25 of the richest donors funneling money to Donald Trump: Elon Musk, Steve Schwarzman, and more

Elon Musk, the richest man in the world with a net worth of $253 billion, per Forbes, endorsed Trump in July following the assassination attempt on the former president.

Soon after, it was reported he'd be donating $45 million to a new super PAC called America PAC, which has garnered support from others in Silicon Valley.

Musk has never been a major political donor before, though he has ramped up his rhetoric in recent years.

"Arrogant billionaires only out for themselves are not what America wants or what America needs," James Singer, a spokesman for the Biden campaign, told Bloomberg in response to news of Musk's donation.

Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman seemed to rebuke Trump following the 2022 midterm elections when he said the Republican Party needed "a new generation of leaders."

But in May, he said he will vote for the former president in November. Axios, which first published the news, reported that he will donate to Trump. In 2020, Schwarzman, who is worth $41.1 billion, per Forbes, contributed millions to his reelection campaign.

"The dramatic rise of antisemitism has led me to focus on the consequences of upcoming elections with greater urgency," he said in his statement.

A long-term Republican donor and powerful influence on Wall Street, Schwarzman has thus far donated $419,600 to the Trump 47 Committee.

Miriam Adelson — the widow of casino mogul Sheldon Adelson who received a Presidential Medal of Freedom from Trump — has officially announced she would once again back the former president — a coup for his campaign finances.

Her endorsement comes with quite a bit of cash: Adelson, whose net worth stands at $28.9 billion, according to Forbes, is bringing back her Preserve America super PAC and will donate more than $90 million to reelect Trump.

In 2020, she and Sheldon were Trump's biggest donors, contributing more than $120 million to his campaign, as well as to other Republican causes and candidates.

Diane Hendricks, the cofounder of roofing company ABC Supplies, has donated $844.6 million to the Trump 47 Committee.

Worth $20.9 billion, per Forbes, she is a regular Republican donor. In 2016, she served as the vice chair of one of Trump's fundraising committees and has given six figures to various Republican state parties and the Republican National Committee. She has donated more than $425,000 to Trump and the RNC this year alone.

Harold Hamm, an oil and gas magnate worth $18.5 billion, per Forbes, has contributed $614,000 to the Trump 47 Committee and $200,000 to the Trump-aligned MAGA Inc. super PAC.

Like several other billionaire donors, Hamm wasn't always convinced Trump was the right man for 2024. He contributed thousands to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former Ambassador Nikki Haley in the primaries.

It's even been reported that he told Trump to end his presidential campaign last year, citing the "chaos" the former president caused.

Hamm's support may give some insight into how Trump is doing with oil and gas money, which he has been courting for months.

"Republican, Democrat… I'm an oilocrat," he told the Financial Times in 2022.

Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein — who are worth a combined $13 billion, per Forbes, thanks to their packing and shipping company Uline — have long been reliable donors to a variety of conservative causes and candidates, including bankrolling an effort to make it harder to amend the Ohio constitution in 2023.

The Uihleins started this cycle supporting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis's presidential bid, and each gave $1.5 million to DeSantis's super PAC, Never Back Down. In May, they each gave $5 million to the Trump-aligned MAGA Inc. super PAC.

In March, Elizabeth bemoaned the fact that she and her husband had to spend money on the presidential race at all.

"These two guys are very well-defined. I don't understand why everybody has to give all this money," she told the Financial Times, referring to Trump and Biden. "Neither of them have to spend a penny. We all know who they are. It's ridiculous."

Venture capitalist Doug Leone, a partner at and former head of Sequoia who Forbes estimates is worth $8.4 billion, announced in June that he'd once again be backing Trump — despite saying in 2021 that the former president had lost his support after the January 6 attack on the capital. That month, he donated $2 million to the Right for America super PAC. He's also donated $1 million to the America PAC.

In 2020, Leone donated about $700,000 to Trump's reelection campaign.

"I have become increasingly concerned about the general direction of our country, the state of our broken immigration system, the ballooning deficit, and the foreign policy missteps, among other issues," he wrote on X. "Therefore, I am supporting former President Trump in this coming election."

Leone represents a growing Silicon Valley sect that has turned to the former president. Venture capitalists David Sacks and Chamath Palihapitiya, as well as Leone's fellow Sequoia partner Shaun Maguire, have endorsed Trump for the first time this election cycle.

