As Election Day approaches, former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris will be judged on their personality, policies and experience.
Money is needed to get that message out to voters. And while both campaigns have raised millions from small donors and billionaires, it’s the latter whose power and influence can have an outsized impact on any potential administration.
We compiled a list of the richest Americans who’ve supported one of the presidential candidates, either in word or in deed.
Using Federal Election Commission data as of September, we looked at members of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index who’ve donated to the Harris or Trump campaigns (our methodology is explained at the bottom of this story).
Among the ultra-rich, Trump comes out on top. The former president has gotten at least $281 million from 20 members of the wealth list. Harris’ campaign, meanwhile, has received at least $66.2 million from 24 people, including those who donated to Biden’s campaign before he stepped down. Those contributions were rolled over to her when she became the candidate.
Trump’s advantage comes down to two donors — Elon Musk and Miriam Adelson — who each gave more than $100 million. Harris’ richest billionaire donors include Meta Platforms Inc. co-founder Dustin Moskovitz and and Netflix Inc. Chairman Reed Hastings, who have each put millions of dollars behind her candidacy.
The identities of many of Harris’ biggest super PAC donors aren’t known because their money is routed through political nonprofits that don’t disclose the names of their contributors.
Still, since taking the top slot on the Democratic ticket in July, Harris has outperformed Trump overall. The Democratic nominee raised $81 million in the first day after Biden’s exit, which her campaign called the largest 24-hour fundraise of any candidate in history. She had $270 million in the bank for the last 19 days of the election, topping Trump’s $216 million.
(Disclaimer: Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP, is a major donor to Democratic causes. He has given $19 million to Future Forward PAC and $929,600 to the Biden Victory Fund.)
Here’s whom the wealthiest people in America are supporting for president, ranked by their net worth, along with some key names to watch:
Source: bloomberg.com
