The former president has plenty of rich friends, who are handing over a fortune to put him back in the White House—even though he is giving nothing.
Some of the nation’s wealthiest people are powering Trump’s bid to return to the White House
His 26 biggest billionaire backers, worth a combined $143 billion, have poured $162 million into the effort so far.
By Leo Kamin, Contributor
“We need a leader who’s not in the pocket of big business, but answers to the working man,” declared Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, Donald Trump’s vice presidential pick, at the Republican National Convention last month. “A leader who won’t sell out to multinational corporations, but will stand up for American companies and American industry.”
Federal Election Commission filings tell a slightly different story. Many of the nation’s richest individuals, including founders and executives at some of America’s biggest businesses, have backed the Trump-Vance ticket. In fact, 26 billionaires have already given more than $1 million apiece to pro-Trump PACs and committees. But there may still be something to Vance’s distinction between “multinational corporations” and “American companies”—at least when it comes to who supports Trump. Of the former president’s 26 biggest billionaire donors, 16 derive their fortunes from private, often family-held corporations based in the U.S. Many of them, like Diane Hendricks’ ABC Supply and Liz and Dick Uihlein’s Uline, openly celebrate their track record of operating mostly in the U.S. and generating American jobs. The list includes a few heirs like Johnson & Johnson scion Woody Johnson and Miriam Adelson, the widow of casino magnate Sheldon Adelson. But the vast majority of the donors–22 out of 26–have built their own billion-dollar empires. The top industries among Trump’s top billionaire backers are casinos (4), finance (3) and oil and gas (3).
In an election year, money flows fast. Since Forbes first looked at Trump’s top billionaire backers two months ago, Adelson has rocketed up the ranks, now the fourth biggest donor after a huge lump sum gift in late May. (And she reportedly has plans that could soon take her to the top of the list.) Also new to the top 10 are stock exchange billionaire Jeff Sprecher and his wife, former senator Kelly Loeffler. Hendricks has also moved up, from fourth to third. Those moves pushed the New York Jets owner Woody Johnson and the Los Angeles real estate magnate Geoffrey Palmer out of the top 10. Five of these donors have given to the newly-launched America PAC, which Elon Musk says he helped start. It was created in May and has already spent close to $8 million on pro-Trump field operations and text campaigns. It was widely reported that Musk had pledged $45 million a month to the super-PAC, though he has since said he will be supporting the group at a “much lower level”–and he has not reported a federal contribution since 2020. Musk may not yet make the list, but his longtime friend and investor Antonio Gracias does. He gave America PAC $1 million in June.
Top 26 Billionaire Donors to Trump’s Campaign
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Timothy Mellon
Donations to Trump groups: $76.5 million | Net worth: Nearly $1 billion
Mellon keeps a low profile–he’s rarely photographed and lists a P.O. box in a 1,000-person Wyoming town as his address–but no donor has made a bigger splash this election. An heir to an American fortune that dates back more than a century, he made some money of his own in the railroad industry. Mellon has given more than $75 million to a pro-Trump PAC (including a $50 million gift the day after Trump’s felony conviction) and another $25 million to support Robert F. Kennedy Jr. -
Linda McMahon (spouse of Vince McMahon)
Donations to Trump groups: $16 million | Net worth: $3.1 billion
McMahon and her husband Vince (now disgraced by sexual misconduct allegations that he denies) built World Wrestling Entertainment into a billion-dollar entertainment juggernaut. She has been involved in politics for years, running unsuccessfully for Senate in Connecticut in 2010 and 2012 and then serving as head of the Small Business Administration under Trump. She’s still close to the center of the MAGA orbit, chairing the pro-Trump nonprofit America First Policy Institute, serving on the board of Truth Social’s parent company, Trump Media and Technology Group and having contributed more than $15 million to Trump’s PACs. -
Diane Hendricks
Donations to Trump groups: $6.3 million | Net worth: $20.9 billion
On the stage at the Republican National Convention in her home state of Wisconsin last month, Hendricks celebrated her title of America’s richest self-made woman, spoke about her pro-life views and accused the Biden-Harris administration of stifling entrepreneurship. A former Playboy bunny, her building materials company ABC Supply now does $20 billion in yearly revenue. “I know how hard it is to build a company from nothing,” she said. “And we need a president who understands that too.” She clearly believes Trump fits the bill: she has already poured more than $6 million into groups that support him. -
Miriam Adelson
Donations to Trump groups: $5.8 million | Net worth: $27.8 billion
A medical doctor and the widow of casino magnate and longtime Republican megadonor Sheldon Adelson, Israeli-born Miriam Adelson now owns a majority stake in the Las Vegas Sands casino empire and the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks. The Adelsons gave an eye-popping $220 million to Republican causes in 2020, and Miriam is continuing to give big sums in the wake of Sheldon’s death in 2021. She has spent more than $20 million this cycle, almost all of which came on a single day in May. According to a New York Times report, Adelson plans to spend more than $90 million to support Trump (she’s given $5.8 million so far), but she has a few requests: “Be less bombastic” and “speak more directly about the economy.” She may not follow through on the full amount though–over the weekend, the Times reported that she and Trump recently exchanged a series of angry texts, during which the former president said her PAC was run by “Republicans in name only.” -
