(Forbes) Billionaires are everywhere in the 2020 election. Donald Trump, of course, is the incumbent. Howard Schultz, of Starbucks fame, considered launching a campaign to challenge him. Then Tom Steyer, the hedge fund billionaire, actually did. Now Michael Bloomberg, who is richer than all of them, is reportedly positioning to do the same. And while those four made the headlines, around 100 other billionaires have been quietly donating to Democratic hopefuls.
Forbes mined roughly 2.5 million entries in the Federal Election Commission database and found that almost 20% of American billionaires have donated—either directly or through their spouse—to the campaign committees of Democrats running for president. Ninety billionaires donated in their own names. We found 23 billionaires who did not give any money but are married to people who did. By the close of the latest fundraising period, on September 30, 2019, Kamala Harris, Joe Biden and Cory Booker each counted at least 40 billionaires or spouses of billionaires among their backers.
Call it the billionaire horse race, as candidates travel the country collecting funds from the richest people in America. Harris got out of the gate quickly, attracting 30 big-money donors, including Laurene Powell Jobs and Salesforce’s Marc Benioff, during her first two months on the campaign trail. Lately, Joe Biden has been gaining ground. He got 19 new donors from July to September—more than any other candidate in that span. Some billionaires are betting on virtually everyone, increasing their odds of picking a winner. Blackstone president Jonathan Gray, for instance, has given to ten candidates.
Hedging Their Bets
These three donors contributed to the most Democratic candidates, according to a Forbes review of the latest Federal Election Commission filings.
DREW ANGERER AND KIMBERLY WHITE/GETTY IMAGES
Billionaires aren’t necessarily the secret to winning elections. Just ask Beto O’Rourke, who got 13 of them to donate to his campaign, then dropped out in early November. Or Bernie Sanders, who has raised more money than any other Democrat, without a single billionaire donor that Forbes could find. (One spouse of a billionaire gave to the Vermont senator.) But friends with padded wallets tend to come in handy as elections push forward and candidates spend more and more money.
Tracking Billionaire Donations Over Time
Forbes mined Federal Election Commission data for donations from billionaires and their spouses, searching for all itemized donations of at least $100. This chart represents how many donors we found for every candidate.
*John Delaney received contributions from one billionaire and two spouses of billionaires before 2019.
THE CANDIDATES
KAMALA HARRIS
Donors (billionaires and spouses of billionaires): 46
Money raised (from all donors, as of September 2019): $37 million
Notable backers: Gordon and Ann Getty, George Lucas, Dean Metropoulos, Laurene Powell Jobs
The senator found gold in California, her home state, tapping both Hollywood and Silicon Valley for donations. The Gettys hosted a fundraiser for Harris at their San Francisco home last May. Star Wars creator Lucas made his only donation to Harris.
CORY BOOKER
Donors: 45
Money raised: $18 million
Notable backers: William Ackman, Andres Santo Domingo, Eric Schmidt, Steven Spielberg
Schmidt is not just a supporter but also a former business partner. The former Google executive chairman invested in a video-sharing startup Booker cofounded in 2012.
JOE BIDEN
Donors: 44
Money raised: $38 million
Notable backers: Len and Emily Blavatnik, Neil Bluhm, Judy Dimon (wife of Jamie Dimon), Meg Whitman
Bluhm, a Chicago real estate and gambling tycoon, hosted a Biden fundraiser at his home in September. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders “don’t represent the Democratic Party” that he supports, the billionaire said at the time, according to a pool report, adding that Biden “has the best chance of defeating Trump.”
PETE BUTTIGIEG
Donors: 39
Money raised: $52 million
Notable backers: David Geffen, Mimi Haas, Jennifer Pritzker
A retired Army lieutenant colonel and Hyatt heiress, Pritzker supported Trump in 2016 and contributed over $250,000 to committees associated with his campaign in the months leading up to the general election. A transgender woman, Pritzker has since spoken out against Trump’s transgender military ban.
