In a campaign that is breaking spending records, a handful of people are accounting for a massive waste that is driving up the ad spending voters see on billboards and smartphones in battleground states.
Among them are billionaires who made fortunes in railroads, hedge funds and offshore platforms.
The top five megadonors back Republicans, and Donald Trump is banking on their support to try to offset the lead Kamala Harris has gained among individual contributors.
Topping the list is Timothy Mellon, grandson of prominent financier and Pittsburgh native Andrew Mellon. He alone accounts for $172 million in campaign contributions, $125 million of which goes to pro-Trump MAGA, Inc.
He also donated $25 million to American Values 2024, which supports Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who ended his independent campaign and threw his support behind Trump.
The former president put him in his transition effort and said he will take on health responsibilities in a future Trump administration.
Miriam Adelson, widow of former donor Sheldon Adelson, donated $100 to pro-Trump Preserve America PAC
Next on the list is Miriam Adelson, widow of former donor Sheldon Adelson, who has contributed $100 to the pro-Trump Preserve America PAC.
The staunch supporter of Israel has also made smaller strategic contributions, donating $1 million to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s super PAC. Kemp reached a rapprochement with Trump after clashing with him over his 2020 election fraud allegations. Kemp is now trying to put his organization behind Trump in a battleground state with no clear favorite.
Megadonors have spent a combined $2.1 billion this election cycle, according to the Washington Post.
In total, the elections have already seen a record $16 billion in campaign spending.
Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, has spent $75 million, but he is not in the top five. He’s hosting events for Trump in battleground Pennsylvania.
Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein, who run a massive shipping country based in battleground Wisconsin, have made donations totaling $128 million, $10 million of which will go to the Make American Great Again PAC.
New presentations reveal Dick Uihlein donated nearly $49 million to the Restoration PAC, which later pivoted to supporting pro-Trump groups like Moms for Liberty Action, Women Speak Out PAC and Turn Out For America. Forbes reported.
Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, who supports Trump, has donated $75 million, but that doesn’t even put him in the top five. He is ranked number six, but is boosting Trump in other ways.
Jeff and Janine Yass also come from a key battleground state and have donated $85 million.
Republican hedge funder Kenneth Griffin has already surpassed $100 million in spending
Timothy Mellon accounts for $172 million in campaign contributions
In addition to jumping frantically at Trump’s recent rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, Musk is campaigning for Trump across the state and paying $100 to voters who sign a petition calling for “free speech and the right to carry weapons.”
Trump, after months of criticizing electric car technology, has begun speaking regularly about his amazement at seeing Musk’s SpaceX spacecraft on television.
Jeff and Janine Yass also come from a key battleground state and have donated $85 million. Jeff Yass is the state’s richest man and his Susquehanna International Group owns a 15 percent stake in ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company. Trump has gone on to oppose the US ban on the Chinese-owned app.
Republican hedge funder Kenneth Griffin, CEO of Citadel LLC, is spending $101 million.
The only one of this cycle’s top ten spenders who backs Democrats is Michael Bloomberg, who spent $1 billion on his ill-fated 2020 campaign. He was sitting near Trump during his black-tie speech at Al Smith’s dinner in Manhattan on Thursday. He gave $19 million to a pro-Harris super political action committee.
The big money donations are fueling a massive television advertising campaign, voting campaigns, polls and large-scale organizing efforts. In Trump’s case, the PAC’s outside spending covers some of the organizational ground that campaigns traditionally handle.