Meet The Billionaires Funding The Battle For Control Of The House Of Representatives


Two rival super PACs focused on November’s midterm House elections have raised a total of nearly $100 million from at least 59 of the country’s richest people. But the billionaire donors to the Republican PAC gave nearly four times more than the Democrats.

BY MATT DUROT


Voters go to the polls less than a month from now, but many of the nation’s billionaires have already made their midterm choices clear. At least 59 billionaires reported giving a total of nearly $100 million to a pair of super PACs dueling for control of the U.S. House of Representatives. These party-aligned groups have hoarded much of the cash so far, but if history is any indication, the floodgates are about to open.

The Republican Party has significant deep-pocketed help from at least 42 billionaires and their spouses, whose political donations will likely pay for a wave of ads leading up to the November 8 election. These billionaires and their spouses have funneled $79 million into the Congressional Leadership Fund, the GOP’s main super PAC dedicated to electing House Republicans, according to Federal Election Commission records. That’s nearly half of the $189 million the PAC has raised this election cycle as of its most recent filing of receipts through September 12. It’s also nearly 80% of the $98 million that the Democrats’ competing House Majority PAC has received from all sources as of its most recent filing of receipts through August 31. A spokesperson for the PAC told Forbes it raised $36 million in September, as first reported by the New York Times.

Hedge fund tycoon Ken Griffin led the way for the Republicans, giving the Congressional Leadership Fund $18.5 million. A spokesperson for Griffin told Forbes that “Ken wants to elevate talented candidates and broaden the tent of the Republican Party to make it more representative of our country. He supports leaders who will focus on education, job creation, public safety, and a strong national defense so that every individual has access to the American dream.”


HOUSE SUPER PAC’s BILLIONAIRE BACKERS


Three other billionaires donated $10 million apiece to the GOP super PAC: Insurer Patrick Ryan, private equity mogul Steven Schwarzman and casino heiress Miriam Adelson. Banking heir Timothy Mellon, whose family is worth an estimated $11.5 billion, also contributed $10 million (though because he’s not an individual billionaire, his donation is not included in Forbes’ totals.) Another four billionaires, including hedge fund investor Paul Singer, each gave $4 million or more.

The Democrats’ PAC–The House Majority PAC–had plenty of big backers as well, but the total amount they contributed was much less. Altogether 17 billionaires and their spouses (including Connie Ballmer, the wife of former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, who made a $1 million contribution; Steve did not contribute) gave $20 million. Just over a quarter of that total came from the richest American in crypto: 30-year-old Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of the FTX exchange and trading firm Alameda Research. He directed $6 million of his $39 million in total political donations this year to the House Majority PAC. That’s more than all but five of the Republican PAC’s billionaire donors contributed.

“In the end, I care about policy more than politics,” Bankman-Fried told Forbes via email last week. “My giving has been bipartisan, and my goal is to help support great policy makers.”

Bankman-Fried has supported Republicans as well during this cycle, primarily through his $2 million contribution to the blockchain and cryptocurrency-focused GMI super PAC, but the bulk of his giving, including $27 million to the Protect Our Future super PAC, has ultimately ended up in the hands of Democrats. According to Bankman-Fried, “much of this was for primaries, rather than D vs R general elections” ($33 million of his contributions were made during the first four months of 2022.)

So far, the Republican PAC has spent more of its money, spreading $109 million across House races as of its most recent filing of disbursements through October 7; $14 million has gone toward touting Republican candidates, while the rest has funded attacks on their opponents. The Democratic PAC, meanwhile, appears to be just getting started, having only spent $32 million on House races as of its most recent filing of disbursements through October 7. All but $2 million of that has gone to attack Republicans.

Despite having already spent sizable sums, both parties still have big stockpiles: $127 million for the Republicans as of their most recent cash filing through September 12 and $78 million for the Democrats as of August 31. (Updated filings are expected on October 15 for the Republicans and October 20 for the Democrats.) That money will likely flood the airwaves with ads in the next few weeks. Over the last two election cycles, the Republican PAC spent 60% of its expenditures in October (On Monday, the PAC announced its fall TV and streaming ad reservations now total more than $190 million.) The Democratic PAC shelled out even more, nearly 80% of its expenditures, in the final push.


