Trump, Biden get big bucks from billionaires

With less than five months left for the presidential election and only weeks remaining until their party conventions, Joe Biden and Donald Trump are receiving significant financial support from billionaires and tech CEOs, among others.

Former president Trump is leading despite his conviction on 34 felony charges in Manhattan. His campaign and the Republican National Committee (RNC) raised $141 million in May, outpacing incumbent Biden for the second consecutive month.

President Biden and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) gathered $85 million.

However, Biden entered May with a substantial $212 million cash in hand, while Trump’s team and the RNC reported $171 million.

Interestingly, donations to Trump’s team raised significantly following his guilty verdict in the hush-money case, observes the Wall Street Journal.

Notable donors
Influential businessman Tim Mellon gave $50 million to the pro-Trump super PAC Make America Great Again Inc., the largest donation of the cycle.

Other supporters of Trump include the Winklevoss twins (whose $1 million bitcoin donations were refunded), Blackstone CEO Stephen A. Schwarzman, and Las Vegas magnate Miriam Adelson.

Former NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg donated around $19 million to a pro-Biden super PAC and $1 million to another Biden fundraising group. Biden’s other notable backers include philanthropist George Soros, designer Tom Ford, a Zillow co-founder, the Atlanta Falcons owner, and Melinda French Gates, who made her first political endorsement for Biden recently.