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Last year, the GOP's legacy donor class and its newer crop of tech and finance billionaires found common cause writing enormous checks to support Donald Trump. In February, billionaire Kelsey Warren and his fossil fuel pipeline company, Energy Transfer, each sent $12.5 million to MAGA Inc., a Trump-aligned super PAC. Just a few months later, OpenAI co-founder and president Greg Brockman and his wife cut checks for $12.5 million each. That makes Warren and Brockman the biggest individual donors to MAGA Inc. But the roster is deeper than two names and four eight-figure checks. Forbes counts at least 24 billionaires or billionaire families who have given over $1 million, according to Federal Election Commission
filings covering through the end of March. Brockman is not currently on Forbes's list of billionaires, but he did claim to be one in testimony related to Elon Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI. Collectively, these 10-figure club members, plus Brockman, donated $118 million, about a third of the $350 million war chest MAGA Inc. has built. After Warren and Brockman, it reads like the donor roll from every modern Republican spending spree. The third highest giver is Wall Street trader Jeff Yass, who donated $16 million. And tied for seventh, giving $5 million each, private equity tycoon Stephen Schwarzman and Estée Lauder heir Ronald Lauder, among others. In a few cases, financial support opened
doors to actual positions in Donald Trump's administration. Two billionaires fit that mold and are also tied for seventh highest givers. One-time Doge head Elon Musk, who also gave $5 million, and Small Business Administration leader Kelly Loeffler, who also gave $5 million, including $2.5 million from her husband, Jeff Sprecher. There were also non-billionaire donors who later landed roles, like NASA administrator Jared Isaacman, who gave $2 million, ambassador to Singapore on Johnny Cena, who gave $1 million, and nominee to be ambassador to Hungary Benjamin Landa.
For others, the donations to MAGA Inc. came before or alongside favorable policy moves from the administration. Take Brockman's OpenAI, which has built a close relationship with the Trump administration, and recently swooped in to capture a federal contract following a row between AI rival Anthropic and the Department of Defense. Or consider the crypto industry. Three of the top billionaire MAGA Inc. donors, the Winklevoss twins, who personally gave $1 million each, and venture capitalist Tim Draper, who also gave $1 million, made fortunes in crypto. And the single largest donor of any type
is Crypto.com's parent company, Foris Dax, which has cut four checks totaling $35 million. Crypto firms have pushed hard for lighter regulation, and Trump's own crypto ventures, which have made him some $1.8 billion wealthier since his reelection, don't exactly make that pitch harder to deliver. A Trump-aligned group raising this kind of money for the midterms doesn't have much of a modern analog. The other two presidents in office since the Supreme Court ushered in the era of unlimited money in politics with its 2010 Citizens United decision, Barack Obama and Joe Biden, did both have closely affiliated super PACs, Priorities USA Action and Future
Forward, respectively. Could, like all super PACs, take unlimited donations, but were barred from coordinating with candidates. They raised big sums during presidential cycles, then mostly faded during midterms. In part because the incentive is obvious. The principal, the president, is not on the ballot. Trump broke that pattern. After Make America Great Again Inc. raised over $400 million for his 2024 re-election effort, a rebranded MAGA Inc. has since hauled in nearly that much again, despite Trump constitutionally not being a candidate again.
Despite stockpiling cash, MAGA Inc. has barely spent it. There have been eight special House elections since Trump took office, for example. But only one has caught MAGA Inc.'s interest, leading them to drop $1.7 million in a closer than expected race in Tennessee. So, what is all this money for? The obvious answer is a midterm blitz, ads, turnout operations, candidate support. But there's a second, more Trumpy an answer. You don't have to spend the money to use it. University of Southern California Gould School of Law Professor Abby Wood, whose research focuses on campaign finance law, says, "Quote, one thing they can do is just sit on it and glare at
Republicans in vulnerable seats and say, 'Do you want our support or not?'" She added that some super PACs have historically employed exactly that strategy. Build a war chest and hold onto it as a threat. Race to the White House's Logan Phillips notes, "Quote, Trump cares more about enforcing loyalty than he does about winning general election races." For full coverage and to see the whole list, check out Kyle Moen's piece on forbes.com.
