The New York Times reports that just 20 donors — roughly 0.00001 percent of adults, i.e. one ten-millionth of the population — have already pumped about $2 billion into this election, or about 15 percent of total campaign spending.
These donors are overwhelmingly supporting Republicans. Here’s a graphical representation of the megadonors and their contributions:
How did such a small group — which happens to include some truly terrible people — gain so much power? Part of the answer is that the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens’ United decision opened the floodgates for vast sums of money to flow into politics. The larger part of the answer is that the vast power of the extremely wealthy stems from the vast concentration of wealth in their hands, which is literally more than an order of magnitude greater than their share of wealth a few decades ago. Here is Realtime inequality’s estimate of the share of total wealth held by the top 0.00001% of the population, roughly corresponding to the megadonor class:
Paul Krugman,Substack, Nov 2nd 2026
‘Texas isn’t for sale’: James Talarico takes on Elon Musk after Ken Paxton’s defeat
American trading billionaire Jeff Yass gives $110 million to Republicans for midterms
Trading billionaire and early ByteDance investor Jeff Yass has become one of the biggest donors of the U.S. midterms, giving Republicans about $110 million.
One Nation is the issue advocacy arm of the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC associated with Republican leadership in the U.S. Senate. 1 Formerly known as the Alliance for America’s Future, One Nation claims to advocate for right-of-center policy towards the economy and defense spending. 2
In 2024, Singer, an 81-year-old with a net worth of $6.7 billion, donated $5 million to Make America Great Again Inc., Trump’s Super PAC. Singer donated tens of millions more in the 2024 cycle to support Trump’s allies, including $37 million to support the election of Republicans to Congress. He also donated an undisclosed amount to fund Trump’s second transition.
Singer is also a major pro-Israel donor, with his foundation having donated more than $3.3 million to groups like the Birthright Israel Foundation, the Israel America Academic Exchange, Boundless Israel, and others in 2021, according to tax filings.
In November 2025, less than two months before Trump’s operation to take over Venezuela, Singer’s investment firm, Elliott Investment Management, inked a highly fortuitous deal.
Three previously unknown donors gave $26 million to Trump-aligned dark money group
Feb 26, 2026
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Georgia Lyon
Media Relations Manage
An Issue One examination of tax filings has revealed three previously unknown donors who gave more than $26 million to Securing American Greatness, a dark money group that supported President Donald Trump’s election in 2024 and has since helped advance his policy agenda. One of these donors is connected to the cryptocurrency industry while the other two are dark money groups that do not disclose their donors.
“Dark money groups like Securing American Greatness allow wealthy donors and special interests to buy influence with politicians through huge contributions and to do so anonymously,” said Issue One Director of Money in Politics Reform Michael Beckel. “When money flows into secretive dark money groups from other secretive dark money groups, the public is left with no meaningful information whatsoever regarding who is working behind the scenes to influence elections and gain favorable policy outcomes. It’s long past time for these shell games to stop and for the public to be able to fully and transparently follow the money in politics.”
Securing American Greatness was launched in March 2024 by Trump allies including Taylor Budowich — who, for most of last year, worked in Trump’s White House as deputy chief of staff. It raised $275 million in 2024, as previously reported by news outlets including Bloomberg and the New York Times. This massive war chest was bankrolled by fewer than 100 donors and donor organizations, which each gave sums ranging in size from $2,500 to $35 million.
The Bitcoin Advocacy Project formed in 2022 to educate lawmakers and the public about the cryptocurrency Bitcoin and grow a pro-crypto coalition of voters. The American Prosperity Alliance and MAGA Action Inc. are both Trump-aligned conservative advocacy organizations that also formed in 2022. As nonprofits registered under Sec. 501(c)(4) of the tax code, they are not required to disclose their donors. Like Securing American Greatness, MAGA Action Inc. was also founded by Taylor Budowich.
The only other known donor to Securing American Greatness is telecommunications company Qualcomm, which voluntarily reported that it gave $1 million sometime between September 30, 2024, and March 30, 2025, as first reported by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).
Ahead of the 2024 presidential election, Securing American Greatness invested more than $67 million into pro-Trump super PACs, including more than $52 million into the Make America Great Again Inc super PAC, a sum that represented about $1 of every $8 the super PAC raised.
The Art of Influence: Koch Brothers and Political Funding
The Koch brothers’ foray into political funding began in earnest in the 1980s. Motivated by a libertarian ideology grounded in free-market capitalism, they sought to promote policies aligned with their beliefs. Initially, their contributions were modest, primarily supporting candidates who championed deregulation and tax cuts. However, as their wealth grew—Koch Industries, founded in 1940 by their father Fred Koch, grew into one of the largest privately held companies in the U.S.—so did their political ambitions. By the early 2000s, the Koch brothers were making significant donations to both Republican candidates and organizations, establishing themselves as key players in the political arena. One pivotal moment in their political journey was their involvement in the 2010 midterm elections, coinciding with the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Citizens United v. FEC. This decision allowed for unlimited independent expenditures in political campaigns, effectively unleashing a torrent of corporate money into American politics. The Koch brothers seized this opportunity, launching the “Koch Network,” a vast web of donors and organizations aimed at influencing political outcomes and policy discussions.
Funding Political Campaigns
The Koch brothers have been strategic in their political contributions, focusing on candidates who align with their vision of limited government and free-market principles. They have funded a range of political campaigns, from local races to presidential elections. Notably, they supported candidates like Scott Walker in Wisconsin and Marco Rubio during the 2016 Republican primaries, seeking to advance their agenda through the election of like-minded officials. Their financial influence extends beyond direct contributions. The Koch brothers have invested heavily in super PACs and dark money groups, which can operate without disclosing their donors. Organizations like Americans for Prosperity (AFP), founded by the Koch brothers, have played a crucial role in mobilizing grassroots support for various political initiatives and candidates. AFP has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on advertising, voter outreach, and lobbying efforts, making it one of the most influential political entities in the United States.
Crypto Investor Twins Gave MAGA Inc. PAC $10 Million After Regulatory Win
The donations came after the Trump administration moved to vacate an enforcement action against their crypto exchange.By Freddy Brewster & Katya Schwenk , TheLeverPublishedJuly 23, 2026
Retired, living in the Scottish Borders after living most of my life in cities in England. I can now indulge my interest in all aspects of living close to nature in a wild landscape. I live on what was once the Iapetus Ocean which took millions of years to travel from the Southern Hemisphere to here in the Northern Hemisphere. That set me thinking and questioning and seeking answers.
In 1998 I co-wrote Millennium Countdown (US)/ A Business Guide to the Year 2000 (UK) see https://www.abebooks.co.uk/products/isbn/9780749427917
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