In the lead-up to the 2024 U.S. presidential election, billionaires are pouring substantial funds into campaign support, with hundreds of millions flowing into candidates' coffers.
According to data from Forbes, Vice President Kamala Harris has gained the backing of 83 billionaires, outpacing former President Donald Trump, who has the support of 52 billionaire donors.
This surge in financial contributions highlights the influential role of the ultra-wealthy in shaping the upcoming election, as billionaire endorsements and funding could significantly impact campaign dynamics and voter outreach efforts
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 percent 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.