Meet the billionaires funneling millions into the 2024 race
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Elon Musk, chief executive officer of Tesla Inc., from left, former U.S. President Donald Trump, and Senator JD Vance, a Republican from Ohio and Republican vice-presidential nominee, prior to a campaign event at the Butler Farm Show in Butler, Pennsylvania, US, on Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. Photographer: Justin Merriman/Bloomberg via Getty Images.
A handful of powerful megadonors have played an outsized role in shaping the 2024 presidential race through mammoth donations toward their favored candidates.
Why it matters: The amount of money being injected into 2024 races means this election cycle is poised to become the most expensive federal election ever, according to a new analysis released by the research group OpenSecrets last week.
The big picture: President Biden's replacement on the Democratic ticket by Vice President Kamala Harris spurred "an enormous boost in fundraising" among Democrats, per OpenSecrets.
- The Harris campaign's fundraising quickly began to outpace former President Trump's, whose fundraising operation stalled in recent months.
- In an astonishing feat, the Harris campaign raised more than $1 billion since launching in July, multiple outlets reported.
- However, many of the top 50 megadonors tend to be Republicans, per the Washington Post.
Here's a look at the megadonors shaping the 2024 presidential race.
Elon Musk
The Tesla CEO is one of the newest Republican megadonors. He's given almost $75 million in three months to his Trump-supporting PAC.
- Musk has become an increasingly influential figure in Republican politics, often using his X feed to echo GOP anxieties over immigration and transgender issues.
- Musk endorsed Trump after the first assassination attempt against the former president in July and appeared at a Trump rally earlier this month.
Timothy Mellon
Billionaire businessman Timothy Mellon is one of Trump's biggest backers, having given the pro-Trump Super PAC Make America Great Again $125 million this election cycle, per OpenSecrets.
- Mellon also donated $25 million to support Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s independent presidential campaign and $10 million to the Congressional Leadership Fund, which supports GOP House candidates.
Miriam Adelson
The widow of casino magnate Sheldon Adelson and a staunch Israel supporter, Miriam Adelson gave $95 million to Preserve America, her pro-Trump PAC, during the third quarter of the year, per an FEC filing released last week.
- Adelson was criticized by Trump this summer over the running of the Preserve America PAC, but the two ultimately put their differences aside, appearing together at an event aimed at fighting antisemitism.
- Adelson and her late husband were Trump's biggest donors in 2020.
Dick and Liz Uihlein
The Uihleins, founders of the shipping company ULine, poured nearly $49 million into their conservative Restoration PAC in the last quarter of the year, according to FEC filing released last week.
- That brings their total donations to the PAC equal to roughly $59 million in 2024.
- The Restoration PAC made more than $19.5 million in contributions to conservative groups in the third quarter, including Moms for Liberty, which aims to reduce discussion of race, gender and sexuality in the classroom or school materials, and the anti-abortion Women Speak Out PAC, per another FEC filing.
- The couple has given $10 million to the Make America Great Again super PAC, the Post reported.
Mike Bloomberg
Billionaire Mike Bloomberg has given $19 million this cycle to Future Forward, a super PAC that had supported Biden's re-election effort and is now supporting Harris' campaign, per Politico.
- He has also donated $7 million to a super PAC associated with Everytown for Gun Safety and $10 million to House Majority PAC, a group that supports Democrats in House races, the Post reported.
Reid Hoffman & Michelle Yee
Hoffman, the co-founder of LinkedIn, and his wife Michelle Yee are major donors in Democratic circles.
- They have given $10 million this cycle to the Future Forward PAC supporting Harris' campaign, per the Post.
- They have also donated $6 million to the anti-Trump Republican Accountability PAC and more than $2 million to the One for All Committee, a left-leaning super PAC that aims to convince "moderate women" to support Democrats.
Bill Gates
Business titan Bill Gates is secretly supporting Harris, the New York Times reported.
- Gates has "said privately that he recently donated about $50 million to a nonprofit organization" that backs Harris but doesn't have to disclose its donors.
- In a statement to The Times, Gates avoided endorsing Harris but said that "this election is different, with unprecedented significance for Americans and the most vulnerable people around the world."
Jamie Dimon and Judith Kent
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon has been vague about his political leanings in public but has made his support for Harris clear in private, The Times reports.
- He's also said in private that he'd consider a role in her administration — likely Treasury secretary, per The Times.
- Meanwhile, Trump told Bloomberg Businessweek over the summer that he would "consider" offering Dimon a cabinet position if elected.
Dimon's wife, Judith Kent, has donated more than $250,000 to Democratic causes this year, including to Harris Action Fund and the Democratic National Committee, through their joint The James and Judith K. Dimon Foundation, Federal Election Commission filings show.
Go deeper: Billionaire donors rally back to Trump
