Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman on Monday questioned U.S. funding of the United Nations, saying it “deserves careful scrutiny.”
“The more I learn about the @UN, one of the largest NGOs, the more I think our support for the UN deserves careful scrutiny,” Ackman said in a post on X.
The head of Pershing Square Capital Management also said President Donald Trump “would notice, it occupies great waterfront real estate in NYC.”
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According to the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), an independent think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international relations, all 193 members of the United Nations are required to make payments to certain parts of the organization. The U.S. is the largest donor, contributing more than $18 billion in 2022.
That accounts for one-third of funding for the body’s collective budget, according to the CFR.
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The U.N. is the world’s main organization for discussing matters of peace and security. However, its work extends beyond peacekeeping and conflict prevention. It has entities that are focused on addressing health and humanitarian needs and economic and cultural development. The funds help support the United Nations’ regular budget, which covers administrative costs and a few programs, as well as peacekeeping operations, according to the CFR.
Biden increased funding to the organization after Trump significantly cut it during his first term. In 2021, Biden, in particular, resumed funding for the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA) and the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)
Funding for UNRWA was paused again in 2024 over allegations that some agency employees aided in the October 2023 terrorist attacks on Israel that sparked the current war against Hamas.
Ackman’s comments come as Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) continues sweeping efforts to cut $2 trillion in federal spending, shrink the government’s workforce and increase the efficiency of federal agencies.
Over the past few weeks, DOGE, which was created through an executive order signed by Trump on Inauguration Day, has already canceled a number of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives at federal agencies as well as certain consulting contracts and leases for underused federal buildings, while also working to consolidate duplicative agencies and programs. It has thus far only focused on areas included in discretionary spending, which are subject to annual appropriations by Congress.
DOGE – a temporary organization within the White House – will spend 18 months until July 4, 2026, carrying out its mission, which has already fallen under scrutiny. Over the weekend, the government efficiency team was temporarily blocked from accessing certain government systems that included information about Americans’ Social Security, Medicare and veterans’ benefits, tax refund information and more, according to a federal judge’s ruling.
FOX Business’ Eric Revell contributed to this report.
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