As the Nov. 3 election sparks record campaign contributions, the CEOs of S&P 500 companies are helping to fund the war chests of President Donald Trump and challenger Joe Biden, while also contributing to other Republican and Democratic politicians.
In their political giving as individuals, these chief executives have combined to give more to Trump than Biden. Some 15 CEOs whose companies are components of the S&P 500 US:SPX have donated a total of $2.489 million to Trump’s principal campaign committee, its joint fundraising groups with the Republican National Committee or pro-Trump super PACs.
Meanwhile, 30 chief execs have contributed $536,100 to Biden’s main campaign committee, its joint groups with the Democratic National Committee or pro-Biden super PACs. These figures come from a MarketWatch analysis of processed Federal Election Commission data on individual contributions made between January 2019 and August 2020. Anyone who held the CEO job in 2019 or 2020 at a company that was part of the S&P 500 is included.
As shown in the table below, the S&P CEOs giving the most to Trump were Intercontinental Exchange’s US:ICE Jeffrey Sprecher, whose wife, Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler of Georgia, faces a tough Senate race, and Las Vegas Sands’s US:LVS Sheldon Adelson, a longtime major GOP donor. Also ranking high in dollar amounts donated were Vornado Realty Trust’s US:VNO Steven Roth and Oracle’s US:ORCL Safra Catz.
S&P 500 CEOs giving their own money to Trump’s campaign
| CEO | Company | Amount | Recipient | Sector |
| 1. Jeffrey Sprecher | Intercontinental Exchange | $1,000,000.00 | America First Action | Financials |
| Jeffrey Sprecher | Intercontinental Exchange | $290,300.00 | Trump Victory | Financials |
| Jeffrey Sprecher | Intercontinental Exchange | $5,600.00 | Donald J. Trump for President | Financials |
| 2. Sheldon Adelson | Las Vegas Sands | $580,600.00 | Trump Victory | Consumer Discretionary |
| Sheldon Adelson | Las Vegas Sands | $5,600.00 | Donald J. Trump for President | Consumer Discretionary |
| 3. Steven Roth | Vornado Realty Trust | $200,000.00 | Trump Victory | Real Estate |
| Steven Roth | Vornado Realty Trust | $200.00 | Donald J. Trump for President | Real Estate |
| 4. Safra Catz | Oracle | $125,000.00 | Trump Victory | Information Technology |
| Safra Catz | Oracle | $5,600.00 | Donald J. Trump for President | Information Technology |
| 5. Jayson Adair | Copart | $100,000.00 | Trump Victory | Industrials |
| Jayson Adair | Copart | $5,600.00 | Donald J. Trump for President | Industrials |
| 6. David Farr | Emerson Electric | $50,000.00 | Trump Victory | Industrials |
| David Farr | Emerson Electric | $5,525.00 | Donald J. Trump for President | Industrials |
| 7. Timothy Sloan* | Wells Fargo | $35,500.00 | Trump Victory | Financials |
| Timothy Sloan* | Wells Fargo | $5,600.00 | Donald J. Trump for President | Financials |
| 8. Alan Miller | Universal Health Services | $25,000.00 | Trump Victory | Health Care |
| Alan Miller | Universal Health Services | $5,600.00 | Donald J. Trump for President | Health Care |
| 9. William Hornbuckle | MGM Resorts International | $17,500.63 | Trump Victory | Consumer Discretionary |
| William Hornbuckle | MGM Resorts International | $5,600.00 | Donald J. Trump for President | Consumer Discretionary |
| 10. James Fish | Waste Management | $2,707.50 | Donald J. Trump for President | Industrials |
| James Fish | Waste Management | $2,610.00 | Trump Make America Great Again | Industrials |
| 11. Scott Farmer | Cintas | $2,500.00 | Trump Victory | Industrials |
| Scott Farmer | Cintas | $2,500.00 | Donald J. Trump for President | Industrials |
| 12. John Chiminski | Catalent | $2,043.02 | Trump Make America Great Again | Health Care |
| John Chiminski | Catalent | $1,942.69 | Donald J. Trump for President | Health Care |
| 13. Scott Donnelly | Textron | $1,750.00 | Trump Make America Great Again | Industrials |
| Scott Donnelly | Textron | $1,375.00 | Donald J. Trump for President | Industrials |
| 14. Steve Sanghi | Microchip Technology | $2,800.00 | Donald J. Trump for President | Information Technology |
| 15. Dan Dinges | Cabot Oil & Gas | $250.00 | Trump Make America Great Again | Energy |
| Dan Dinges | Cabot Oil & Gas | $187.50 | Donald J. Trump for President | Energy |
| Total | $2,489,491.34 |
* Former CEO who held the position during the FEC’s 2020 election cycle that started Jan. 1, 2019
Source: MarketWatch analysis of processed Federal Election Commission data on individual contributions made between January 2019 and August 2020
The S&P 500 bosses donating the most to Biden were Disney’s US:DIS Bob Iger, who is currently the entertainment company’s executive chairman after leaving the CEO post in February, as well as Amphenol’s US:APH Richard Norwitt, DuPont’s US:DD Edward Breen, Merck’s US:MRK Kenneth Frazier and Vertex Pharmaceuticals’s US:VRTX Jeffrey Leiden.
