Hedge-fund billionaire Bill Ackman donated $10,000 to the family of the second person killed by immigration officers in Minnesota after being urged to by an activist.
A GoFundMe page set up after Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old Minneapolis nurse, was fatally shot by a Border Patrol agent on Saturday shows Ackman is the top donor.
Ackman was called to donate by Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, in a post on X. She cited his earlier donation to a fundraiser for Jonathan Ross, an ICE officer involved in the fatal shooting of Renee Good: “This family could use the $10,000 you donated to Renee Good’s killer,” Watts wrote on X. “Please donate.”
Ackman responded less than five hours later, confirming that he’d made a donation to the GoFundMe, which is titled “Alex Pretti is an American Hero.”
“Done. That said, I don’t agree with the gofundme that he is an American hero, but his loss is tragic for him and his family,” Ackman said in his post.
Earlier this month, after he donated to the Ross fundraiser, Ackman said he also attempted to donate to Good’s GoFundMe, but it was closed. He said his support “was not to make a political statement.”
“I supported Ross because I knew he would need significant funds to cover his defense costs. I supported the gofundme for Good’s family as I thought that it was the right thing to do,” he wrote then.
The GoFundMe for Pretti’s family has raised over $1 million as of Monday morning, with more than 29,000 donations. His father, Michael Pretti, is listed as the beneficiary of the funds.
Ackman is one of several business leaders to call for calm in the aftermath of clashes between protesters and ICE agents in Minneapolis. He published a statement to X on Saturday, urging Americans to “take a deep breath and reserve judgment before this gets even more out of control.”
Last week, Pretti’s family said they’re “heartbroken but also very angry” over the killing in a written statement, multiple outlets reported.
“Alex wanted to make a difference in this world. Unfortunately he will not be with us to see his impact. I do not throw around the hero term lightly. However his last thought and act was to protect a woman,” his family said in the statement.
