Investor Robert Mercer Cuts Ties With Yiannopoulos, Breitbart

Robert Mercer, the wealthy hedge fund executive who has financed Milo Yiannopoulos's projects as well as the right-wing website Breitbart, is cutting ties with both, Mercer announced today.

Mercer's action comes about a month after BuzzFeedran an article about Yiannopoulos's connections to white nationalist groups. "I supported Milo Yiannopoulos in the hope and expectation that his expression of views contrary to the social mainstream and his spotlighting of the hypocrisy of those who would close down free speech in the name of political correctness would promote the type of open debate and freedom of thought that is being throttled on many American college campuses today," Mercer wrote in a letter to colleagues and investors in his Renaissance Technologies fund; the letter has been posted on several websites. "But in my opinion, actions of and statements by Mr. Yiannopoulos have caused pain and divisiveness undermining the open and productive discourse that I had hoped to facilitate. I was mistaken to have supported him, and for several weeks have been in the process of severing all ties with him."

Yiannopoulos, who is gay, has often decried the liberal views common among LGBT Americans, and he has sometimes ridiculed transgender people. He has also made comments that offended many women and people of color.

Mercer added that he has decided to sell his stake in Breitbart to his daughters. "The press has ... intimated that my politics marches in lockstep with [Breitbart executive chairman] Steve Bannon's. I have great respect for Mr. Bannon, and from time to time I do discuss politics with him. However, I make my own decisions with respect to whom I support politically. Those decisions do not always align with Mr. Bannon's." Bannon returned to Breitbart in August after a stint as chief strategist for Donald Trump, whose presidential campaign had much support from Mercer. Mercer is also stepping down as co-CEO of Renaissance.

Mercer's letter further said the media had made "intimations that I am a white supremacist or a member of some other noxious group." This is not true, said the press-shy Mercer, going on to condemn discrimination of any kind.

Yiannopoulos, also a major Trump supporter, lost his job as Breitbart tech editor earlier this year after a video surfaced in which he appeared to endorse sexual relationships between men and boys. But he remained close to other site editors and to Mercer.

"After firing Yiannopoulos, [Breitbart editor Alex] Marlow accompanied him to the Mercers' Palm Beach home to discuss a new venture: MILO INC," according to the BuzzFeed story. "On February 27, not quite two weeks after the scandal erupted, Yiannopoulos received an email from a woman who described herself as 'Robert Mercer's accountant.' 'We will be sending a wire payment today,' she wrote. Later that day, in an email to the accountant and Robert Mercer, Yiannopoulos personally thanked his patron." The story also featured video of Yiannopoulos singing in a karaoke bar while white supremacist Richard Spencer and others made Nazi salutes.

The last straw for Mercer, The Atlantic reports, may have been a leak of emails between him and Yiannopoulos, which led to the BuzzFeed story. It "showed a complete lack of professionalism," a source told the publication, also expressing surprise that Mercer didn't cut Yiannopoulos off sooner.

Mercer may, however, remain close to Bannon, sources told The Atlantic. Mercer's actions "frees up time for him to be even more engaged politically," one said. "Expect him to work closer with Steve." Another said, "There's gonna be no financial distance at the end of the day."

Of his changing role at Renaissance, Mercer wrote, "Peter Brown and I have been Co-CEOs for the past eight years. On January 1, 2018, I will step down from my position as Co-CEO and resign from the board of directors. I will continue with the firm as amember of its technical staff, focusing on the research work that I find most fulfilling. Peter will continue on as CEO, and I will provide him with my counsel whenever he feels that I can be helpful to him and to the company where I have spent so many wonderful years."

Through it all, Yiannopoulos remained defiant, posting on Facebook, "I am grateful for Bob's help in getting me this far in my career. I wish him and the family all the best. Another round of press declaring me dead! It's getting sad for the media. They are so desperate to see me fail. And I keep on succeeding. Poor lambs."