In the battle for the billionaires, Joe Biden is gaining support from the Hollywood, technology and fashion industries, while Donald Trump is scoring points with old-school business moguls as the super-rich choose their sides in the race. presidential of 2024.
And, as the wealthy begin to invest in their candidates, they are reshaping the race by giving Trump a financial advantage. The former president surpassed Biden in May for the second straight month after trailing his Democratic rival.
Overall, Trump was $100 million behind Biden in early April. In two months, he reduced that cash deficit by at least half. And many of those donors were sidelined after Trump’s felony conviction in the Stormy Daniels hush money trial.
Biden too it depends on the massive support that megadonors can provide. The wealthy feed their donations through candidate committees as a measure to avoid limits on individual donations to candidates.
Michael Bloomberg is a prominent supporter of Joe Biden – above Bloomberg accepts the Medal of Freedom in May 2024
Miriam Adelson is a prominent supporter of Donald Trump; Above, she accepts the Medal of Freedom from Trump in November 2018.
The May contributions, just released by the Federal Election Commission, highlight how much the wealthy can give.
For Trump it was a $50 million donation from reclusive businessman Timothy Mellon. Mellon is the heir to a Gilded Age fortune, lives in Wyoming and is rarely seen.
Mellon is so reclusive that there are no verified photos of him available. He has also donated to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and, among his donations to both candidates, he is the first donor to give $100 million this election year.
Meanwhile, Biden received nearly $20 million from Michael Bloomberg, former New York City mayor and failed presidential candidate.
Biden supporters include the famous (Steven Spielberg, George Clooney, Julia Roberts) and the infamous (George Soros and Anna Wintour).
Trump’s supporters include many from his previous campaigns, including Nelson Peltz, Las Vegas mogul Steve Wynn, WWE’s Linda McMahon and Miriam Adelson.
Other billionaires have intervened or are preparing to do so:
Miriam Adelson, the casino billionaire and widow of Sheldon Adelson, has pledged to give Trump $90 million – the same amount her family gave in the 2020 campaign – although much of the money has not yet arrived.
Nelson Peltz, whose daughter Nicola married Brooklyn Beckham, has returned to supporting Trump after disavowing the former president following the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol.
Linda McMahon, co-founder of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), has given Trump $11 million so far. She served as administrator of the Small Business Administration during the Trump administration.
The Winklevoss twins, famous for their battle with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, gave Trump $1 million in bitcoin.
Other businessmen supporting Trump include Home Depot founder Bernie Marcus, former Marvel Entertainment chairman and CEO Isaac Perlmutter, Ameritrade chairman J. Joe Ricketts, hedge fund billionaire John Paulson, and Blackstone CEO and co-founder Steve Schwarzman.
Linda McMahon, co-founder of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), has given Trump $11 million so far.
George Clooney Hosted a Massive Fundraiser for Biden Last Weekend
Meanwhile, Biden has a host of bold names backing his re-election bid.
Jeffrey Katzenberg, who has deep ties to Hollywood, serves as co-chairman of Biden’s campaign and has given the president nearly $1 million.
Steven Spielberg has also contributed around $1 million.
Last weekend, George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Jimmy Kimmel and Barbra Streisand joined a Biden fundraiser in Los Angeles.
Billionaire George Soros has also made large donations to Biden: almost a million dollars.
And Biden has courted the tech industry through former Yahoo chief Marissa Mayer, former Google chief Eric Schmidt and Netflix chief Reed Hastings.
In the fashion industry, Tori Burch, Michael Kors and Anna Wintour have endorsed the president.
