From Elon Musk to ex-Marvel chairman – who paid how much for Donald Trump campaign in US Elections 2024

With less than a month remaining for the US Elections 2024, Republican nominee Donald Trump’s presidential campaigns are in full swing. From million-dollar donations by Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Silicon Valley venture capitalists to ‘creative accounting strategies’ and television ads, the former US President's accounts ahead of the presidential polls reveal an intricate network.

Mint brings to you a look at who paid how many millions.

$75 million from Tesla CEO Elon Musk

Donald Trump’s biggest endorsee, Elon Musk, donated $75 million( ₹555 crore) to pro-Trump America political action committee (PAC) over a period of three months, reported Reuters. Founded by the Tesla CEO, America PAC received the highest donation compared to other pro-Trump groups.

$ 30 million from ex-Marvel Chairman, tech CEOs

Venture capitalists Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz of the Andreessen Horowitz company in Silicon Valley each donated $2.5 million to Right for America PAC, stated a Bloomberg report citing the latest filings by the Federal Election Commission. Andreessen also gave an additional $844,600 — the federal limit — to Trump’s campaign and the Republican Party, marking a total donation of over ₹21 crore.

In addition, the Right for America’s biggest backers, Isaac Perlmutter, the former chairman of Marvel Entertainment, and their wife, Laura Perlmutter, contributed $25 million. According to a Bloomberg report, Apollo Global Management LLC CEO Marc Rowan also gave $1 million.

$72 million in swing states

Right for America and America PAC are both pro-Trump super PACs that focus most of their spending in the swing states of Arizona, Georgia, and Pennsylvania. According to Bloomberg, America PAC spent around $72 million in the swing states during July-September 2024.

Only 11 people on payroll

As millions of donations pour in for Donald Trump, the Republican’s accounting strategies also call for a close watch. As of August 2024, Trump had only 11 people on his campaign committee. This fraction is less than 25 per cent compared to the 200 people Trump had in 2020.

The few numbers on the payroll are because Donald Trump is shuffling costs from his campaign committee to other accounts allied or shared with the Republican Party. Such a shuffle enables him to funnel millions of dollars into television ads, which would otherwise have been locked up in party and fund-raising accounts, reported the New York Times.

$19 million for two television ads

The Trump campaign has spent more than $19 million on two television ads that have aired nearly 55,000 times since Oct. 1, stated a report by CBS News, citing data from AdImpact. Make America Great Again Inc., the leading super PAC supporting Trump, has spent over $1.1 million during the same time period on a similar ad that was aired more than 6,000 times, stated the report.