Donald Trump has banked $274 million in political cash, pulled together through massive donations from top names in tech, oil, and crypto in just six months. The massive fundraising happened between January and June, and was revealed in new filings on Friday to the Federal Election Commission. According to the filing, the money came through three leadership PACs, joint committees, and MAGA Inc., his super PAC. The goal? Back Republican candidates in the upcoming midterms as Trump defends his grip on Congress. A huge portion of that haul, $236 million, landed in the first half of the year alone. Trump, now serving his second term in the White House, has used his access and position to organize elite fundraising events and draw in support from some of the richest people in the country, including donors tied to crypto, finance, and energy. Elon Musk, Jeff Yass, and crypto giants send millions to MAGA Inc. MAGA Inc., the main super PAC aligned with Trump, pulled in $177 million during this period. That was helped by four separate fundraising dinners charging $1 million per plate, along with a fifth event aimed at crypto and AI investors that required a $1.5 million buy-in. The dinners were hosted by Trump himself and targeted donors in sectors his administration has openly prioritized this term, especially cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence. The FEC filings don’t say who attended, but they do show who paid. Jeff Yass, co-founder of Susquehanna International Group and major investor in TikTok’s parent ByteDance Ltd, gave $16 million. Kelcy Warren, the pipeline billionaire, and his company Energy Transfer LP gave $25 million. From crypto, the parent company of Crypto.com, Foris DAX Inc., sent $10 million, and Blockchain.com Inc. added another $5 million. Two more names from Silicon Valley, Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, each sent in $3 million. The Winklevoss twins, Tyler and Cameron, who run the crypto exchange Gemini, jointly gave just over $2 million. Musk writes Trump a $5M check, even after quitting White House post One of the more surprising donations came from Elon Musk. Despite quitting his role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency in late May and criticizing the administration’s tax and spending package, Elon donated $5 million to MAGA Inc. on June 27. That same day, he gave another $10 million total to two GOP-focused super PACs in the House and Senate. Then, in July, Elon said he plans to launch a third party. The financial advantage this gives Trump over Democrats is clear. The Democratic National Committee reported raising just $69 million so far this year. Their main super PAC, Future Forward, collected only $1 million. And according to the DNC’s own post-election report, Future Forward’s ad campaign hurt Kamala Harris during her failed 2024 run. While big-money donors dominate this cycle, small donors, once the core of Trump’s base, are slowing down. Contributions under $200 brought in only $22 million, most of it through the Trump National Joint Fundraising Committee, which splits money with the Never Surrender PAC and the Republican National Committee. By the end of June, Never Surrender, Save America, and Make America Great Again PAC reported having $41 million left in cash. But they burned through $26.5 million, including $6 million for legal fees alone. That’s because Trump is still dealing with major legal problems that haven’t gone away. The president is appealing his 2024 conviction on 34 felony counts tied to hush-money payments to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels, as well as challenging a massive civil fraud ruling about inflating real estate values, with fines now topping $500 million. And then there’s the $83.3 million defamation judgment owed to writer E. Jean Carroll, which he’s also trying to overturn. Your crypto news deserves attention - KEY Difference Wire puts you on 250+ top sites
