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Here Are The Democratic Presidential Candidates With The Most Donations From Billionaires

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A key part of the race to the White House is fundraising, and the candidates are trying to bring in donations from wherever they can. Dozens of American billionaires have pulled out their checkbooks to support candidates engaged in a wide-open battle for the Democratic presidential nomination.

As of the last filing deadline with the Federal Election Commission on July 15, 67 billionaires—including spouses and members of billionaire families—had donated to the 20 Democratic candidates that debated in Detroit last week. Some, like Lowercase Capital founder Chris Sacca and his wife, Crystal, have donated to as many as seven candidates. Others, like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, have instead chosen to donate to only one of the contenders, according to data from the U.S. Federal Election Commission.



To be sure, donating directly to the campaigns is not the primary way for people to support their preferred candidates. Unlike donations to campaigns, which are capped at $2,800 per individual, Super PACs aligned with a candidate have no limit on contributions they collect. Direct donations to presidential campaigns account for just a small fraction of the total amount of money spent by outside groups.

Pete Buttigieg Leads the Rankings With 23 Billionaire Donors

Here are the Democratic candidates ranked by number of billionaire donors: 

1. Pete Buttigieg: 23 billionaire donors

The 37-year-old mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has racked up donations from 23 billionaires across the country, leading his more experienced rivals in this race. Donors include record label executive David Geffen, IAC chairman Barry Diller, and oil baron Len Blavatnik’s wife, Emily.

Buttigieg has also been active on the fundraising circuit, attending events hosted for him by two billionaires: Blackstone Group executive vice chairman Hamilton James in Manhattan and Netflix CEO Reed Hastings in Menlo Park, California.

2. Cory Booker: 18 billionaire donors

The New Jersey senator has attracted support from across the Hudson River in New York, with contributions from former Estée Lauder CEO Leonard Lauder, Cox Enterprises heiress Katharine Rayner and Blackstone Group president Jonathan Gray.

Also sending support from across the country are West Coast tech billionaires, most notably Bill Gates, the second-richest person in the world; former Google CEO Eric Schmidt; Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, and LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman.

3. Kamala Harris: 17 billionaire donors

California senator Harris has relied on a network of donors from her home state including Laurene Powell Jobs, Star Wars creator George Lucas, real estate tycoon Eli Broad and agricultural magnate Stewart Resnick.

Harris has also made trips to New York, bringing in contributions from Cox Enterprises heir James Chambers, Stryker Corp. heir Jon Stryker and hedge fund billionaire Marc Lasry.

4. Michael Bennet: 15 billionaire donors

Colorado Senator Michael Bennet may not have made a splash in the polls so far, but he’s certainly popular among wealthy backers of Democrats. Donors to his campaign include hedge fund billionaire Jim Simons, cable TV pioneer Amos Hostetter Jr., and Baupost Group CEO Seth Klarman.

5. Joe Biden: 13 billionaire donors

The former vice president launched his campaign later than many of the other candidates. Nonetheless, he’s drawing support from some of America’s wealthiest people: Warren Buffett and Eric Schmidt plus real estate moguls Neil Bluhm and Herb Simon.

6. John Hickenlooper: 11 billionaire donors

The former governor of Colorado has amassed donations from a diverse group of billionaires in several states including Walmart heiress Christy Walton, Workday CEO Aneel Bhusri and Hyatt Hotels heiress Jean “Gigi” Pritzker.

7. Beto O’Rourke: 9 billionaire donors

O’Rourke, who narrowly lost a Senate race to Ted Cruz last year, has drawn support from Texas billionaires including investor Robert Bass, former hedge fund manager John Arnold and Susan Sarofim, the wife of billionaire money manager Fayez Sarofim.

8. Amy Klobuchar: 8 billionaire donors

The Minnesota Senator is popular among billionaires who have donated to more than one candidate: Stewart Resnick, Jonathan Gray, and Marc Lasry all contributed to her campaign while also supporting several of her rivals. The Minneapolis-based billionaire Pohlad family backed Klobuchar with donations from multiple family members.

9. Jay Inslee: 5 billionaire donors

The Washington governor’s crusade against climate change has not gone unnoticed, with five billionaires supporting his campaign. Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer’s wife, Connie Ballmer, has donated, as has Marsha Laufer, the wife of Renaissance Technologies cofounder Henry Laufer.

10. Kirsten Gillibrand: 4 billionaire donors

The Senator from New York  has drawn contributions from Brooklyn real estate billionaire David Walentas, as well as Democratic donors such as Reid Hoffman and Jonathan Gray.

11. Elizabeth Warren and John Delaney: 3 billionaire donors each

Warren has received contributions from GitHub founder Tom Preston-Werner’s wife Theresa and Susan Pritzker, the spouse of Hyatt heir Nicholas Pritzker, II. While Delaney has been largely self-funding his campaign, he’s still pulled in donations from the likes of private equity investor Sam Zell and JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon’s wife, Judy.

12. Steve Bullock: 2 billionaire donors

The Montana governor received donations from hedge fund manager Glenn Dubin and Rebecca Pohlad of the Pohlad family.

13. Tulsi Gabbard, Andrew Yang, and Marianne Williamson: 1 billionaire donor each

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey is the only billionaire contributor to Tulsi Gabbard and Andrew Yang’s campaigns, while Marianne Williamson’s sole billionaire backer is Rebecca Pohlad of the Pohlad family.

14. Bernie Sanders, Julian Castro, Bill De Blasio, and Tim Ryan: 0 billionaire donors

True to his campaign promise to take on the top 1 percent, Vermont senator Bernie Sanders has not received any donations from billionaires. Joining him at the bottom of the list are former housing secretary Julian Castro, New York mayor Bill De Blasio, and Ohio congressman Tim Ryan.

The data in the ranking reflects information available through the FEC as of August 1.

August 13, 2019: This article was updated from the original to reflect additional billionaire donations to Elizabeth Warren.

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