Musk makes history with $270m move
New documents released have revealed the record making move of the world’s richest person.
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Tech billionaire Elon Musk spent at least $270 million to help Donald Trump win the US presidency, according to new federal filings, making him the country’s biggest political donor.
As SpaceX and Tesla CEO Mr Musk is the world’s richest person and was an ardent supporter of Trump’s White House campaign – funnelling money into door knocking operations and speaking at his rallies.
His financial backing, which has earned him a cost-cutting advisory role in Trump’s incoming government, surpassed spending by any single political donor since at least 2010, according to data from non-profit OpenSecrets.
The Washington Post reported that Musk spent more this election cycle than Trump backer Tim Mellon, who gave nearly $200 million and was previously the Republican’s top donor.
Mr Musk donated $238 million to America PAC, a political action committee that he founded to support Trump, filings late Thursday with the Federal Election Commission showed.
An additional $20 million went to the RBG PAC, a group that used advertising to soften Trump’s hardline reputation on the key voter issue of abortion.
But controversially, the group’s website said Mr Trump and the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg agree on the abortion issue, which was slammed by Ms Ginsburg’s granddaughter Clara Spara, who told The New York Times that the message was “nothing short of appalling.”
Mr Musk’s election effort including bankrolling a controversial multimillion-dollar cheque giveaway which some saw as brazen promotion for Mr Trump.
He also appeared on stage with Mr Trump at rallies – at some points upstaging him with his high-energy antics.
Mr Musk has been an ever-present sidekick for Trump since his election victory in November, inviting him to watch a rocket launch in Texas by his SpaceX company.
Trump has selected the South African-born tycoon and fellow ally Vivek Ramaswamy to head the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, through which the pair have promised to deliver billions of dollars of cuts in federal spending.
However, with Mr Musk’s businesses all having varying degrees of interactions with US and foreign governments, his new position also raises concerns about conflict of interest.
The president-elect has nominated several people close to Mr Musk for roles in his administration, including investor David Sacks as the so-called AI and crypto tsar.
Meanwhile, billionaire astronaut Jared Isaacman, who has collaborated with Musk’s SpaceX, was named the head of US space agency NASA.
According to NBC, two sources have told the broadcaster that Mr Musk’s “near-constant presence” at Mar-a-Lago since Election Day is beginning to wear thin on Trump’s inner circle and the presidential transition team.
He has reportedly been at Mar-a-Lago “at all hours, sitting with Trump,” and joining several calls and meetings.
“He’s behaving as if he’s a co-president and making sure everyone knows it,” one of the people said of Mr Musk.
“And he’s sure taking lots of credit for the president’s victory.
“He’s trying to make President Trump feel indebted to him. And the president is indebted to no one,” this person added.
Originally published as Musk makes history with $270m move
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