Billionaire AOL AOL +% founder Steve Case endorsed Hillary Clinton in an op-ed in The Washington Post on Wednesday. In the piece, Case says he’s making an exception to his usual preference to stay out of partisan politics. “I have concluded that I cannot sit on the sidelines this year,” he wrote. “At this pivotal time, the choice is too important.”
Case, whose fortune is estimated by FORBES at $1.3 billion, founded AOL in 1985 and is now focused on investing in tech outside of Silicon Valley as chairman and CEO of investment company Revolution.
Case gave four reasons for his decision to endorse Clinton: the economy, immigration, technology and deficit control. “I think she’d be better for our economy, especially with respect to innovative technology and start-ups,” Case wrote. “Donald Trump knows business, but his campaign has been backward-looking on the economy.”
Case highlighted the important role immigrants play in the economy, including Google GOOGL -0.31% founder and fellow billionaire Sergey Brin, who immigrated from Russia. “Think how many fewer jobs we’d have in the United States if these entrepreneurs and their parents had been kept out by a wall,” he wrote. He also praised Clinton’s focus on expanding tech education and creating startup growth around the country.
Finally, Case highlighted his view on the importance of controlling the deficit. “Despite his populist rhetoric, Trump wants to give huge tax breaks to people like me, the very folks who have benefited greatly from the innovation economy, while many others have been left behind,”
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