Feb 15, 2018

Adviser to Melania Trump received $26 million from inaugural committee

Event planner Stephanie Winston Wolkoff. Photo by KENA BETANCUR/AFP/Getty Images

Wis Media Partners, an event-planning company founded in December 2016 by a longtime friend and current senior adviser to Melania Trump, was paid $26 million by President Trump's inaugural committee, according to tax filings reported by the NYTimes.

The details: The nonprofit committee chaired by Thomas Barrack Jr. was under pressure by watchdogs to reveal how it spent the $107 million it had raised from wealthy donors.

  • $26 million to the firm run by Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, senior adviser to the First Lady.
  • $25 million to Hargrove, Inc., a trade show company that has played a role in every inauguration since 1949.
  • $9.4 million on travel.
  • $4.6 million on salaries and benefits for 208 employees.
  • $4.1 million for ticketing.
  • $3.7 million to David Monn, a New York-based event planner.
  • $2.7 million to Production Resource Group.
  • $1 million to the White House Historical Association.
  • $1 million to the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army and Samaritan's Purse.
  • $750,000 to the Vice President's Residence Foundation,
  • $500,000 on legal fees.
  • $237,000 on fundraising.
  • $250,000 to the Smithsonian Institution.
  • $2.8 million leftover, which the committee says will be donated to charity once remaining expenses are paid.

Go deeper

Axios
Updated 1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 8 a.m. ET: 10,890,511 — Total deaths: 521,694 — Total recoveries — 5,772,017 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 8 a.m. ET: 2,739,879 — Total deaths: 128,740 — Total recoveries: 781,970 — Total tested: 33,462,181 — Map.
  3. Public health: The states where face coverings are mandatory — Regeneron stops trial after drug fails to help patients — What we know about the coronavirus immune response — Fauci says it has been a "very disturbing week" for the spread of the coronavirus in the U.S.
  4. Business: Top business leaders urge the White House to develop mandatory mask guidelines.
  5. Politics: Herman Cain hospitalized for COVID-19 after attending Trump Tulsa rally — Biden downplays jobs number, rebukes Trump for ignoring health crisis.
  6. Economy: The economy may recover just quickly enough to kill political interest in more stimulus.
  7. States: Texas mandates face masks in public spaces — Florida reports more than 10,000 new coronavirus cases, and its most-infected county issues curfew.
Go deeper (<1 min. read)Arrow
Jennifer A. Kingson
4 hours ago - Economy & Business

Markets swell as the economy shrinks

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

The economy is sputtering, but the markets are thriving — a highly unusual event that shows how the coronavirus has thrown all bets off.

Why it matters: The disconnect adds to the wealth gap. The richest 10% of households — who own 84% of stocks — are getting richer, while millions of out-of-work Americans cross their fingers that pandemic unemployment benefits will be extended.

Go deeper (3 min. read)Arrow
Orion Rummler
12 hours ago - Health

Fauci: Coronavirus surges mark a "very disturbing week" in the U.S.

Fauci testifies to the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on June 30. Photo: Al Drago/AFP via Getty Images

NIAID director Anthony Fauci told medical journal JAMA on Thursday that it has been a "very disturbing week" for the spread of the novel coronavirus in the U.S.

What's happening: The number of coronavirus cases increased in the vast majority of states over the last week, and decreased in only two states plus the District of Columbia, Axios' Caitlin Owens reports.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow