Topline
Melinda Gates and Sam Altman are among the first U.S. billionaires to comment on the death of Alex Pretti, days after the 37-year-old nurse became the second American citizen to be killed by federal agencies this month in Minnesota.
Flowers are left at a makeshift memorial in the area where Alex Pretti was shot dead a day earlier by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
AFP via Getty Images
Key Facts
In a post on X, Gates, the ex-wife of Bill Gates, called the killings of Pretti and Renee Good “unconscionable” and said they were weighing heavily on “so many of our hearts.”
She said Americans should not have to be afraid of losing their life while peacefully protesting, writing, “There is nothing more American than exercising our rights and holding our government accountable. Our democracy depends on it.”
Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, said in an internal Slack message that he felt Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minneapolis were going “too far,” according to The New York Times.
He called President Donald Trump a “very strong leader” he expects will unite the country but told his employees it is part of “the American duty to push back against overreach.”
Similarly, Anthropic cofounder Chris Olah said “recent events … shove the conscience,” writing on X that he feels “very sad” over Pretti’s death: “My deep loyalty is to the principles of classical liberal democracy: freedom of speech, the rule of law, the dignity of the human person. I immigrated to the United States – and eventually cofounded Anthropic here – believing it was a pillar of these principles.”
Tangent
Hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman, a pro-Trump commentator, donated $10,000 to the family of Pretti, according to the Wall Street Journal. His donation comes weeks after a controversial donation of $10,000 to support Jonathan Ross, the ICE agent who fatally shot Good. At the time, Ackman said he would also donate money to Good’s family. “I don’t agree with the Gofundme that (Pretti) is an American hero, but his loss is tragic for him and his family,” Ackman wrote on X.
Key Background
In the days since Pretti was fatally shot by federal immigration agents, localized anger quickly expanded into broader opposition to ICE’s presence and tactics in Minnesota. Pretti’s killing has sparked large protests and solidarity rallies across the U.S., with demonstrators demanding accountability and an end to what they view as excessive federal enforcement. Pretti and Good’s killings have led to renewed support for ICE to be abolished or defunded, even among some Republican leaders. Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., is among the Republicans who have condemned the killings, saying their deaths “show what the country has been doing is not working.”
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikestunson/2026/01/27/billionaires-melinda-gates-sam-altman-speak-out-against-ice-minnesota-killings/