Kelcy Warren, the chairman and former CEO of the pipeline company Energy Transfer Partners with a net worth of $6.4 billion, according to Forbes, has given $814,600 to the Trump 47 Committee and $5 million to the MAGA Inc. super PAC. In 2020, he contributed $10 million to a pro-Trump super PAC.

Warren's company is the owner of the Dakota Access Pipeline, the construction of which spurred major protests by environmental activists and the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in 2016.

Though he was a major Trump donor in 2020, he donated $26,400 to a pro-DeSantis super PAC in June 2023. By May, Trump had his full backing. He co-hosted a fundraiser for Trump in Houston that month that, along with another event in Dallas, brought in $15. million for Trump, the campaign told Reuters.

Isaac "Ike" Perlmutter, the former chairman of Marvel Entertainment, has long been an informal advisor and friend to Trump, including on veterans' affairs.

The Mar-a-Lago member, who has a net worth of $4.2 billion, per Forbes, and his wife have each given $10 million to Right for America, a pro-Trump super PAC.

Nelson Peltz — Perlmutter's fellow billionaire and partner in a failed Disney takeover — told the Financial Times he would also vote for Trump, despite apologizing for backing the candidate in 2020 following January 6.

Joe Ricketts, the founder and former CEO of TD Ameritrade, is worth $3.9 billion, according to Forbes. He has given $824,600 to the Trump 47 Committee, and his wife, Marlene, gave $814,600. They are big-money donors, giving more than $20 million to GOP causes in 2020, Forbes reported.

In 2019, Ricketts — whose family owns the Chicago Cubs — was found to have sent racist and Islamophobic emails during the 2012 election, for which he later apologized.

"Christians and Jews can have a mutual respect for each other to create a civil society. As you know, Islam cannot do that," Ricketts wrote in one 2012 email. "Therefore we cannot ever let Islam become a large part of our society. Muslims are naturally my (our) enemy due to their deep antagonism and bias against non-Muslims."

Last year, one of Ricketts' sons — former Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts — was appointed to the US Senate after former Sen. Ben Sasse opted to retire. The younger Ricketts will likely be elected to the remainder of Sasse's term in November.

John Paulson, a hedge fund manager with a $3.5 billion net worth, per Forbes, has contributed $806,300 to the Trump 47 Committee.

He's long been an associate of the former president and has advised him on economic matters. Bloomberg recently reported that he could serve as Treasury Secretary under a second Trump administration.

In April, Paulson hosted Trump and his wife, Melania, for a fundraiser at his Palm Beach home. That event, attended by several other billionaires on this list, raised more than $50 million, according to the campaign.

Casino mogul and real estate developer Steve Wynn has given $806,300 to the Trump 47 Committee this year.

Wynn, a longtime GOP megadonor with a $3.4 billion net worth, according to Forbes, served as the vice-chairman of Trump's inaugural committee in 2017. In 2020, he donated at least $12 million to various Republican races and causes.

He has been accused of both sexual misconduct and of acting as a foreign agent on behalf of China, though a judge tossed out the latter charge.

Woody Johnson, an heir to the Johnson and Johnson pharmaceutical fortune and a co-owner of the New York Jets with his brother, has used his $3.2 billion fortune, per Forbes, to become one of Trump's biggest backers.

He's given $1 million to the Trump-aligned MAGA Inc. super PAC, and both he and his wife Suzanne recently contributed $806,300 apiece to the Trump 47 Committee.

Johnson served as the US Ambassador to the United Kingdom during Trump's presidency.

Geoffrey Palmer, a Los Angeles-based real estate developer worth $3.1 billion, according to Forbes, has given $2 million to Trump's MAGA Inc. super PAC and $814,600 to the Trump 47 Committee.

Palmer has rallied his rich Los Angeles friends to donate to the former president, hosting multiple fundraisers, including one in September 2023.

Linda McMahon, who founded World Wrestling Entertainment with her husband Vince — whose net worth is $2.9 billion, according to Forbes — has given at least $10 million to the Trump-aligned MAGA Inc. super PAC, along with $814,600 to the Trump 47 Committee.

She gave millions to Trump in 2016 and more than $15 million to his 2020 reelection super PAC.

