By Millions of dollars are raised every election cycle to fund a presidential candidate’s campaign. These contributions come from campaign donors who voluntarily fund a presidential campaign.
Following the Nov. 6 announcement that former President and Republican candidate Donald Trump had won the 2024 primary election, The Long Beach Current analyzed data from the Federal Election Commission and Open Secrets to find the largest contributors to Trump’s campaign in this year’s election.
According to the FEC, all presidential candidates who ran in 2024 raised $2.7 billion.
The Republican party raised $633 million in the 2024 race, while the Democratic party is reported to have raised $2 billion.
Trump’s campaign raised over $391 million, not including outside donors. His opponent Democratic nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign raised $997 million.
It’s worth noting that Trump relied more on outside groups to fund his campaign. The FEC decided earlier this year to allow financial contributions from outside groups in the election.
The majority of individual contributions this election went to the Republican party and Trump’s campaign.
Businessman and heir to his family’s fortune, Timothy Mellon, is the largest individual donor, with around $150 million donated to one of Trump’s Super PACs, Make American Great Again Inc.
Having an established relationship with Trump, Miriam Adelson, physician and widow of businessman Sheldon Adelson, spent nearly $100 million on funding Trump’s campaign.
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is among Trump’s top donors. Musk donated an estimated $118 million to America PAC, which he formed himself.
Linda McMahon, co-founder of World Wrestling Entertainment and 25th administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration under Trump’s presidency, was another of Trump’s top donors.
McMahon donated an estimated $23 million to Make America Great Again Inc. and Trump’s personal campaign.
The top three organizations that donated to Trump’s campaign include Make America Great Again Inc., which raised a total of $331 million, America PAC Texas, which raised $130 million and Preserve America PAC, which raised a total of $106 million.
Other organizations that funded Trump’s campaign include Save America, with a total of $91 million, Right for America raised $68 million and Turnout for America raised $25 million.
The top six organizations that donated to Trump’s campaign raised an approximate total of $1 billion, nearly $700 million more than what Trump’s presidential campaign raised alone.
