Top Election Donor Has Spent $100 Million Buying Politicians

List of top election donors in recent years reveals $100 million buying politician by billionaire

Democracy, elections and voting at Democracy Chronicles

Wealth-X Reveals USA’s Top Public Political Donors

As the US Supreme Court considers whether to remove limits on individuals’ contributions to candidates, political parties and political action committees, Wealth-X today released a list of the top five public political donors leading up to the 2012 elections and since then. From December 2011 to December 2012, conservative-leaning business mogul Sheldon Adelson, CEO of Las Vegas Sands, along with his wife Miriam, were the top public donors with US$96,417,000 in political contributions – equivalent to 0.42 percent of their estimated US$23 billion fortune.

Next on the list is multibillionaire Harold Simmons, chairman of the Contran corporation, along with his wife Annette, who donated US$32,603,800 to conservative candidates and causes, followed by media magnate Fred Eychaner, who gave US$13,207,000 to liberal campaigns – amounting to 0.43 percent and 2.75 percent of their total net worth, respectively.

Since the 2012 elections, political contributions have generally tapered off, but many ultra wealthy individuals continue to pour their money into politics. The top public political donor from January 2013 to October 2013 was New York City mayor and business tycoon Michael Bloomberg. The political independent – who ranked fourth on the list of donors leading up to the 2012 elections – gave US$2,265,867 of his US$21 billion fortune to various candidates and causes in 2013.

Conspicuously absent from the list are notable billionaire political donors such as brothers David and Charles Koch, the politically-conservative owners of oil, gas, and chemical conglomerate Koch Industries, and liberal-leaning financier George Soros. Sources suggest that these individuals may channel their contributions through foundations or organizations that keep their donors’ identities private.

About Wealth-X

Wealth-X is the definitive source of intelligence on the ultra wealthy with the world’s largest collection of curated research on ultra high net worth (UHNW) individuals, defined as those with net assets of US$30 million and above. Headquartered in Singapore, it has 12 offices in five continents.

SOURCE Wealth-X