UPDATE: The last campaign financial report covering the closing weeks of the presidential contest was added to this story on December 6, 2024.
Earlier this month, Donald Trump’s presidential campaign was propelled to victory by a small group of megadonors. As he forms his next administration, some of them are now being considered for important roles.
Top funders to successful presidential campaigns have always been considered for high-level administration positions, from Cabinet posts directly influencing White House policies to plum ambassador jobs in tropical regions.
And now, several important donors seem to be involved as Trump fills up the top levels of his transition and administration.
Trump’s choice to head the Education Department is Linda McMahon, a former professional wrestling executive who oversaw Trump’s Small Business Administration during his first term and has held top positions at several pro-Trump outside organizations. In addition to leading Trump’s transition, McMahon contributed over $21 million to Trump’s campaign this election season, including over $20 million to the Make America Great Again Inc. super PAC and an additional $937,800 to his campaign and related joint fundraising committees.
Chris Wright, the CEO of Liberty Energy who was appointed as Trump’s energy secretary, donated almost $235,000 to the campaign and its linked groups.
Top Trump fundraiser Scott Bessent, who was appointed by Trump to head the Treasury Department, gave more than $1 million to MAGA Inc. and an additional $676,500 to Trump’s campaign and related organizations.
The entrepreneur and CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk, was enlisted by Trump to co-lead a drive to reduce federal spending. Musk spent a lot of money to assist Trump win office, mostly by establishing America PAC, a super PAC that organized to support Trump. Additionally, the super PAC conducted a contentious program in which voters in battleground states who signed Musk’s petition received checks totaling $1 million. Musk donated over a quarter of a billion dollars to organizations that helped Trump win the election, mostly America PAC. In late October, he also sent a $924,600 check to one of Trump’s joint fundraising committees.
Right for America received $25 million through October 16 from Ike Perlmutter, a millionaire who served as the head of Marvel Entertainment and counseled Trump on veterans problems during the first administration, and his spouse.
The campaign and its connected committees received almost $851,000. Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and his senior adviser during his first term, donated the money. The same sum, plus an additional $1.2 million, was donated to a pro-Trump super PAC by his father, Charles Kushner, who was pardoned by Trump and is anticipated to be nominated as ambassador to France.
The Senate must approve the appointment of former Sen. Kelly Loeffler, a Republican from Georgia and a longtime GOP fundraiser, as Trump’s small business administrator. She gave over $2 million to outside pro-Trump campaigns.
Longtime GOP donor Warren Stephens, who previously donated $3 million to MAGA Inc. and to Trump’s main rivals, was named Trump’s choice to serve as ambassador to the UK.
Additionally, Trump declared this week that he will appoint David Sacks, the venture entrepreneur who contributed six figures to Trump’s joint fundraising, as his White House A.I. & Crypto Czar.
Naturally, not all significant donors will become members of the Trump administration.
Following Musk, two other megadonors surpassed the $100 million threshold in their contributions to pro-Trump organizations: the late GOP megadonor Sheldon Adelson’s wife, casino tycoon Miriam Adelson, who owns the Dallas Mavericks, and billionaire Tim Mellon, who contributed at least $150 million. The latest public numbers indicate that she donated approximately $106 million.
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