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California Senator Kamala Harris endorses Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President … [+]
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Billionaires are already supporting Joe Biden in big numbers. But their enthusiasm for the candidate may have gotten an extra boost Tuesday, when Biden picked California Senator Kamala Harris to join him on the presidential ticket for 2020. Harris, who battled with Biden during the Democratic primaries, was also a billionaire favorite before she dropped out in December.
In her first two months on the campaign trail, Harris got donations from more than two dozen billionaires or their spouses, according to an analysis of Federal Election Commission filings. Her donors included big names in Silicon Valley, (like LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman and Salesforce’s Marc Benioff), as well as Hollywood (Star Wars creator George Lucas and director Steven Spielberg). Sixty-four percent of her donors came from her home state, California. More than one-third got rich in finance, and 23% had fortunes built in tech.
By September last year, Forbes found that the California senator had received contributions from 47 billionaires and their spouses—the most out of anyone in the Democratic field at the time, according to FEC filings.
Many of Harris’ early supporters have already gotten behind Biden, including Laurene Powell Jobs, who gave $610,600 to a committee supporting Biden in June. “Joe Biden you made a great choice!” she tweeted on Tuesday, after the nominee made his announcement. Hoffman, who has given $1.5 million to a pro-Biden super-PAC, tweeted, “Congratulations to new #VPPick @KamalaHarris! And to @JoeBiden, for adding such a strong, experienced, and inspiring leader to the team. The two of them together will help restore the values and ideals that America needs to prosper in the 21st century.”
The Harris pick does, however, give Biden room to expand his roster of billionaire backers. More than one third of the tycoons who donated to Harris have not yet given money to Biden.
“We were excited about Senator Harris’ support for the Green New Deal,” says GitHub billionaire cofounder Tom Preston-Werner, who gave to Harris but has not yet contributed to Biden. Preston-Werner says he plans to contribute to the Biden campaign now that Harris has joined the ticket.
Here’s a closer look at the billionaires and spouses of billionaires who gave to Harris’ own presidential run (most gave about $2,800 per person), but have not yet contributed to Biden’s campaign.
Net worth: $5.7 billion
Source of wealth: Star Wars
Lucas’ wife, Mellody Hobson, gave $307,800 to the Biden Victory Fund in June.
Nabila Khashoggi, wife of James Chambers
Net worth: $5.2 billion
Source of wealth: Media, automotive
James Chambers recently gave $5,600 to the Biden campaign in June.
Lauren Santo Domingo, wife of Andres Santo Domingo
Spouse’s net worth: $2.8 billion
Source of wealth: Beer
Lauren Santo Domingo, who is a cofounder of luxury retail website Moda Operandi, also donated to Cory Booker’s campaign ahead of the Democratic primaries.
Penny Coulter, wife of Jim Coulter
Spouse’s net worth: $2.3 billion
Source of wealth: Private equity
Jim Coulter gave $100,000 to a committee supporting Biden in June.
Ann Tenenbaum, wife of Thomas Lee
Spouse’s net worth: $2 billion
Source of wealth: Private equity
Lee contributed to Biden’s campaign at the end of last year.
Cathy Lasry, wife of Marc Lasry
Spouse’s net worth: $1.8 billion
Source of wealth: Hedge funds
Marc Lasry gave $41,100 to a committee supporting Biden in May.
Net worth: $7.9 billion
Source of wealth: Business software, Salesforce
The Biden-Harris ticket likely won’t see any future contributions from the Benioffs. Marc Benioff told Forbes in January that since he purchased Time Magazine, he and his wife stopped making political contributions.
Net worth: $2.1 billion
Source of wealth: Getty oil
And the same goes for the Gettys. Biden’s campaign has stated that it is not accepting contributions from tycoons with ties to the oil and gas industry, so it’s unlikely that the family will be able to support the Biden campaign directly.
Net worth: $2.5 billion
Source of wealth: Investments
When asked about his contribution, Metropoulos’ spokesperson told Forbes in November that “his office may make small political contributions to numerous candidates, but generally to the Republican party.”
Net worth: $5.2 billion
Source of wealth: Private equity
Kristy Clark, wife of James Clark
Spouse’s net worth: $2.7 billion
Source of wealth: Netscape, investments
Net worth: $2.5 billion
Source of wealth: Gap
Net worth: $1.5 billion
Source of wealth: Cloud storage service, Dropbox
Sakurako Fisher, wife of William Fisher
Spouse’s net worth: $1.4 billion
Source of wealth: Gap
Tom and Theresa Preston-Werner
Net worth: $1.8 billion
Source of wealth: Collaborative software