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.
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Here's your Forbes Daily Briefing for Friday, August 16th. Today on Forbes, here are Trump's top billionaire donors. At the Republican National Convention last month, Donald Trump's vice presidential pick, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, said, "We need a leader who's not in the pocket of big business, but answers to the working man, a leader who won't sell out to multinational corporations, but will stand up for American companies and American industry." However, 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 a piece to pro-Trump tax and committees, but there may still be something to Vance's distinction between "multi-national 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 Uline'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, Sian, 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 billionaires, finance, 3 billionaires, and oil and gas, 3 billionaires. 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 Sprecker and his wife, former senator Kelly Leffler. Hendrix has also moved up, from fourth to third. Those moves push the New York Jets owner Woody Johnson and the Los Angeles real estate magnate Jeffrey Palmer out of the top 10. Five of these donors have given to the newly launched America Pack, 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 pack, 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 Pack $1 million in June. He wrote a few of the billionaires at the very top of Trump's donor list. For one, Timothy Mellon, whose net worth is nearly $1 billion and who has given $76.5 million in donations to Trump groups. Mellon keeps a low profile, he's rarely photographed and lists a PO box in a 1,000 person Wyoming town as his address, but no donor has made a bigger splash to this election. In heir to an American fortune that dates back more than a century, he made some money of his own in the railroad industry. Biden's donations to Trump groups include a $50 million gift the day after Trump's felony conviction. Separately, he gave $25 million to support Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 2. Linda McMahon, whose net worth is $3.1 billion and who has given $16 million to Trump groups. McMahon and her husband Vince built world wrestling entertainment into a billion dollar entertainment juggernaut. She has been involved in politics for years, running unsuccessfully for Senate and Connecticut in 2010 and 2012, and then serving as head of the Small Business Administration under Trump. She is still close to the center of the MAGA orbit, chairing the pro-Trump non-profit America First Policy Institute, and serving on the board of Truth Social's parent company Trump Media and Technology Group. 3. Diane Hendricks, whose net worth is $20.9 billion and who has given $6.3 million to Trump groups. On the stage of 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. For full coverage and to see our whole list of all 26 billionaire Trump donors, check out Leo Kamens-Peace on Forbs.com. This is Kieran Meadows from Forbs. Thanks for tuning in. [BLANK_AUDIO]