Her generosity served her well: Under Trump, McMahon was appointed head of the Small Business Administration from 2017 to 2019. She's also the chair of the board of the America First Policy Institute, a Trump-aligned think tank.

Each of the Winklevoss twins donated just over $1 million each to the Trump 47 Committee and $250,000 each to the America PAC. The twins, who run the cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, are each worth $2.7 billion, per Forbes.

In June, when they endorsed Trump, Tyler called him "pro-Bitcoin, pro-crypto, and pro-business," adding that Biden had "openly declared war on crypto."

Oil magnate and pastor Timothy Dunn, worth $2.2 billion, according to Forbes, donated $5 million to the MAGA Inc. super PAC last year.

In 2022, he donated over $1.8 million to Republican causes and also gave to Trump in 2020. He's an active donor in Texas politics, giving nearly $10 million to the conservative Defend Texas Liberty PAC, according to Texas Monthly, which reported on his involvement in the Christian nationalism movement.

Phil Ruffin, a casino magnate worth $2.6 billion, per Forbes, has contributed $2 million to Trump's MAGA Inc. super PAC and $814,600 to the Trump 47 Committee.

Ruffin is a longtime associate and business partner of Trump's — he co-owns the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas alongside the Trump Organization.

Ruffin also accompanied Trump to Moscow in 2013 for the Miss Universe Pageant.

That trip figured prominently in the largely unverified Steele Dossier, which alleged that the Russians may have blackmailed Trump by filming him being urinated on by Russian prostitutes.

Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, the cofounder of venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, announced to their employees that they'd be donating to Trump-aligned PACs, the Information reported. It's unclear which PACs or how much they plan to give.

Andreessen is worth $1.9 billion, according to Forbes. It's a shift for the Silicon Valley titan, who in 2016 said he'd be voting for Hilary Clinton.

Timothy Mellon, who is worth at least $1 billion, according to Forbes, is Trump's biggest donor yet this campaign cycle.

The secretive billionaire, who is heir to the Mellon banking fortune, has donated at least $75 million to Trump, including $50 million the day after his felony conviction. A former liberal, he has also been a major backer of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., donating $25 million to his campaign.

Mellon has contributed to other GOP causes, including donating $53 million to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas' effort to build a wall along the US-Mexico border, $20 million to a pro-Trump super PAC in 2020, $45 million to a super PAC for GOP House leadership, and $30 million to a super PAC tied to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Former Sen. Kelly Loeffler and her husband, Jeff Sprecher, who was worth $1 billion in 2022, according to Forbes, have each contributed $834,600 and $844,600, respectively, to the Trump 47 Committee. In 2020, he wrote a $1 million check to Trump's super PAC.

Loeffler was appointed to the Senate by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp at the end of 2019 after Sen. Johnny Isakson's death. She later lost in a runoff election in January 2021 to Democrat Raphael Warnock, who won a full term in 2022.

Sprecher, meanwhile, is the CEO of Intercontinental Exchange and previously served as the chairman of the New York Stock Exchange.

Robert Mercer, a former hedge fund CEO who, according to The New York Times, is a billionaire, has given $814,399 to the Trump 47 Committee.

Both Robert and his daughter Rebekah have been major contributors to pro-Trump and influential anti-establishment conservative causes, including funneling money to the right-wing Breitbart website and the conservative social media app Parler. In 2016, they helped connect Trump to his campaign team, and while they were not vocal supporters of the former president in 2020, they have reemerged as fundraising hosts in this cycle.

Robert Bigelow, the hotel chain mogul who launched a spaceflight company in 2018, was originally a major DeSantis donor this cycle.

"I will give him more money and go without food," Bigelow told Time after pouring more than $20 million into the Florida governor's "Never Back Down" super PAC in March 2023.

The billionaire, per the Las Vegas Sun, has since pivoted, donating more than $10 million to Trump-aligned PACs since February 2024. He told Reuters in January that he would also contribute $1 million to pay Trump's mounting legal fees.

"I was just sympathetic. They didn't solicit anything from me," Bigelow told the outlet.

José "Pepe" Fanjul, a sugar magnate, has given $814,600 to the Trump 47 Committee. A billionaire, according to NBC, he hosted a fundraiser for the former president the same day Trump's guilty verdict was announced.

While Fanjul has long been a GOP megadonor, his brother Alfonso has a history as a major Democratic megadonor.