Since President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race in July, donations have poured in to support Kamala Harris’s bid for the White House, with 66% of contributions coming from first-time donors. And while this has generated a lot of money, the bulk has actually come from wealthy corporate donors.
Employees at big tech companies and other large financial firms are donating substantially to 2024 election campaigns. Over the summer, former Alphabet CEO Eric Schmidt made a six-figure contribution to the Democratic campaign.
For his part, Stephen Schwarzman, CEO of private equity giant Blackstone, has thrown his weight behind former president Donald Trump, likely because of his pro-business policies and proposed tax cuts. Trump has also received political and financial backing from big donors to the tune of some $50mn, including Timothy Mellon, a scion of the Pittsburgh banking family. Tech investor David Sachs and Tesla CEO Elon Musk are also backing Trump.
Running nationwide campaigns costs a lot of money in a media-driven country like the US, where most big networks are privately owned. Donald Trump and Joe Biden spent a combined $5.7bn when they faced off for the presidency in 2020—more than any other presidential election in American history.
