The billionaire private equity tycoon Stephen Schwarzman, a former ally of Donald Trump who turned his back on the ex-president, has decided to support him in the 2024 race for the White House.

Schwarzman, widely seen as one of the most powerful men on Wall Street, defected from Trump less than two years ago, when he declared that the time had come for a new generation of leaders to take over the Republican party.

On Friday, he changed course and announced he would donate to the former US president’s campaign to regain the White House.

“I share the concern of most Americans that our economic, immigration and foreign policies are taking the country in the wrong direction,” Schwarzman said in a statement to Axios. “For these reasons, I am planning to vote for change and support Donald Trump for president.”

Rising antisemitism has led Schwarzman to “focus on the consequences of upcoming elections with greater urgency”, he added.

Schwarzman is chairman, CEO and co-founder of Blackstone, one of the world’s largest investment firms. He is also a Republican mega-donor, whose decision in 2022 to turn his back on Trump was deemed a significant blow to the former president’s re-election bid.

In November 2020, after Joe Biden won the presidential election, and Trump refused to concede defeat, Schwarzman – seen as a close ally of Trump, and senior figures in his orbit – stated the result was “very certain”, and called on the country to move on.

He is not the only prominent billionaire to call on Republicans to look past Trump, only to modify their position.

Back in 2022 the hedge fund tycoon Ken Griffin branded the ex-president a “three-time loser” and urged him to “see the writing on the wall” and make way for Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor.

DeSantis dropped out of the Republican presidential race in January, as Trump led the field. Asked earlier this month if he was donating to Trump’s campaign, Griffin said he had not, but added: “I’m going to see who he picks for his VP candidate.”