With a combined donation of over $50 million, a small group of extremely wealthy individuals have become significant supporters of Republican contender for president Donald Trump, helping him defeat Democratic nominee Joe Biden.
Given that Trump’s small-dollar donations are decreasing and that he is being turned down by several significant Republican benefactors, a group of well-known and rich Americans are now essential to financing his campaign.
Based on a Reuters review of campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Election Commission, the following five major donors—including one couple—support Trump:
Since 2022, Timothy Mellon, an 81-year-old scion to the Pittsburgh-based Mellon banking dynasty, has contributed at least $16.5 million to MAGA Inc, a pro-Trump super PAC. During the 2020 presidential race, he further contributed at least $20 million to America First Action Inc., a pro-Trump super PAC. The ultra-private Mellon, a Wyoming resident who seldom ever appears in photos, is an amateur pilot who has invested in and run businesses involved in transportation. The Mellon family is estimated to be worth $14.1 billion by Forbes.
Mellon is also the largest contributor to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the independent presidential contender, having contributed at least $20 million to the Kennedy super PAC American Values. According to polls, Kennedy’s inclusion on the ticket may cause Biden and Trump to lose support on November 5.
Mellon has also contributed significantly to a fund headed by Texas that aims to erect a wall along the southern border with Mexico. Mellon has also supported a number of anti-immigration initiatives.
Reuters attempted, but was unable, to get in touch with Mellon via a publisher and a family charity he had previously been involved with.
The former chairman of Marvel Entertainment, Isaac “Ike” Perlmutter, and his spouse, Laura Perlmutter, have contributed over $10 million to Right for America, a newly established pro-Trump super PAC, during this election cycle. Perlmutter has long supported Trump’s political efforts and has frequented the Florida real estate mogul’s Mar-a-Lago estate.
In 2020, the Perlmutter family contributed a minimum of $21 million to America First Action Inc.
As part of a cost-cutting drive, Walt Disney Co. DIS.N fired Perlmutter as chairman of Marvel Entertainment, a tiny branch of the firm in charge of producing comic books and a few consumer goods, last year.
Perlmutter, who was born in Israel, is renowned for being extremely reclusive and is seldom ever photographed. Forbes estimates that he is 81 years old and worth about $4.4 billion.
The Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Foundation claims to concentrate on health care and community activities, and his wife Laura, who similarly keeps a low profile, is a director at the organization.
When John Turitzin, Isaac Perlmutter’s attorney, answered the phone, he stated he didn’t want to talk to the media and hung up.
In this cycle, Linda McMahon, a former professional wrestler and entrepreneur, has given more than $10 million to MAGA Inc. McMahon, a frequent contributor to President Trump and the administrator of the Small Business Administration during his administration.
In 2019 and 2020, McMahon contributed almost $15 million to America First Action Inc., the organization she oversaw before to the 2020 election.
Together with her husband Vince McMahon, who acquired the business from his father in the 1980s, she oversaw World Wrestling Entertainment until 2009.
Vince McMahon resigned earlier this year from both the WWE subsidiary and the massive TKO Group TKO.N wrestling organization. He was accused of sexual assault and human trafficking in a lawsuit, which he refutes. According to Forbes, he is worth around $2.7 billion.
The 75-year-old Linda McMahon made two failed attempts to win a Connecticut Senate seat. She has assumed the role of head of the pro-Trump America First Policy Institute think tank in Washington, D.C., which describes its objectives as “the primacy of American workers, families, and communities, national greatness, free enterprise, and American military superiority.”
McMahon sent out requests for comments, but AFPI did not reply.
This year, 79-year-old Robert Bigelow, the mogul of cheap hotels in Nevada, has donated MAGA Inc more than $9 million. In January, Bigelow told Reuters that he had promised to donate a total of $20 million to the pro-Trump organization.
Bigelow has dined with Trump at Mar-a-Lago. Bigelow is fascinated in UFOs and space and sponsors numerous research endeavors. Bigelow claims to have given $1 million toward Trump’s legal expenses.
Bigelow’s real estate assets were estimated by Forbes to be valued over $700 million in 2011.
Patricia Duggan, a significant contributor to the Church of Scientology, has contributed over $5 million to MAGA Inc. during this election season.
Her ex-husband Robert Duggan is an investor and businessman whose wealth increased after Pharmacyclics, a manufacturer of cancer drugs, was sold to AbbVie ABBV.N in 2015 for a $21 billion sum. According to Forbes, he is worth around $3.3 billion.
The Duggans, who had eight children together and met at the University of California, Santa Barbara, separated in 2017. In 2020, they each contributed a minimum of $4 million to America First Action Inc.
Patricia Duggan is an artist that is enthusiastic in glass art, according to her personal website. She resides in Florida’s Clearwater. An inquiry for information was met with no response from Duggan.
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