🔴 REPUBLICAN DONORS

Here are the billionaires and their spouses identified by Forbes who contributed to the Republicans’ Congressional Leadership Fund from Jan. 1, 2021 through Sept. 12, 2022:

1. Ken Griffin

Net Worth: $29.8 billion

Source of Wealth: Hedge Funds

Residence: Miami, FL

Amount Donated: $18.5 million


2. Patrick Ryan

Net Worth: $8.5 billion

Source of Wealth: Insurance

Residence: Winnetka, IL

Amount Donated: $10 million


3. Steven Schwarzman

Net Worth: $29.1 billion

Source of Wealth: Investments

Residence: New York, NY

Amount Donated: $10 million


4. Miriam Adelson

Net Worth: $28.9 billion

Source of Wealth: Casinos

Residence: Las Vegas, NV

Amount Donated: $10 million


5. Charles Schwab

Net Worth: $11.2 billion

Source of Wealth: Discount Brokerage

Residence: Woodside, California

Amount Donated: $6.5 million (with wife Helen)


6. Jude Reyes

Net Worth: $7 billion

Source of Wealth: Food Distribution

Residence: Palm Beach, FL

Amount Donated: $4.2 million


7. Chris Reyes

Net Worth: $7 billion

Source of Wealth: Food Distribution

Residence: Hobe Sound, FL

Amount Donated: $4.2 million


8. Paul Singer

Net Worth: $5.5 billion

Source of Wealth: Hedge Funds

Residence: New York, NY

Amount Donated: $4 million


9. Warren Stephens

Net Worth: $3.2 billion

Source of Wealth: Investment Banking

Residence: Little Rock, AR

Amount Donated: $2.5 million


10. Bernard Marcus

Net Worth: $8.1 billion

Source of Wealth: Home Depot

Residence: Atlanta, GA

Amount Donated: $1.7 million (with wife Billi)



11. Paul Foster

Net Worth: $1.9 billion

Source of Wealth: Oil Refining

Residence: El Paso, TX

Amount Donated: $1 million


12. Elizabeth Uilhein

Net Worth: $3.4 billion

Source of Wealth: Packaging Materials

Residence: Lake Forest, IL

Amount Donated: $950,000


13. Thomas Tull

Net Worth: $2.8 billion

Source of Wealth: Movies, Investments

Residence: Pittsburgh, PA

Amount Donated: $850,000


14. Charles B. Johnson

Net Worth: $4.7 billion

Source of Wealth: Money Management

Residence: Palm Beach, FL

Amount Donated: $760,000


15. Trevor Rees-Jones

Net Worth: $4 billion

Source of Wealth: Oil & Gas

Residence: Dallas, TX

Amount Donated: $750,000 (with wife Jan)


16. Duke Reyes

Net Worth: $1.2 billion

Source of Wealth: Food Distribution

Residence: Palm Beach, FL

Amount Donated: $737,000


17. Ken Fisher

Net Worth: $1.2 billion

Source of Wealth: Money Management

Residence: Dallas, TX

Amount Donated: $718,000 (with wife Sherrilyn)


18. Robert Rowling

Net Worth: $4.4 billion

Source of Wealth: Hotels, Investments

Residence: Dallas, TX

Amount Donated: $500,000


19. Douglas Leone

Net Worth: $5.5 billion

Source of Wealth: Venture Capital

Residence: Atherton, CA

Amount Donated: $435,000 (with wife Patricia)


20. Daniel Loeb

Net Worth: $3.5 billion

Source of Wealth: Hedge Funds

Residence: New York, NY

Amount Donated: $250,000



21. Steve Wynn

Net Worth: $3.2 billion

Source of Wealth: Casinos, Hotels

Residence: Palm Beach, FL

Amount Donated: $205,000


22. Philip Anschutz

Net Worth: $10.9 billion

Source of Wealth: Investments

Residence: Denver, CO

Amount Donated: $125,000


23. Ronald Lauder

Net Worth: $4.5 billion

Source of Wealth: Estee Lauder

Residence: New York, NY

Amount Donated: $100,000


24. H. Ross Perot, Jr.

Net Worth: $3.8 billion

Source of Wealth: Real Estate

Residence: Dallas, TX

Amount Donated: $100,000


25. Sam Zell

Net Worth: $5.3 billion

Source of Wealth: Real Estate, Private Equity

Residence: Chicago, IL

Amount Donated: $55,000


26. Tom Siebel

Net Worth: $3.2 billion

Source of Wealth: Business Software

Residence: Woodside, CA

Amount Donated: $15,000 (with wife Stacey)


At least eight billionaires and their spouses donated $10,000:

John Catsimatidis | Net Worth: $4.1 billion | Source: Oil, Real Estate | Residence: New York, NY

Frank Fertitta, III. (and wife Jill) | $2.6 billion | Casinos, Mixed Martial Arts | Las Vegas

Lorenzo Fertitta (and wife Teresa) | $2.6 billion | Casinos, Mixed Martial Arts | Las Vegas

