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Democratic presidential candidate, former Vice President Joe Biden smiles during a roundtable on … [+]
AP Photo/Matt Slocum
Joe Biden extended his lead over Donald Trump in the race for the most billionaire donors in May, according to a review of documents filed with the Federal Election Commission. The former vice president, who has received donations from 106 billionaires and their spouses, added six new donors last month. President Trump, meanwhile, got just one new donor, bringing his total to 93.
The Trump campaign received a $2,800 contribution from Arkansas GOP megadonor Warren Stephens on May 14. That was the campaign’s first from a new billionaire donor in nearly two months, according to a Forbes analysis of FEC records. It’s not like Stephens came out of nowhere though. Although he had not given directly to the Trump campaign until last month, he had given $2 million since 2017 to the pro-Trump super-PAC America First Action. Stephens—who got rich thanks to his family’s Little Rock investment bank, which underwrote Wal-Mart’s public offering in 1970—has given over $13 million to all federal political campaigns and causes this election cycle.
The Biden campaign added support from a few Democratic megadonors. Haim Saban, who Forbes estimates is worth $2.8 billion, made his first contribution to Biden’s campaign in May. During the 2016 campaign Saban was one of Hillary Clinton’s largest donors; he gave more than $6 million to joint fundraising committees and super-PACs supporting her, according to FEC records. So far this election cycle, he’s given over $2 million to federal campaigns and committees, including $500,000 to a super-PAC that aims to give Democrats a majority in the Senate.
David Shaw, founder of hedge fund D.E. Shaw, and his wife Beth also made their first contributions to the Biden campaign in May. David Shaw also contributed $500,000 to the pro-Biden super-PAC Priorities USA Action last month. If history is a guide, it probably won’t be his last contribution to Democrats this cycle. In the 2016 election the Shaws contributed more than $4 million to committees supporting Hillary Clinton. Other new donors to Biden’s campaign include John Sall, cofounder of statistical software company SAS, and Jerry Hall, the supermodel wife of Fox News billionaire Rupert Murdoch.
We’ll have a clearer picture of just how much Biden’s richest donors have been spending to support his election next month. That is when the former vice president’s joint fundraising committee, which is allowing contributions of up to $620,600 per person, reports its first list of donors and contributions received.
Despite the months-long pause on new billionaire donations, the Trump campaign is certainly not hurting for cash overall. While the Biden campaign and the DNC out-fundraised Trump’s and the GOP in May, Trump’s team still has $265 million cash-on-hand, compared to $122 million for Biden’s.
Here are the newest billionaire donors to the two candidates. To see the rest of Biden’s donors go here and here. To see the rest of Trump’s go here and here.
Biden’s newest donors:
Jerry Hall, wife of Rupert Murdoch
Spouse’s net worth: $16.7 billion *
Source of wealth: Newspaper, TV network
Contributions: $500 **
Net worth: $7.3 billion
Source of wealth: Hedge funds
Contributions: $11,200
Net worth: $4.4 billion
Source of wealth: Software
Contributions: $5,600
Net worth: $2.8 billion
Source of wealth: TV network, investments
Contributions: $5,600
Trump’s newest donor:
Net worth: $2.4 billion
Source of wealth: Investment banking
Contributions: $2,800
* Forbes Real-Time net worth as of June 29, 2020
** Contributions to the Biden For President or Donald J. Trump For President campaign committee. Donors may have contributed more to supporting candidate committees; we’ll know more when additional Federal Election Commission filings come out next month.