By Svea Herbst-Bayliss and Lananh Nguyen
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Billionaire hedge fund managers, a former New York mayor, a prominent American diplomat and a sports executive were among the leaders who met with Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskiy at the offices of JPMorgan Chase in New York on Wednesday, sources said.
The meeting was scheduled for hours after Zelenskiy addressed the United Nations Security Council about Russia's February 2022 invasion of his country and its consequences and was organized by the bank, the sources said.
Hedge fund managers Ken Griffin and Bill Ackman, who are often invited to weigh in by central bankers and policy makers on political issues, were invited to speak with Zelenskiy along with Robert Kraft, chief executive of the New England Patriots, and Henry Kissinger, a former United States Secretary of State.
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and politician, philanthropist and businessman Mike Bloomberg, a former mayor of New York, also joined the meeting.
The group of bankers who convened the meeting to discuss investment in Ukraine included JPMorgan executives Mary Callahan Erdoes, its CEO of asset and wealth management, and Vince LaPadula, its CEO of workplace.
Ukraine has made efforts to lock in financial support from business leaders to help rebuild the country.
Fox News first reported his meeting with the investors.
Representatives for Griffin's Citadel, and Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management declined to comment.
A spokesperson for Zelenskiy and Ukraine's mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ackman, whose great-grandfather emigrated to the United States from Ukraine, in February pledged $3.25 million to help buy more than a dozen ambulances for Ukraine, according to his college friend Whitney Tilson who leads the project to buy the vehicles.
Griffin, who last week laid out a roadmap for his philanthropic giving, last year pledged to donate $3 million for scholarships to support Ukrainian students study science, technology, engineering and math.
Before the meeting in New York, the White House appealed to Congress to approve billions of additional dollars of support for Ukraine.
With the fighting heading into a second winter, American business executives and others have said that interest in the war may fall off especially as next year's U.S. presidential election picks up steam.
Howard Buffett, whose father Warren is often considered among the world's most successful investors, on Wednesday said he may step up his own support for the country to guard against Ukraine "fatigue."
(Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss and Lananh Nguyen, additional reporting by Andrea Shalal and Michelle Nichols; Editing by Megan Davies and Grant McCool)
