A collection of philanthropists, Silicon Valley titans, and Democratic megadonors are using their fortunes and influence to try to will Vice President Kamala Harris to the White House in November.
Tens of millions of dollars in political donations have been routed to the Harris campaign, its joint fundraising committee, and a super PAC called Future Forward, which is supporting Harris through ad buys, according to a Washington Examiner analysis of Federal Election Commission filings.
Taken together, the donations are a window into how wealthy and well-connected Democrats in finance, Big Tech, Hollywood, and the philanthropy world are going all out to thwart former President Donald Trump’s third run for the Oval Office in nine years.
“The future of our freedom, our democracy, and our reproductive rights are on the chopping block if Donald Trump wins — and we aren’t willing to sit idly by and watch that happen,” Eva Kemp, vice president of campaigns at American Bridge 21st Century, a Democratic PAC supporting Harris, told the Washington Examiner.
Harris is entering the homestretch of the 2024 presidential race with more money and a proven fundraising record — raking in more than four times the amount Trump did in August and spending three times more that same month. Harris, according to the New York Times, has raised a staggering $1 billion in three months. At the same time, mainstay Democratic PACs, such as American Bridge, are working overtime to target Trump in national ad blitzes intended to reach swing state voters, federal independent expenditure records show.
The Harris campaign, in turn, recently disclosed having $100 million more in the bank than Trump. Here is a look at notable donors hoping to anoint Harris as the next commander in chief.
1. Reid Hoffman
Reid Hoffman, the venture capitalist who co-founded LinkedIn, has become one of the most outspoken Democratic donors since Trump’s victory in the 2016 election.
A Microsoft board member who has faced progressive-led criticism for appearing to try to pressure Harris to replace Lina Khan, head of the Federal Trade Commission, Hoffman has spent at least $11.6 million to try to elect Harris in 2024. He has also “emerged as a confidante to other wealthy Democrats in Silicon Valley looking to make political donations,” according to the outlet.
Hoffman’s wealth is also being routed to Harris-aligned PACs such as American Bridge and the Republican Accountability PAC. Along with Democratic megadonor George Soros, Hoffman helped seed a left-wing dark money group linked to websites masquerading as local news outlets to boost Democrats.
Hoffman’s single largest political donation since 2002 is the $6 million check he cut in March to Future Forward. He gave another $4 million combined to the PAC in April and June, respectively.
2. Michael Bloomberg
Similar to other wealthy donors, Michael Bloomberg wears many hats. The former New York City mayor, who unsuccessfully ran for president in 2020, is the chairman of a Defense Department advisery board that counts Hoffman as a board member.
In May, Bloomberg spread over $19 million to Future Forward, Harris Victory Fund, and Harris for President, federal records show. While he contributed prior to President Joe Biden passing the torch to Harris in July, the millions of dollars are now boosting the vice president.
Bloomberg has also given millions of dollars to the League of Conservation Voters Victory Fund and other PACs supporting Harris this election cycle.
Bloomberg, 82, gives most of his billions through a private foundation called Bloomberg Philanthropies. The nonprofit group has spent large sums on anti-tobacco and anti-nicotine vaping initiatives, as well as directed over $90 million in grants since 2019 to the ClimateWorks Foundation and other green energy activist hubs, according to tax records filed with the IRS.
Bloomberg Philanthropies has dished out tens of millions of dollars in recent years to the Energy Foundation, a San Francisco-based entity with close ties to China’s government. The Climate Imperative Foundation, a separate group in San Francisco linked to China, received a $17.5 million infusion from Bloomberg Philanthropies in 2022 to “accelerate [the] transition to clean energy,” tax records show.
3. Fred Eychaner
Fred Eychaner, the founder of the Chicago-based Newsweb Corporation, is known as a recluse. But the businessman doesn’t shy away from entering the political arena.
Eychaner has donated roughly $27 million to national Democrats over the last two years, including over $7.9 million to pro-Harris committees. An ally of former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Eychaner’s Alphawood Foundation sits on around $70 million in assets and is one of the largest funders of the Obama Foundation, tax records show.
Dubbed the Democrats’ “mystery man,” Eychaner has made around $165 million in political donations on the federal level since 1984, according to federal records. Some of his largest handouts have been to Senate Majority PAC, House Majority PAC, Future Forward, a super PAC called Lift Leading Illinois for Tomorrow that opposed Trump in 2016, and Democratic super PAC giant Priorities USA Action.
“He is the man behind the curtain, but this wizard has real power,” Chicago Magazine reported in 2013. “Eychaner is a publicity-shy radio station owner who declines interviews and photographs but hosts the likes of Barack Obama and Bill Clinton in his massive Lincoln Park home.”
