https://www.politico.com/newsletters/the-long-game/2020/08/11/biden-versus-corporate-america-490033
BIDEN AND BLACKSTONE
'GREEDY AS HELL' — A year ago, Joe Biden told a roomful of affluent New York donors, including a top Goldman Sachs executive, that he wouldn't make them political targets because of their wealth. But over the past four months, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee has done just that, labeling large corporations “greedy as hell” and saying stimulus aid should come with strings attached, such as prohibitions on stock buybacks and worker layoffs. During a campaign event in July, he called for “an end to the era of shareholder capitalism” because companies have a broader responsibility to society.
As Biden shifts left to attract progressive and young voters worried about climate change and social inequality, he's demanding more from companies. What’s less clear is how he plans to change their behavior.
Less than two weeks after his July speech, at a Wall Street fundraiser hosted by Blackstone COO Jon Gray, Biden told donors that it won’t require new laws.“It's not going to require legislation. I'm not proposing any," Biden said, according to a pool report. "We’ve got to think about how we deal people back in.”