Billionaire Close to Tears Amid Fears of 'Lefties' Like AOC, Bernie Sanders

Billionaire Leon Cooperman was on the verge of tears while speaking about his concern about "the lefties" and their progressive outlook on capitalism.

"I've lived the American dream. I'm trying to convince people like [Senators] Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and AOC (Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez)—don't move away from capitalism. Capitalism is the best system," Cooperman said on CNBC's Squawk Box on Friday while holding back tears. "I get choked up when I talk about it because basically, my father came to America at the age of 12 as a plumber's apprentice. No education."

"I went to public school in the Bronx, high school in the Bronx, college in the Bronx. I started my career in Wall Street the day after I got my MBA from Columbia. I had no money. I couldn't afford a vacation. I made a lot of money. I'm giving it all back," Cooperman said before co-anchor Rebecca Quick stepped in as he choked up.

Since Senator Warren proposed a billionaire tax during her 2020 presidential campaign, Cooperman has been a vocal critic of similar proposals, suggesting that that making billionaires pay higher taxes would be unconstitutional and used his own fortune to illustrate what the implications of a wealth tax would be.

A Wall Street mogul, Cooperman built up Goldman Sachs' asset management division over his 25-year tenure with the investment bank before going on to manage his own hedge fund, Omega Advisors, which manages $3.3 billion in assets.

Newsweek reached out to Warren, Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez for comment.

Although Cooperman opposes billionaire taxes, the measure is supported by the majority of Americans. A Gallup poll from August 2022 found that 52 percent of Americans think the government should redistribute wealth through heavy taxes on the rich. Numbers that confirm earlier surveys, like a September 2021 Morning Consult poll that found 74 percent agreed with the statement, "The wealthiest Americans should pay higher taxes," and a Marist poll from July 2019 that showed 62 percent of Americans saying a higher tax rate on income above $1 million is a good idea.

However, those beliefs are vastly different between Democrats and Republicans. In the Gallup poll, 79 percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents supported a wealth tax, but only 27 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents backed the idea.

Cooperman, a longtime donor to Republican candidates, has described himself as an independent. In 2020, he told CNBC that he voted for Biden, saying "I voted my values and not my pocketbook. I'll be richer tomorrow if Trump wins. I'll probably be poorer tomorrow if Biden wins. But I voted my values.""

On Friday, the billionaire said that both parties were "lacking" and that he didn't think either Trump or Biden should win the presidency in 2024. He said it should be a candidate who can "come out of the woodwork," like Democrats Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama did in 2016 and 2008.

"I'm concerned about the lefties," Cooperman said. "They don't get it. What made me write the book is I have three terrific grandchildren, and I want them to understand the merits of capitalism, and I want them to be capitalists with a heart. I wanna see the system stay centrist. We have a very, very bad political system."

Cooperman published a memoir over the summer, called, From The Bronx To Wall Street: My Fifty Years in Finance and Philanthropy. Calling himself a "capitalist with a heart," he said all the proceeds from the book are going to charity.

"Show me a system that's superior to capitalism," he said. "I look at all these people coming up from South America...risking their lives to come to America, they get it and I want my kids to get it."