Billionaires Take Sides as Turbulent Presidential Race Heats Up

(Bloomberg) -- The US presidential election has seen a wave of unprecedented events, but one constant has been donor money pouring into campaign coffers.

Since surviving an assassination attempt on Saturday, former President Donald Trump has received a cascade of money, capped by billionaire Elon Musk’s pledge to donate $45 million a month to a super political action committee that aims to pay for Trump’s ground game in battleground states.

Despite a disastrous performance at the first presidential debate that caused murmurs that he should step aside to mount to a chorus, President Joe Biden raised $38 million from the day of the debate to the end of June for his campaign and party. Democratic mega donors also rallied to support him. Hedge fund manager George Soros donated $5 million to Future Forward PAC, the main super PAC backing Biden the day after the debate. Former Google chief executive officer Eric Schmidt and real estate developer Herbert Simon made six-figure donations to Biden’s campaign and the Democratic Party in recent weeks.

However, others, like Netflix Inc.’s Reed Hastings, say they’ll withhold funds unless there’s another candidate at the top of the ticket.

The big fundraising arms of the campaigns and parties plus some key super PACs filed their quarterly reports to the Federal Election Commission on Monday. Here’s how they stack up:

Joe Biden

Biden and the Democratic Party raised $263 million in the second quarter and had $240 million cash on hand.Future Forward PAC, his allied super PAC, next reports on Saturday.

Though out-raised in the quarter, Biden seemed to be stemming the tide in June, when he raised $127 million to Trump’s $112 million. He held a glitzy fundraiser in Los Angeles with former President Barack Obama that month, and raked in big donations from filmmaker JJ Abrams and actress Julia Roberts.

Real estate investor Wayne Jordan, philanthropist Quinn Delaney and Philip Munger, the son of Warren Buffett’s longtime business partner, the late Charles Munger, also gave in June.

The big Democratic super PACs that back Biden, including Future Forward PAC and American Bridge, won’t report until Saturday.

Donald Trump

Trump and the RNC raised $331 million in May, but did not disclose total cash on hand.Make America Great Again Inc. super PAC next reports on Saturday.

Following his guilty verdict on charges of falsifying business records to conceal hush-money payments to an adult film star, Trump enjoyed a fundraising boom. In addition to the millions raised online, Blackstone Group CEO Stephen Schwarzman, private equity veteran John Childs and Chamath Palihapitiya of Social+Capital Partnership LLC were among the financial industry figures who wrote six-figure checks for Trump’s campaign and the GOP the day after the verdict.

He also got $419,600 from Paul Singer, the billionaire founder of Elliott Investment Management LP. Singer, who backed former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley in the primaries, hadn’t donated to Trump’s campaign before. Home Depot co-founder Bernard Marcus, crypto billionaires Cameron Winklevoss and Tyler Winklevoss, and Diane Hendricks, billionaire owner of ABC Supply Co., all gave the maximum amount.

While Trump’s designated super PAC Make America Great Again Inc. won’t report until Saturday, two auxiliary groups had big hauls. Isaac Perlmutter, the former chairman of Marvel Entertainment, and his wife Linda Perlmutter each gave $5 million to Right for America, which raised $25.6 million. It’s yet to start spending.

America PAC, which is supported by Musk, raised $8.8 million in the second quarter. Palantir’s Joe Lonsdale and the Winklevosses are among other big donors to the group, which is working to reach out to voters to convince them to show up to the polls in November.

Senate Majority PAC

Democrats have an uphill battle in the Senate, where they hold a narrow majority but are defending four seats rated toss-ups by the Cook Political Report and one rated solid Republican. Their allied super PAC which has close ties to Democratic Senate leadership raised $44 million in the second quarter, ending with $124 million cash on hand. It got $3.5 million from Soros’ Democracy PAC, $3 million from Stephen Mandel of Lone Pine Capital and $2 million from Sequoia Capital’s Jeff Skoll.

Senate Leadership Fund

Powered by $10 million donations from Elliott Investment Management founder Singer and billionaire Miriam Adelson, the super PAC tied to the GOP Senate leadership raised $60 million in the second quarter, and had $117 million cash on hand after spending $2.7 million. Walmart heirs Rob Walton and Jim Walton each gave $2 million, while Charles Schwab, founder of the eponymous discount brokerage, gave $1.5 million.

Congressional Leadership Fund

The allied super PACs of House Republicans raised $46 million in the second quarter, ending it with $111 million cash on hand. Citadel’s Ken Griffin and Singer each donated $10 million, while Adelson gave $5 million.

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