As the November U.S. presidential election solidifies as a rematch between U.S. President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, interest in the sponsors of the two current and former presidents is also growing. In the U.S. presidential election, where there are organizations such as ‘super PAC’ (Special Political Action Committee) with virtually no donation limit, financial power determines victory or defeat, to the extent that it is called a ‘war of rags.’
It is also noteworthy that both four years ago and this year, President Biden received support from managers of large information technology (IT) companies in Western Silicon Valley, while former President Trump received support from Eastern Wall Street billionaires. At the beginning of this year, Wall Street tycoons supported former President Trump's rival, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, but as former President Trump's election as presidential candidate becomes apparent, they are showing signs of turning to Trump.
Big tech giant supports Biden... Plenty of ammunition
President Biden is receiving balanced support from Big Tech giants in Silicon Valley. According to the U.S. Federal Election Commission and economic media outlet Forbes, Reed Hoffman, co-founder of social media LinkedIn, donated $2 million (about 2.7 billion won) to President Biden's Super PAC last month. Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt also recently donated $500,000 to Biden.
Big tech executives were key supporters of Biden during the 2020 presidential election. Former Microsoft (MS) CEO Steve Ballmer donated approximately $8.7 million to President Biden and his super PAC four years ago. Former CEO Schmidt contributed $4.7 million. Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskowitz also donated $51.8 million. Lorin, the wife of Apple founder Steve Jobs, also contributed about $1.3 million.
Currently, the Biden camp's treasury is also more generous than that of Trump's. According to the recent Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the Biden camp raised $235 million (about 317.2 billion won) between April and December last year. Separately, it also held $117 million in cash. The amount raised and cash are 18% and 80% more than Trump's, respectively.
Wall Street mogul supports Trump... Legal fees are a ‘challenge’
Former President Trump mainly received support from Wall Street billionaires during the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections. Stephen Schwarzman, co-founder of Blackstone, the world's largest private equity fund, donated approximately $37.2 million to the Trump campaign, Trump-sponsored super PAC, and Republican-sponsored super PAC in 2020. This year, she expressed her intention to support former Ambassador Haley, but as the possibility of former President Trump being selected as the Republican presidential candidate increases, the possibility of her returning as a Trump supporter is being discussed.
‘Hedge fund tycoon’ Robert Mercer, former CEO of Renaissance Technology, gave $7.2 million in 2016. CNBC reported that the Mercer family is considering supporting Trump again this year, having secured more than $88 million. Las Vegas Sands founder Sheldon Adelson, a global casino tycoon who died in 2021, also donated $90 million four years ago. This is the highest amount ever donated by an individual sponsor.
However, former President Trump, who was indicted on four criminal counts last year, spent a large amount of money on legal fees, and is in a situation where he spent more money than he raised. The WSJ recently reported that 25% of his expenses, or about $50 million, were legal fees.
Former President Trump is courting aerospace tycoon Robert Bigelow and others to overcome this impasse. Last month, he met Bigelow at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and was promised a total donation of $20 million, including $1 million in legal fees.
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