How a small number of America’s richest people are funding both campaigns — and giving Trump more cash

More billionaires are backing Harris than Trump, but Trump’s billionaires are giving him larger amounts, Graig Graziosi reports

Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris both have the backing of billionaires, and some have given huge sums to see their preferred candidate take the White House in 2024 (AP)

Billionaires have turned the money hose on full blast in the weeks leading up to the 2024 US presidential election, dropping hundreds of millions into their preferred candidates’ campaigns.

Kamala Harris has got more of the country’s billionaires backing, with 83 of them supporting Harris compared to 52 billionaires donating to Donald Trump, according to a breakdown by Forbes.

However, while Harris has a wider range of rich donors, Trump’s cash-flush pals have overall given more, with 18 of the top 25 individual donors giving exclusively or mostly to Republicans, according to an Open Secrets analysis.

Around 18 per cent of the money donated in this election, nearly $700m, came from billionaires, the Financial Times found.

The US ostensibly limits how much an individual can contribute to a candidate — $3,300 under current law —but Super PACs that support the candidates have no such limits, allowing the wealthiest Americans to out-influence most other voters by staggering margins.

While the rest of us are dodging texts from campaigns asking for "just five dollars" or skipping YouTube ads the moment we see a candidate's face, the parties court the wallets of the wealthy with high-profile donor dinners and star-studded events.

So how much money have the candidates pulled in with the help of their billionaire supporters? Here's a breakdown of some of the donors dropping big money this year.

Elon Musk

Tesla CEO Elon Musk (R) jumps on stage as he joins former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump during a campaign rally at site of his first assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania on October 5, 2024 (AFP via Getty Images)

Tesla and X CEO Elon Musk, the world's richest man, is very obviously in Trump's camp this election. Not only has he spoken at two of Trump's rallies — calling himself "dark, gothic MAGA" at a rally in New York City — but the former president has said he'd let him lead the charge on gutting the federal government if he's elected.

Musk gave nearly $75 million to a pro-Trump super PAC — America PAC — that he helped form in the summer, CNN reports.

Federal filings show that Musk has given at least $132 million to help Trump and conservatives in Congressional races this year.

He has become one of the most prolific donors of the 2024 election cycle.

Miriam Adelson

Donald Trump embraces Miriam Adelson at an event marking one year since the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel (AP)

Miriam Adelson is another prolific conservative donor and billionaire who is backing Trump in 2024. Adelson is the heir to a casino fortune and the wife of the late Sheldon Adelson, himself a megadonor to conservative causes.

In 2019 and 2020, the Adelsons contributed $218 million in federal donations to conservative causes, including groups aiming to get Trump re-elected.

Miriam revived the Preserve America super PAC this campaign, and gave $95 million to try and get Trump back in the White House, according to Federal Election Commission filings.

Between her, Musk, and Richard Uihlein — a packaging magnate — the trio donated approximately $220 million to Trump in a three-month period, CNN reports.

Bill Gates

Bill Gates has lent his support to the Harris campaign (AP)

Microsoft founder Bill Gates has also tossed his money bags into the 2024 election, though his donor dollars don’t quite counter the likes of Musk and Adelson.

Gates reportedly donated $50 million to help Harris's campaign according to the New York Times, though his donation may be more of an anti-Trump donation than a pro-Harris give; he stopped short of endorsing the former prosecutor for the nation's top job.

Sources close to Gates reportedly told the Times that he described the 2024 election as "different." The said that the donation was "meant to stay under wraps."

Gates reportedly made the donation to Future Forward, the main outside fundraising group supporting Harris.

Michael Bloomberg

Former Mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg announced his endorsement with just days to go (REUTERS)

Former New York Mayor and one-time presidential hopeful Michael Bloomberg has reportedly matched Bill Gates' donation after the Microsoft founder allegedly pressured him to up the ante and support Harris, according to the New York Times.

Gates also managed to wrangle venture capitalist Ron Conway and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman into donating to Harris. Conway gave at least $600,000, while Hoffman has put down more than $11.6 million to back Harris.

Bloomberg is said to have met with Harris's economic team to provide feedback on her plans, should she win in November. Following reports of the financial support, Bloomberg released a statement officially endorsing Harris.

The former New York mayor has backed Democratic presidential candidates since 2012. Earlier this year he donated nearly $20 million to back Joe Biden, who ultimately dropped out of the race in July.

Like Gates, Bloomberg also donated to Future Forward.

George and Alex Soros

Financier and philanthropist George Soros is another Harris backer (Getty Images)

Perhaps no one makes conservative conspiracy theorists — and Musk, if a distinction between the two is necessary — shiver more than George Soros, a Hungarian man born in the 1930s and who narrowly escaped the Nazis. He emigrated to the US in 1956 and has become a major contributor to Democratic candidates in the years since.

When Biden handed the campaign over to Harris in July, Soros and his son, Andrew, who now runs the Soros $25 billion charitable foundation, rallied behind her.

“It’s time for us all to unite around Kamala Harris and beat Donald Trump. She is the best and most qualified candidate we have,” Alex wrote in July.

In January, Soros's Fund for Policy Reform gave $60 million to Future Forward.

Timothy Mellon

A billboard launched by the Democratic National Committee highlights how Robert F Kennedy's Super PAC was allegedly receiving millions from Trump's then largest donor, Timothy Mellon on February 9, 2024 in Grand Rapids, Michigan (Getty/DNC)

Old money octogenarian Timothy Mellon isn't technically a billionaire, he's just close to being one. He's the heir to the Mellon family fortune — his great-grandfather was Thomas Mellon, the founder of Mellon Bank, whose name is still prominent all over Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Mellon tends to stay out of the spotlight, but has made his support of Trump very clear in his donations. He's given Trump affiliated groups $76.5 million this election cycle, including a $50 million gift the day after Trump was convicted of a felony, according to Forbes.

He also donated $25 million to support Robert F Kennedy Jr when he was still running.

Linda McMahon

Trump with former Small Business Administration director Linda McMahon (Getty Images)

Trump's former Small Business Administration head Linda McMahon shelled out $16 million to back her old boss this election cycle.

McMahon — who is worth approximately $3.1 billion according to Forbes — is the wife of Vince McMahon, the man who built World Wrestling Entertainment, and who has since been the subject of deplorable sexual misconduct allegations by a former employee.

Wrestling fans in the 2000s likely first encountered Linda playing the role of comatose wife to her husband's ostensibly fictional "Mr McMahon" character on WWE programming, though she was less present on television than her husband, daughter and son.

Vince has been close to Trump for decades; during a 2007 WWE storyline, "The Battle of the Billionaires," a fighter backed by Trump beat a fighter backed by Vince, which resulted in Trump tackling and shaving Vince's head live on Pay-Per-View.

With wrestling behind her, Linda now chairs the pro-Trump nonprofit America First Policy Institute, and serves on the board of Trump Media and Technology Group.