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Glenn Youngkin.
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Republican Glenn Youngkin has been closing in on his Democratic opponent Terry McAuliffe in the polls ahead of next week’s gubernatorial election in Virginia. As he’s narrowed the polling gap, he’s also pulled ahead in the fundraising race thanks to yet another injection of cash from his personal fortune—and a last-minute wave of donations from supportive billionaires.
As of the latest campaign filing period ending October 21, Youngkin has raised a total of $57.7 million—including $20 million in personal loans—and currently has $7.9 million in cash on hand. McAuliffe, who had previously been more cash-rich than his Republican rival, has now raised a total of $57.4 million, with only $1.9 million left on hand.
Youngkin’s late fundraising surge came in part from a $3.5 million personal loan, the latest contribution from the former private equity executive’s fortune. Forbes estimates that Youngkin, who served as co-CEO of private equity giant Carlyle Group from 2018 to 2020, has a net worth of nearly $480 million. His $21 million outlay on his campaign—$20 million in loans plus a $1 million donation to the pro-Youngkin Virginia Wins PAC—represent 4% of his fortune.
For more on Glenn Youngkin’s net worth, read this story:
In the latest filing period from October 1 to October 21, Youngkin received $240,000 from four billionaires and spouses: $140,000 from Linda McMahon, the former head of the Small Business Administration under Donald Trump and the wife of World Wrestling Entertainment’s billionaire chairman Vincent McMahon; $50,000 from oil baron Ray Lee Hunt; and $25,000 apiece from telecom billionaire Kenny Troutt and hotel magnate Robert Rowling. That nearly doubled his overall haul from billionaires to $520,000, less than 1% of his total fundraising.
McAuliffe received donations from two billionaires over the latest filing period: $25,000 from key Democratic donor Haim Saban and $10,000 from Estée Lauder’s chairman emeritus Leonard Lauder. He’s still raised more money from billionaires than Youngkin—$1.3 million after the latest donations— which makes up about 2% of his total haul.
For more on billionaire donations in the Virginia governor race, read this story:
I’m a Staff Writer on the Wealth team at Forbes, covering billionaires and their wealth. My reporting has led me to an S&P 500 tech firm in the plains of Oklahoma; a
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I’m a Staff Writer on the Wealth team at Forbes, covering billionaires and their wealth. My reporting has led me to an S&P 500 tech firm in the plains of Oklahoma; a fighter-jet-flying payments entrepreneur in New Jersey; a family-owned firm making insulin pens and vials for Covid-19 vaccines in northern Italy; and many more stories across the U.S. and the world. See my work here and on Twitter @giacomotognini.