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Wealthy Americans have been voting for White House hopefuls with their wallets, and the latest disclosures reveal their big contributions to the candidates’ main super PACs.
These political action committees are allowed to take in unlimited amounts from individuals, corporations, labor unions and other PACs.
Former President Donald Trump’s super PAC is called Make America Great Again Inc., while his Republican rival Nikki Haley has SFA Fund Inc., with SFA short for Stand For America. President Joe Biden’s main super PAC is Future Forward, also known as FF PAC.
The top donor to Trump’s super PAC in 2023 was Timothy Mellon, an heir to the Mellon banking fortune who contributed $10 million during the year. Other big donors were former WWE Chief Executive Linda McMahon, who served in Trump’s cabinet, and Patricia Duggan, whose ex-husband was the former CEO of Pharmacyclics, a biotech company that was bought out for $21 billion in 2015. Their donations are shown in the chart below.
Top 2023 donors to super PAC backing Trump
| Name | Amount given in 2023 | Home state | Brief bio |
| Timothy Mellon | $10,000,000 | WY | Heir to banking fortune |
| Linda McMahon | $5,250,000 | CT | Former WWE CEO |
| Patricia Duggan | $5,250,000 | FL | Ex-wife of former Pharmacyclics CEO |
| Timothy Dunn | $5,000,000 | TX | Oil tycoon |
| Diane Hendricks | $5,000,000 | WI | Co-founder of roofing-supply company |
Source: Filing with FEC to meet a Jan. 31, 2024, deadline
Another notable 2023 donor to MAGA Inc., who gave a smaller but still sizable amount, was Home Depot
HD,
co-founder Bernie Marcus. He made a contribution of $1 million, according to a disclosure filed with the Federal Election Commission to meet a Wednesday deadline.
The top donor to Haley’s super PAC in 2023, contributing a total of $10 million, was Jan Koum, the co-founder of WhatsApp, which is now owned by Facebook parent Meta Platforms
META,
Behind him were hedge-fund founders Ken Griffin and Paul Singer, who each gave $5 million, according to SFA Fund Inc.’s Wednesday disclosure.
Related: Ken Griffin’s spokesperson says he gave $5 million to super PAC backing Nikki Haley
Top 2023 donors to super PAC backing Haley
| Name | Amount given in 2023 | Home state | Brief bio |
| Jan Koum | $10,000,000 | CA | Co-founder of WhatsApp |
| Ken Griffin | $5,000,000 | IL | Hedge-fund founder |
| Paul Singer | $5,000,000 | NY | Hedge-fund founder |
| James Davis | $2,505,000 | MA | Owner of shoe company New Balance |
| Patrick G. Ryan | $2,500,000 | MN | Chair of construction company |
| Shirley W. Ryan | $2,500,000 | IL | Wife of founder of insurance giant Aon |
Source: Filing with FEC to meet a Jan. 31, 2024, deadline
Other notable 2023 donors to Haley’s super PAC were venture capitalist Tim Draper and Warren Stephens, CEO of financial firm Stephens Inc., who each gave more than $2 million.
From MarketWatch’s archives (April 2023): Hedge-fund billionaire Paul Singer still sees dangerous ‘bubble securities, bubble asset classes’ in markets
The top donor to Biden’s super PAC in 2023, giving $2.5 million, was hedge-fund founder James Simons, as shown in the chart below, which is based on Future Forward’s filing on Wednesday.
Top 2023 donors to super PAC backing Biden
| Name | Amount given in 2023 | Home state | Brief bio |
| James Simons | $2,500,000 | NY | Hedge-fund founder |
| Fred Eychaner | $2,000,000 | IL | Owner of radio stations |
| Jeffrey Katzenberg and family trust | $2,000,000 | CA | Hollywood mogul |
| LIUNA PAC | $1,000,000 | DC | Political arm of laborers union |
| Jeff Worthe | $1,000,000 | CA | Real-estate executive |
| Deborah Simon | $1,000,000 | IN | Heir of shopping-mall mogul |
Source: Filing with FEC to meet a Jan. 31, 2024, deadline
Now read: Trump leads Biden in 7 swing states and is favored on handling the economy: poll
And see: Haley says Trump’s new 10% tariff would mean ‘raising taxes on every single American’
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