Donald Trump’s inaugural committee raised a record amount of cash, collecting $239 million from corporations and wealthy sycophants, several of whom would become nominees for positions in the administration. The previous record was $107 million, which the committee raised for Trump’s 2017 inauguration.
The massive total is another sign of the degree to which the super wealthy are buying influence in the Trump administration — or at least of the degree to which they believe they can.
Several Trump appointees donated to the committee, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission. Jared Isaacman, Trump’s nominee to head NASA, gave $2 million a week before he was chosen. Linda McMahon, education secretary, gave $1 million after her nomination was announced. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent gave $250,000 after he was nominated.
Financial firm Cantor Fitzgerald, whose Chairman and CEO was Howard Lutnick, gave $1,047,000 after Lutnick’s nomination to become commerce secretary was announced. Lutnick resigned from the firm upon confirmation.
Trump pal Elon Musk, head of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), did not donate to the inaugural fund, but did spend over $200 million to get Trump elected.
Several current U.S. ambassadors donated, as well. The ambassador to Latvia, Melissa Argyros, gave $2 million. The ambassador to Italy, Tilman Fertitta, gave $1 million, as did the ambassador to Colombia, Dan Newlin. Fertitta’s appointment was announced four days after his donation. Nicole McGraw, the ambassador to Croatia, gave $250,000. Warren Stephens, the ambassador to the UK, gave $4 million on the day that he was nominated to serve in the new role.
Another major donor is Australian billionaire Anthony Pratt. Trump reportedly shared U.S. nuclear secrets with Pratt, drawing him into Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into Trump’s hoarding of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago. Miriam Adelson, widow of casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, gave $1 million. She was also a major donor to Trump’s campaign. CEO donors who gave $1 million include Sam Altman, head of OpenAI; Tim Cook, head of Apple; and Dara Khosrowshahi, head of Uber.
Poultry company Pilgrim’s Pride was the top donor with a $5 million contribution. The company agreed last year to pay a $100 million antitrust settlement for conspiring with other food companies to keep chicken farmers underpaid. Joe Biden’s Department of Agriculture had recently implemented rules intended to keep Pilgrim’s Pride and its competitors in check.
The next-highest donor was Ripple Labs, which contributed just under $5 million. The blockchain company agreed to pay a $50 million fine last month from the Securities and Exchange Commission over allegedly selling unregistered securities. Their initial fine, issued last August, was $125 million.
Another top donor was electronic trading platform Robinhood, which donated $2 million. The company agreed last month to pay $29.75 million to end multiple Financial Industry Regulatory Authority probes into “numerous” rule violations including a failure to put effective anti-money laundering programs in place.
The inaugural committee received $50 million total from 58 companies facing federal investigations and enforcement lawsuits, according to liberal watchdog group Public Citizen. “Cases against 11 of these corporations have already been dismissed or withdrawn, and 6 have been halted,” writes Public Citizen researcher Rick Claypool.
Other previously disclosed contributions, as Rolling Stone reported in January, include $2 million from Chevron and $1 million from ExxonMobil, both oil and gas companies. Tech companies Amazon and Meta each gave $1 million. Private prison companies CoreCivic and Geo Group each gave $500,000. PayPal, founded by early J.D. Vance backer Peter Thiel, gave $250,000.
“It’s not actually a good thing to see that number go up,” Max Stier, the president and CEO of the nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service, told CNN. “It’s an indication of a mechanism for moneyed interest to direct cash to a newly elected president to curry favor.”