Donald Friese | $1.1 billion | Manufacturing | Los Angeles, CA

Christopher Goldsbury | $1.8 billion | Salsa | San Antonio, TX

Ken Langone | $5.8 billion | Investments | Sands Point, NY

Geoffrey Palmer | $2.6 billion | Real Estate | Beverly Hills, CA

Kenny Trout (and wife Lisa) | $1.5 billion | Telecom | Dallas, TX


At least eight billionaires and their spouses donated $5,000:

Julia Argyros (wife of George Argyros) | $2.1 billion | Real Estate, Investments | Newport Beach, CA

Jeffrey Hildebrand | $11.2 billion | Oil | Houston, TX

Ray Lee Hunt | $5.7 billion | Oil, Real Estate | Dallas, TX

Steven Klinsky | $2.9 billion | Investments | New York, NY

Palmer Luckey | $1.4 billion | Virtual Reality | Newport Beach, CA

Nelson Peltz | $1.4 billion | Investments | Bedford, NY

Stephen Ross | $11.6 billion | Real Estate | New York, NY

Kelcy Warren | $4.6 billion | Pipelines | Dallas, TX



🔵 DEMOCRAT DONORS

Here are the billionaires and their spouses identified by Forbes who donated to the Democrats’ House Majority PAC from Jan. 1, 2021 through Aug. 31, 2022:

1. Sam Bankman-Fried

Net Worth: $17 billion

Source of Wealth: Cryptocurrency Exchange

Residence: Nassau, Bahamas

Amount Donated: $6 million


2. Jim Simons

Net Worth: $28.1 billion

Source of Wealth: Hedge Funds

Residence: East Setauket, New York

Amount Donated: $2.5 million


3. George Marcus

Net Worth: $1.4 billion

Source of Wealth: Real Estate

Residence: Los Altos Hills, California

Amount Donated: $2 million


4. Reid Hoffman

Net Worth: $1.9 billion

Source of Wealth: LinkedIn

Residence: Palo Alto, CA

Amount Donated: $2 million


5. Reed Hastings

Net Worth: $2.7 billion

Source of Wealth: Netflix

Residence: Santa Cruz, CA

Amount Donated: $1.9 million (with wife Patty Quillin)


6. Jon Stryker

Net Worth: $3.7 billion

Source of Wealth: Medical Equipment

Residence: New York, NY

Amount Donated: $1.3 million


7. Connie Ballmer (wife of billionaire Steve Ballmer)

Net Worth: $80.8 billion

Source of Wealth: Microsoft

Residence: Hunts Point, Washington

Amount Donated: $1 million


8. Stephen Mandel, Jr.

Net Worth: $3.6 billion

Source of Wealth: Hedge Funds

Residence: Greenwich, CT

Amount Donated: $1 million


9. Amy Goldman Fowler

Net Worth: $2 billion

Source of Wealth: Real Estate

Residence: Rhinebeck, NY

Amount Donated: $500,000


10. Thomas Secunda

Net Worth: $3.9 billion

Source of Wealth: Bloomberg LP

Residence: Croton-on-Hudson, NY

Amount Donated: $500,000


11. Haim Saban

Net Worth: $2.9 billion

Source of Wealth: TV network, Investments

Residence: Beverly Hills, CA

Amount Donated: $500,000 (with wife Cheryl)


12. David Shaw

Net Worth: $7.9 billion

Source of Wealth: Hedge Funds

Residence: New York, NY

Amount Donated: $400,000


13. Edythe Broad

Net Worth: $6.9 billion

Source of Wealth: Homebuilding, Insurance

Residence: Los Angeles, CA

Amount Donated: $250,000


14. Chris Larsen

Net Worth: $3.2 billion

Source of Wealth: Cryptocurrency

Residence: San Francisco, CA

Amount Donated: $250,000


15. Henry Laufer

Net Worth: $2.6 billion

Source of Wealth: Hedge Funds

Residence: Lake Worth, FL

Amount Donated: $250,000


16. Robert Bass

Net Worth: $4.9 billion

Source of Wealth: Oil, Investments

Residence: Fort Worth, TX

Amount Donated: $100,000


17. Elaine Wynn

Net Worth: $1.7 billion

Source of Wealth: Casinos, Hotels

Residence: Las Vegas, NV

Amount Donated: $30,000



METHODOLOGY

Forbes reviewed committee records filed with the Federal Election Commission and counted contributions of $5,000 or more made by billionaires and their spouses.

Source: Federal Election Commission filings, Forbes research

Note: This article was updated on October 11, 2022 to note that two donations came from billionaires’ spouses; Connie Ballmer made a donation to the Democratic PAC, not her husband Steve Ballmer.

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