Elon Musk’s $270 million funding for Donald Trump’s campaign makes him the biggest political donor in US
Elon Musk's donation has got him a position in Donald Trump's administration but concerns about conflicts of interest due to his business ties have arisen.
To help Donald Trump win the US presidency, tech billionaire Elon Musk spent at least $270 million, according to new federal filings. This has made the SpaceX and Tesla CEO the country's biggest political donor.
According to data from nonprofit OpenSecrets, Musk surpassed spending by any single political donor since at least 2010.
An ardent supporter of Trump's White House campaign, Musk did his all – funneling money into door knocking operations and speaking at his rallies.
This financial backing has earned the world's richest person a cost-cutting advisory role in Trump's incoming government.
The Washington Post has reported that Musk's spending in the 2024 election surpassed that of Tim Mellon, the previous top Republican donor, who contributed close to $200 million.
The Tesla CEO donated $238 million to America PAC, a political action committee that he founded to support Trump, filings late Thursday with the Federal Election Commission showed.
An additional $20 million went to the RBG PAC, a group that used advertising to soften Trump's hardline reputation on the key voter issue of abortion.
Elon Musk has consistently been by Trump's side since his electoral victory in November, even inviting him to witness SpaceX rocket launch in Texas.
Trump has selected the South African-born tycoon and fellow ally Vivek Ramaswamy to head the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, through which the pair have promised to deliver billions of dollars of cuts in federal spending.
However, with Musk's businesses all having varying degrees of interactions with US and foreign governments, his new position also raises concerns about conflict of interest.
The president-elect has nominated several people close to Musk for roles in his administration, including investor David Sacks as the so-called AI and crypto czar.
Meanwhile, billionaire astronaut Jared Isaacman, who has collaborated with Musk's SpaceX, was named the head of US space agency NASA.
(With AFP inputs)
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Business NewsNewsUs NewsElon Musk’s $270 million funding for Donald Trump’s campaign makes him the biggest political donor in US
First Published:7 Dec 2024, 08:02 AM IST
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