Equity Partners (private equity), early Tesla/SpaceX backer
Boycott: Valor Equity portfolio companies (check individual holdings)
🔗 valorep.com
25 (tie). Douglas Leone
Net Worth: $7.9B
Donations: $1M
Product/Business: Sequoia Capital (venture capital)
Boycott: Sequoia Capital–backed companies (Stripe, DoorDash, Robinhood, etc.)
🔗 sequoiacap.com
The Claude AI tool added the following information: ABC Supply: 800+ locations nationwide Sunoco: 5,200+ retail stores (under Energy Transfer) Stripes Stores: Approximately 500 locations Jimmy John’s: 2,600+ sandwich shops across the US Home Depot: 2,000+ stores nationwide Penske Truck Rental: 2,500+ locations Kamson Corporation: 100+ apartment communities in the Northeast Ahern Rentals: 100+ US locations Las Vegas casinos: Multiple properties including Venetian, Palazzo, Treasure Island, Circus Circus, Trump International Hotel, Wynn/Encore, and Ahern Hotel.
ABC Supply Co. provides an online locator service on line. A map of New York City locations is provided as a representative example below.
The Stripes Stores company has its own locator which you can find here. According to Wikipedia, Stripes Stores is a chain of more than 700 convenience stores in Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Oklahoma, headquartered in Corpus Christi, Texas and owned by 7-Eleven. Most locations are former Circle K and Town & Country Food Stores.
The Jimmy John’s company has a store locator which you can find here.
A map of Home Depot stores locations can be found on the Internet based on data about a year old. This map is reproduced below.
The Penske Truck Rental company lists all of its locations here.
Conclusions
Depending on their design, boycotts with proactive social investing can put pressure on the Trump regime and provide alternatives to that regime in real-time, without even waiting for new elections. Money can be reinvested into political campaigns targeting Republican congresspersons backing the Trump regime and the businesses supporting the Republican Party. At the same time, a social investment process linked to media and political organizing, as outlined in my earlier essays, can provide an alternative to the Wall Street and military industrial complex-linked Democratic Party. Face-to-face protests should be linked to political canvassing and move your money campaigns.
Jonathan Michael Feldman is a founder of the Global Teach-In (www.globalteachin.com) and can be reached at @globalteachin on Twitter.