MICHAEL BENNET
Donors: 32
Money raised: $6 million
Notable backers: David Bonderman, Eli Broad, Jim Simons, Christy Walton
Bennet hasn’t been on a debate stage since July, but he has received support from billionaires like Walmart heiress Christy Walton.
AMY KLOBUCHAR
Donors: 21
Money raised: $18 million
Notable backers: Barry Diller, Jonathan Gray, Stanley and Karen Hubbard, Lynda Resnick
Broadcasting billionaire Stanley Hubbard and his wife, Karen, who typically donate to Republicans, pitched in for the senator from Minnesota.
JOHN DELANEY
Donors: 10
Money raised: $27 million
Notable backers: Steve and Jean Case, Sam Zell
Other than Trump, Delaney has been raising money longer than anyone else in the race, having announced his candidacy back in July 2017.
TOM STEYER
Donors: 9 (includes Steyer)
Money raised: $50 million
Notable backers: Robert, William and John Fisher
A billionaire himself, Steyer has contributed $47.6 million of his own money to his campaign, which means that he’s gotten only about $2 million from other donors, including three Fishers, all heirs to the Gap fortune. A month before Steyer declared his candidacy, his wife, Kat Taylor, donated to Jay Inslee’s campaign.
ELIZABETH WARREN
Donors: 6
Money raised: $60 million
Notable backers: Craig Newmark, Steven Rales, Chris and Crystal Sacca
Three billionaires have donated to Warren, despite her calls for massive taxes on the rich. Three spouses of billionaires also donated, including venture capitalist Chris Sacca’s wife Crystal.
STEVE BULLOCK
Donors: 5
Money raised: $4 million
Notable backers: Glenn Dubin, Reid Hoffman, John Sall
Bullock has made overturning the Supreme Court case Citizens United, which opened up unlimited spending in national politics, a key part of his platform. That doesn’t mean he hasn’t received donations from donors with billion-dollar fortunes.
ANDREW YANG
Donors: 4
Money raised: $15 million
Notable backers: Jack Dorsey, Elizabeth Johnson, Herb Simon
Yang welcomed Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to the Yang Gang on his own platform after he made a contribution in March, tweeting, “More people join the #YangGang all the time.”
JULIAN CASTRO
Donors: 2
Money raised: $8 million
Notable backers: Ernest Garcia II
Castro’s supporters include Ernest Garcia II, whose fortune stems from Carvana, a publicly traded online platform for buying used cars.
MARIANNE WILLIAMSON
Donors: 2
Money raised: $6 million
Notable backers: Kelly Gores (wife of Alec Gores), Nicole Shanahan (wife of Sergey Brin)
Alphabet billionaire Sergey Brin hasn’t donated to anyone that Forbes could find, but his wife, Nicole Shanahan, pitched in for Williamson in June.
BERNIE SANDERS
Donor: 1
Money raised: $75 million
Notable backer: Marta Thoma Hall (wife of David Hall)
Federal filings show that the billionaire basher received a negligible $470 from Marta Thoma Hall, the wife of billionaire Velodyne founder David Hall. After Forbes notified the Sanders’ camp of the contribution, the campaign said he won’t be keeping the money. Read our story for more on Hall.
TULSI GABBARD
Donor: 1
Money raised: $9 million
Notable backer: Jack Dorsey
The Twitter cofounder is the only known billionaire donating to Gabbard. In June, Dorsey gave her the maximum $2,800 for both the primary and general elections.
JOE SESTAK
Donor: 1
Money raised: $375,000
Notable backer: Marc Lasry
Sestak’s campaign hasn’t received much attention, but one billionaire threw in some support. Lasry has been spreading his bets, though, donating to five different candidates.
THE DROPOUTS
JOHN HICKENLOOPER
Donors: 22
KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND
Donors: 15
JAY INSLEE
Donors: 14
BETO O’ROURKE
Donors: 13
TIM RYAN
Donors: 4
SETH MOULTON
Donors: 3
ERIC SWALWELL
Donor: 1
BILL DE BLASIO
Donor: 0