Overall spending in this year’s election will approach $11 billion, easily topping the $7 billion spent (in today’s dollars) in the 2016 election, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonprofit group that tracks money in politics.
One CEO, MGM Resorts International’s US:MGM Bill Hornbuckle, gave to both Trump and Biden, according to MarketWatch’s analysis of disclosures. He contributed $17,501 to the Trump Victory Fund, a joint fundraising committee with the RNC, plus the maximum amount of $5,600 to Trump’s primary campaign committee. He donated $2,800 to Biden’s main campaign committee.
S&P 500 CEOs giving their own money to Biden’s campaign
| Company | Amount | Recipient | Sector | |
| 1. Robert Iger* | Disney | $250,000.00 | Biden Victory Fund | Communication Services |
| Robert Iger* | Disney | $5,600.00 | Biden for President | Communication Services |
| 2. Edward Breen | Dupont De Nemours | $50,000.00 | Biden Victory Fund | Materials |
| Edward Breen | Dupont De Nemours | $5,600.00 | Biden for President | Materials |
| 3. Kenneth Frazier | Merck | $50,000.00 | Biden Victory Fund | Health Care |
| Kenneth Frazier | Merck | $5,600.00 | Biden for President | Health Care |
| 4. Richard Norwitt | Amphenol Corporation | $50,000.00 | Biden Victory Fund | Information Technology |
| Richard Norwitt | Amphenol Corporation | $5,600.00 | Biden for President | Information Technology |
| 5. Jeffrey Leiden* | Vertex Pharmaceuticals | $25,000.00 | Unite the Country | Health Care |
| 6. David Kenny | Nielsen Holdings | $5,600.00 | Biden for President | Industrials |
| David Kenny | Nielsen Holdings | $2,800.00 | Biden Victory Fund | Industrials |
| 7. Debra Cafaro | Ventas | $5,600.00 | Biden for President | Real Estate |
| 8. John Donahoe | Nike | $5,600.00 | Biden for President | Consumer Discretionary |
| 9. Ronald O'Hanley | State Street | $5,600.00 | Biden for President | Financials |
| 10. Ted Sarandos | Netflix | $5,600.00 | Biden for President | Communication Services |
| 11. Andrew Silvernail | Idex | $5,500.00 | Biden for President | Industrials |
| 12. Joshua Silverman | Etsy | $3,300.00 | Biden for President | Consumer Discretionary |
| 13. Stanley Bergman | Henry Schein | $2,800.00 | Biden for President | Health Care |
| 14. Steven Cahillane | Kellogg's | $2,800.00 | Biden for President | Consumer Staples |
| 15. Steven Collis | Amerisourcebergen | $2,800.00 | Biden for President | Health Care |
| 16. Timothy Gokey | Broadridge Financial Solutions | $2,800.00 | Biden for President | Information Technology |
| 17. Reed Hastings | Netflix | $2,800.00 | Biden for President | Communication Services |
| 18. William Hornbuckle | MGM Resorts International | $2,800.00 | Biden for President | Consumer Discretionary |
| 19. Stephen Kaufer | Tripadvisor** | $2,800.00 | Biden for President | Communication Services |
| 20. Tom Leighton | Akamai | $2,800.00 | Biden for President | Information Technology |
| 21. Charlie Lowrey | Prudential Financial | $2,800.00 | Biden for President | Financials |
| 22. Joseph Margolis | Extra Space Storage | $2,800.00 | Biden for President | Real Estate |
| 23. Michael McMullen | Agilent | $2,800.00 | Biden for President | Health Care |
| 24. James Murren* | MGM Resorts International | $2,800.00 | Biden for President | Consumer Discretionary |
| 25. Sumit Roy | Realty Income | $2,800.00 | Biden for President | Real Estate |
| 26. Michael Schall | Essex Property Trust | $2,800.00 | Biden for President | Real Estate |
| 27. Arne Sorenson | Marriott International | $2,800.00 | Biden for President | Consumer Discretionary |
| 28. Owen Thomas | Boston Properties | $2,800.00 | Biden for President | Real Estate |
| 29. Bradley Tilden | Alaska Air Group | $2,800.00 | Biden for President | Industrials |
| 30. Devin Stockfish | Weyerhaeuser | $1,500.00 | Biden for President | Real Estate |
| Total | $536,100.00 |
* Former CEO who held the position during the FEC’s 2020 election cycle that started Jan. 1, 2019
** Former S&P 500 company that was a component of the index during the FEC’s 2020 election cycle that started Jan. 1, 2019
Source: MarketWatch analysis of processed Federal Election Commission data on individual contributions made between January 2019 and August 2020
CEOs who have donated to Trump’s campaign may be showing that they’re pleased with his policies, such as the 2017 tax cuts, said Michael Beckel, research director at Issue One, a nonpartisan watchdog group that aims to reduce the influence of big money in politics.