4. Dustin Moskovitz
Dustin Moskovitz, who co-founded Facebook, is widely expected to donate large sums to Future Forward closer to the election, according to the New York Times. He has so far given the group $3 million and directed checks to Harris Victory Fund and Harris for President, federal records show.
Moskovitz, 40, is worth $15.5 billion, according to Forbes. His fortune is routed through a nonprofit group called Good Ventures in Palo Alto, California, that backs a charity affiliated with OpenAI and several universities, tax forms show.
Though far more unknown outside of Silicon Valley than his fellow Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, Moskovitz is a political heavyweight. Moskovitz and his wife, former Wall Street Journal reporter Cari Tuna, shelled out $25 million in 2016 against Trump, followed by $47 million to fuel Biden in 2020.
5. James and Marilyn Simons
James Simons, a hedge fund manager who was once profiled in the Wall Street Journal as the “world’s greatest investor,” donated $9.1 million to pro-Harris committees, including a $6.6 million check to Future Forward in May one week before his death.
His wife, Marilyn Simons, has given at least $500,000 to Future Forward. Through the Simons Foundation, the couple has funded sprawling math and science programs across the United States.
In the 2020 election, James Simons and Marilyn Simons were the 11th largest donors in the country, pouring $26 million into Democratic causes, federal records show.
6. George Soros and Alex Soros
George Soros, 94, is a longtime Democratic megadonor. Joined by his son, Alex Soros, the influential father-and-son duo have personally cut large checks this election cycle to Harris-aligned committees.
The Fund for Policy Reform, a nonprofit group funded by George Soros, routed a staggering $60 million in January to a super PAC funding Future Forward and other pro-Harris groups, according to federal records.
George Soros, as the Washington Examiner reported in August, often faces criticism from Republicans over his funding in the areas of criminal justice and for backing anti-Israel groups.
Alex Soros, 38, recently took over his father’s Open Society Foundations grantmaking network and is establishing himself as one of the most prominent Democratic donors with the ear of top lawmakers. Alex Soros has frequently visited the Biden White House, according to visitor logs posted on the White House’s website.
7. Mark Heising and Liz Simons
Democratic-aligned philanthropists Mark Heising and Liz Simons, a married couple with a foundation backing environmental groups, have routed at least $1.2 million to Harris Victory Fund. They have also sent millions of dollars to House Majority PAC and Senate Majority PAC.
Heising is notably chairman of the board for the Environmental Defense Fund, a left-wing environmental group aligned with the Biden-Harris administration’s climate agenda. The role places the donor in a place of likely influence in a possible Harris-Walz administration. Top officials from the Environmental Defense Fund have scored various visits to the White House under Biden.
8. James and Kathryn Murdoch
Media executive Rupert Murdoch has long been one of the most important Republican-allied forces in the country. His son, James Murdoch, and his son’s wife, Kathryn Murdoch, see things differently.
The couple has given close to $2 million to Future Forward and Harris Victory Fund, on top of other Democratic-aligned donations this election cycle, according to federal records.
James Murdoch, the former CEO of 21st Century Fox, is on the board of Tesla. He and Kathryn Murdoch’s private foundation, Quadrivium, gives to environmental groups, left-wing groups, such as the Tides Foundation, and entities affiliated with a massive dark money network called Arabella Advisors in Washington, D.C., tax forms show.
9. Henry and Marsha Laufer
Hedge fund manager Henry Laufer and his wife, Marsha Laufer, have routed checks to Harris Victory Fund since September of last year. The longtime allies of Hillary Clinton live in Florida and have donated to national Democratic committees dating back to 1996, according to records.
Henry Laufer was the chief scientist and vice president for research at Renaissance Technologies until his retirement in 2009. The hedge fund was founded by Harris donor James Simons. Henry Laufer and his wife also gave roughly $1 million to Biden’s 2020 campaign.
10. Jeffrey Katzenberg
Jeffrey Katzenberg, the ex-longtime chairman of Walt Disney Studios, is less wealthy than other top Harris donors. However, Katzenberg has long been a major fundraiser in Hollywood and gained close access to Biden during his presidency. He was co-chairman of Biden’s campaign — a role Katzenberg has reportedly stayed in under Harris.
Katzenberg directed a $1 million check in September 2023 to Future Forward and has routed $919,000 to Harris Victory Fund, records show.
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Katzenberg and his wife, Marilyn Katzenberg, also maintain a private foundation in Los Angeles that gives primarily to higher education and arts-related initiatives.
Since December 2022, Jeffrey Katzenberg has visited the White House dozens of times for meetings with Biden and other officials, according to White House visitor logs.
This article was originally published at www.washingtonexaminer.com
