Battle of the billionaires behind Donald Trump, Kamala Harris
It’s the snark vs the shark in the battle of the billionaires behind Donald Trump and Kamala Harris’ election campaigns. See some of those involved.
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It’s the snark vs the shark in the battle of the billionaires behind Donald Trump and Kamala Harris’ election campaigns.
Elon Musk and Dallas Mavericks co-owner Mark Cuban have become the two highest profile whales stumping in the 2024 election, but the roster of Richie Rich donors runs as deep as their double-breasted tuxedo pockets.
Mr Musk, the world’s richest man, has gone full “Dark MAGA” with at least A$180 million donated to Mr Trump’s re-election. Mr Cuban, a relative pauper ranked 230th on this year’s Forbes 400 list, says he hasn’t donated a cent to any politician.
But what the Shark Tank investor lacked in cheddar he made up for with a massive in-kind donation of his billable hours as one of Ms Harris’ most prolific campaign “surrogates”, their hoity-toity euphemism for spokesman.
Billionaires have donated at least $A1 billion, or about 18 per cent, of the record $A5.8 billion raised during the election so far, according to campaign finance filings.
Mr Trump, himself a billionaire, relied most heavily on his high-society brethren with about one-third of funds raised by his campaign and associated groups coming from billionaires, according to an analysis of the filings by The Financial Times. Ms Harris’ billionaire backing was about six per cent.
Here are just a few of the 144 billionaires, out of the US’s 800, who are using their fortunes to help bankroll the election.
KAMALA HARRIS
MICHAEL BLOOMBERG: $A158BN NET WORTH
The former New York mayor who is said to find Mr Trump “offensive” spent $A1.5 billion on his own failed presidential run in 2020 and then pumped millions into Joe Biden’s campaign. He hasn’t publicly given money to Kamala Harris’ campaign but the New York Times reported he had discussed making a multimillion-dollar private donation with Bill Gates.
BILL GATES: $A153BN NET WORTH
The Microsoft founder usually sits on the sidelines when it comes to politics but has called the 2024 election “different” and, according to the New York Times, Gates made an A$76 million donation to Future Forward.
DUSTIN MOSKOVITZ: $A22BN NET WORTH
Dustin Moskovitz who founded Facebook with Mark Zuckerberg from their Harvard dorm room went on to co-found work management software company Asana. A vocal critic of Trump-loving Elon Musk, he gave A$57 million to the pro-Harris super PAC Future Forward and more than A1.5 million to other groups supporting the Democratic nominee.
REID HOFFMAN: $A3.8BN NET WORTH
The LinkedIn founder has become one of Ms Harris’ top donors, stumping up A$15 million to Future Forward and another A$9 million to the Republican Accountability PAC which publicises scathing testimonials from former Trump supporters.
DONALD TRUMP
ELON MUSK: $A409BN NET WORTH
Tesla and X boss Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and vocal Trump supporter, has so far given the conservative America super PAC A$180 million. That figure is expected to rise after Musk agreed to match supporters’ donations up to the legal limit of A$1.4 million.
MIRIAM ADELSON: $A52BN NET WORTH
Miriam Adelson, the widow of billionaire Sheldon Adelson, has donated an estimated $A152m to the pro-Trump America PAC. She’s the owner of the Las Vegas Sands Casino and the Las Vegas Review-Journal. But, most awkwardly for Mr Cuban, she’s the majority co-owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team.
TIM MELLON: A$21.5BN NET WORTH
The scion of one of America’s most revered banking dynasties, the reclusive 82-year-old forked out a staggering A$228 million to Mr Trump’s super PAC Make America Great Again, Inc. The donation made up 45 per cent of its total funding.
LIZ AND DICK UIHLEIN: $A12BN NET WORTH
The billionaire couple, worth about $A6 billion a piece, have a less flashy source of wealth than most on this list; The Uline shipping and packing company. But what their business lacks in the rizz, the septuagenarians make up for in donations, with an estimated $A122 million given to the MAGA machine.
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