“Some corporate executives may see their political contributions as good investments in policies that will benefit them,” Beckel told MarketWatch in an email. Many of them “see themselves as having a fiduciary responsibility to be active in politics.”
Execs also may donate “based on their own political preferences and ideological leanings,” even as their political contributions could “carry some risks for companies,” Beckel said. “An executive’s giving could turn off a segment of customers from their brand, and even lead to protests or boycotts.”
Bruce Freed, president of the Center for Political Accountability, a nonprofit that pushes for better disclosure of corporate political activity, also noted the potential challenges for CEOs as they vote with their wallets.
“Companies today face very serious risks — both reputational risks and bottom-line risks — for contributions that companies are making,” Freed said in an interview. The donations can “conflict with their core values and positions” on issues such as racial justice or climate change, he said, adding that his organization has explored the situation in its “Conflicted Consequences” and “Collision Course” reports.
“All of these things have made political spending much more controversial for companies and executives — and much riskier,” he said.
Companies’ responses
Intercontinental Exchange, Las Vegas Sands, Vornado Realty, Oracle, Disney, DuPont, Merck, Amphenol and Vertex didn’t respond to requests for comment. Oracle’s Catz worked in 2016 on Trump’s transition team, while Disney’s Iger and Merck’s Frazier are among the executives who have shown their opposition to the president’s actions by resigning from his White House councils. Iger cited Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement, and Frazier was responding to the president’s initial reaction to racial violence in Charlottesville, Va., in 2017.
A spokeswoman for Wells Fargo US:WFC, whose former chief executive, Tim Sloan, gave to Trump’s campaign, said his donation “was a personal contribution and was in no way related to his time as CEO of Wells Fargo, which ended a year and a half ago.” A Waste Management spokesman said the company doesn’t comment on the “personal political contributions of our employees.”
Among the Biden donors, a Boston Properties US:BXP spokeswoman said “personal political contributions” made by the company’s CEO or other employees are “personal decisions.” A Marriott International US:MAR spokeswoman said the hotel company “will not be commenting on any personal contributions made by our CEO or any other executive,” and a Tripadvisor US:TRIP spokesman said the travel company does “not comment on the personal contributions made by employees or executives within this company.” A Henry Schein US:HSIC spokeswoman said the health-care products company “makes no national political campaign contributions, per its Worldwide Business Standards,” and “individual contributions are just that — individual donations that have nothing to do with the company.”
Netflix US:NFLX, Nielsen US:NLSN and Broadridge Financial Solutions US:BR declined to comment. The other companies listed in the tables above didn’t respond to requests for comment.
S&P 500 CEOs give much more to Republicans
The higher dollar total for Trump’s campaign aligns with how Republican groups overall have attracted more money from S&P 500 CEOs than Democratic groups.
Some 179 of these CEOs donated a total of $35.61 million of their own money to Republican candidates and organizations, while 148 bosses combined to contribute $3.172 million to Democratic efforts, according to MarketWatch’s analysis of outlays between January 2019 and August 2020.
Most of the GOP’s big advantage comes from Las Vegas Sands’s Adelson, who has given $26.38 million to Republicans, including $25 million to the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC aiming to protect and expand on the GOP majority in the U.S. Senate. But even with Adelson excluded, Republicans come out ahead in drawing donations from the S&P CEOs, with $9.233 million in 2019 and 2020, tripling the Democratic haul.
Many of the S&P CEOs — 81 of them, to be exact — contributed to both Republican and Democratic groups. In other words, only 98 of the 179 GOP donors gave just to the GOP, and only 67 of the Democratic donors gave just to that party’s groups.
The greater giving to Republicans by the S&P CEOs in the current election cycle fits with their past behavior. Ahead of the 2018 midterm elections, a MarketWatch analysis found 200 S&P chief execs had given a total of $7.4 million to the GOP, while 149 donated a total of $2.6 million to Democrats.
MarketWatch’s analysis here doesn’t cover political contributions by current or former executives of privately held companies, such as billionaire Michael Bloomberg, as it focuses instead on chief executives of the S&P 500’s large, publicly traded companies.
This article originally appeared on MarketWatch.
