30 of the richest donors funneling money to Donald Trump: Elon Musk, Steve Schwarzman, and more

Robert Bigelow, the hotel chain mogul who launched a spaceflight company in 2018, was originally a major DeSantis donor this cycle.

“I will give him more money and go without food,” Bigelow told Time after pouring more than $20 million into the Florida governor’s “Never Back Down” super PAC in March 2023.

The billionaire, per the Las Vegas Sun, has since pivoted, donating more than $10 million to Trump-aligned PACs since February 2024. He told Reuters in January that he would also contribute $1 million to pay Trump’s mounting legal fees.

“I was just sympathetic. They didn’t solicit anything from me,” Bigelow told the outlet.

In May, Trump attended a fundraiser at the Post Oak Hotel, which Tilman Fertitta owns. In addition to the hotel, Fertitta owns the Houston Rockets and is CEO of Fertitta Entertainment. Worth $10.1 billion, he gave more than $407,000 to the Trump 47 Committee and $3,300 to Donald J. Trump for President 2024, Bloomberg reported.

Fertitta’s support this election isn’t new, as he donated to Trump’s campaign during the 2020 election cycle as well. FEC records show that he donated $35,000 to the former president and another $35,000 to the Republican National Committee in February of that year.

Jeffery Hildebrand, the founder and CEO of oil and gas company Hilcorp, is worth $7.6 billion according to Forbes. In April, Hildebrand and his wife donated $776,000 to Trump’s reelection effort, Bloomberg reported.

The oil titan gave money to other Republicans during the primary, including Doug Burgum, Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis, Mike Pence, and Tim Scott. Since becoming the nominee, Trump has made direct appeals to oil and gas industry leaders, promising a pro-fossil fuel and anti-regulation presidency.

The Texas-based banker Andrew Beal is not only worth $12 billion himself, but also has assets topping $40 billion, according to Forbes. He’s spent a whopping $1.8 billion on Trump’s 2024 campaign, but his support is years old. The two men are reportedly friends, despite previous business disagreements.

In 2016, Beal formed a PAC, Save American From Its Government, supporting Trump’s initial run for the White House. The group spent money on newspaper advertisements in swing states. He funded the PAC with an initial $2 million.

“I have a lot of money and would spent it to make it a better country,” Beal told Forbes at the time. “My goal is to make this a better country by electing Donald Trump.”

In 2020, Beal donated upwards of $4 million to Trump committees and other GOP efforts in 2020.

The restaurateur behind the Jimmy John sandwich chain is valued at $2.4 billion and has given $3.1 million to Trump groups thus far. Liautaud was involved in the first Trump administration, serving on the Great American Economic Revival Industry Group for Food and Beverage. The billionaire supported Trump’s 2020 bid for the White House — together with his wife, Leslie, he donated $100,000 during that election cycle.

In 2016, however, Leslie Liautaud made multiple donations to Hillary Clinton.

Valued at $7.7 billion, Bill Ackman is a vocal supporter of Trump on X. The founder and CEO of Pershing Square endorsed the former president after the assassination attempt in July, but hasn’t yet donated to his campaign. His support marks a shift from 2021, when he said that Trump should “resign” after the events of Jan. 6.

In his post endorsing Trump this summer, Ackman said that he has had “the benefit of spending a few hours recently with President Trump.” He regularly retweets political commentary and polling data.