Kelcy Warren
Donations to Trump groups: $5.8 million | Net worth: $6.2 billion
Warren’s publicly-listed Energy Transfer is best known for the highly controversial Dakota Access Pipeline, which Trump helped expedite in one of his first acts in office. Warren had given $100,000 to help elect him in 2016, then dropped more than $11 million in 2020. He’s shelled out close to $6 million this time around, though he also gave some money to Florida Gov. and Trump primary challenger Ron DeSantis last year. -
Timothy Dunn
Donations to Trump groups: $5 million | Net worth: $2.2 billion
Trump reportedly pushed for $1 billion in contributions from oil executives during a May meeting, but Dunn is among those who didn’t need any asking–he cut a $5 million check to Trump’s super-PAC back in December. Dunn’s West Texas-based well operator CrownQuest is one of the country’s largest private oil companies. He wasn’t on the Trump train in 2016, but he started donating in 2020 and has scaled up his giving to Trump and other Republicans this cycle. -
Elizabeth Uihlein
Donations to Trump groups: $5 million | Net worth: $6 billion -
Richard Uihlein
Donations to Trump groups: $5 million | Net worth: $6 billion -
Jeff Sprecher and Kelly Loeffler
Donations to Trump groups: $4.9 million | Net worth: $1.1 billion
Loeffler knows how expensive campaigns can be: She raised $92 million running for Senate in Georgia in 2020 but still lost to Raphael Warnock. Loeffler has been a donor longer than she has been a politician–she was briefly appointed to Georgia’s Senate seat in 2020, but she has been giving big sums to Republicans for over a decade. Her husband Jeff Sprecher is the founder of Intercontinental Exchange, which owns the New York Stock Exchange, and where Loeffler once served as an executive. Together, they’ve given nearly $5 million to back Trump. A spokesperson for Loeffler told Forbes that the couple also gave $1 million to help put on the Republican National Convention last month, though this is not yet listed in FEC filings. -
Antonio Gracias
Donations to Trump groups: $4.1 million | Net worth: $1.1 billion
A tech investor who helped Trump with the Paycheck Protection Program early in the pandemic, Gracias was an early supporter of Trump’s efforts to get his social media platform off the ground. He’s now a top donor to America PAC, giving $1 million in June. He has been a longtime friend and ally of Elon Musk, but he reportedly is also close to Trump. -
John Paulson
Donations to Trump groups: $3.8 million | Net worth: $3.2 billion
Paulson, who made a fortune betting against subprime mortgages, gave a modest $10,000 to Trump’s 2016 campaign, and another $15,000 in 2020. His big breakout donation came last year, when he gave $1 million to a pro-Trump PAC and has followed up with several more large gifts. -
Woody Johnson
Donations to Trump groups: $3.8 million | Net worth: $5 billion
The Johnson & Johnson heir who is the majority owner of the New York Jets has been a big Trump donor for years. He gave $3 million to a pro-Trump PAC in 2021 and another $800,000 in 2022. Johnson also helped bankroll a rally in the Bronx for Trump last month, but it is not yet reflected in FEC filings. -
Geoffrey Palmer
Donations to Trump groups: $3.5 million | Net worth: $2 billion
Los Angeles real estate developer Palmer is a longtime supporter of Trump, donating to his 2016 campaign and his inaugural committee. He’s given an additional $3.5 million to pro-Trump PACs this cycle. -
Robert Bigelow
Donations to Trump groups: $2.8 million | Net worth: $1.6 billion
Bigelow, who made his fortune in the hotel business, gave $1 million to the super-PAC in 2021 and a $1.8 million contribution earlier this year. His real estate company has some connections to Trump’s business–his former business partner was also involved in the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. -
Bernard Marcus
Donations to Trump groups: $2.5 million | Net worth: $6 billion
Marcus was an early supporter of Trump and has been a top donor to his PACs. He and his wife have given millions to Trump and other Republicans this cycle. -
Steven Cohen
Donations to Trump groups: $2.5 million | Net worth: $17 billion
The hedge fund manager and philanthropist Cohen has given to several Trump groups in the past and has also been a supporter of other Republicans. He made a $2.5 million contribution to a pro-Trump PAC in early 2023. -
Paul Singer
Donations to Trump groups: $2.2 million | Net worth: $3 billion
Singer is another hedge fund manager who has supported Trump in the past and has given significant sums to his PACs. His latest donation came in June 2023. -
Harlan Crow
Donations to Trump groups: $2 million | Net worth: $6 billion
Crow, a Dallas real estate investor and major Republican donor, has given $2 million to pro-Trump PACs. He is known for his support of conservative causes and has been a major backer of Trump’s campaigns. -
Frank VanderSloot
Donations to Trump groups: $1.9 million | Net worth: $1.5 billion
VanderSloot is a wealthy Idaho businessman who has supported Trump for years. He’s given nearly $2 million to pro-Trump PACs this cycle. -
Ken Griffin
Donations to Trump groups: $1.8 million | Net worth: $27 billion
The hedge fund manager and founder of Citadel has been a significant donor to Republican causes, including Trump. His latest donation was made in early 2023. -
David Koch (deceased)
Donations to Trump groups: $1.5 million | Net worth: $38 billion
The late Koch brother was a longtime donor to Republican causes and made significant contributions to Trump’s campaigns before his death in 2019. His legacy continues through his estate’s contributions.