Major corporate interests and megadonors gave $239 million to fund...
President Donald Trump’s inaugural committee raised $239 million, a new fundraising report shows, buoyed by million-dollar contributions from major companies and business executives. The massive haul is more than double the $109 million raised for his first inauguration in 2017 (the record until now).
Contributions from Major Companies and Executives
Among those who wrote major checks were people tapped by Trump to become government officials, as well as prominent corporations (and their leaders) with business in front of the administration, particularly those in the oil, financial, technology, and transportation sectors.
Pilgrim’s Pride Corp., a major poultry producer, donated more than any other individual or company, sending $5 million to Trump's inaugural committee. Just behind was Ripple Labs, the cryptocurrency and blockchain company, which gave almost $4.9 million.
A handful of energy companies gave at least $500,000 each — including Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, Shell, and Occidental Petroleum Corp., as well as the political arm of the American Petroleum Institute.
Artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency companies also made significant donations, including Solana Labs, Open AI CEO Sam Altman, Ripple, C3.ai, Coinbase, Galaxy Digital Services, and Perplexity AI.
High-profile Donors
Amazon and Meta each donated $1 million. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg attended Trump’s inauguration and received prominent seats in the Capitol Rotunda, where Trump was sworn in after bad weather scuttled the traditionally outdoor event. Apple CEO Tim Cook gave $1 million as well.
Other notable donors include computing companies Micron, Nvidia, Qualcomm, and Microsoft, as well as health care companies like Hims, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Pfizer, and Amgen. Live Nation, DraftKings, and FanDuel also made substantial contributions to the inaugural committee.
Connections to the Trump Administration
Several major donors have ties to the Trump administration and were eventually appointed to significant roles. GOP megadonor Warren Stephens, who was appointed as the ambassador to the United Kingdom, gave $4 million. Other appointees like Jared Issacman, Melissa Argyros, Tilman Fertitta, Linda McMahon, and Howard Lutnick also made substantial contributions.
