Revealed: the technology executives who invested $394.1 million into the US election – and how they stack up against Elon Musk.
FEC records provide a glimpse into the financial influence of tech on Washington as it seeks to shape government policy.
Silicon Valley contributed over $394.1 million to this year’s US presidential election, as reported by a Guardian analysis, with a significant portion stemming from an enormous gift of around $243 million that Elon Musk made to Donald Trump’s campaign.
The assessment of updated election data from the US Federal Election Commission (FEC) highlights the growing power of the tech sector in US politics. Supporters of cryptocurrency were particularly active in this election cycle as they pushed back against potential regulations, funneling funds into presidential bids and vital congressional contests.
The financial backers hailed from the leading firms in technology: Google, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, and Netflix. Other contributions came from notable venture capitalists who accrued vast fortunes from tech investments.
In total, Trump garnered $273.2 million in contributions from some of the biggest names in the tech industry, which included:
$242.6 million from Elon Musk, the owner of Tesla, SpaceX, and X (previously Twitter), whose estimated net worth stands at $350 billion.
$5.5 million from Marc Andreessen, billionaire founder of the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, commonly referred to as a16z. Andreessen’s business partner, Ben Horowitz, initially backed Trump but later supported Harris.
$5.1 million from Jan Koum, co-founder of WhatsApp, who earned the majority of his wealth when Facebook purchased the messaging platform in 2014 for $19 billion.
Kamala Harris received a total of $120.9 million, broken down as follows:
$51.1 million from Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz, who left the social media giant in 2008 to launch workflow software company Asana.
$17 million from Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn.
$11.7 million from Chris Larsen, billionaire chair of Ripple, a cryptocurrency firm.
The FEC records merely hint at the extensive financial resources tech is channeling into Washington to sway government and regulatory processes. The landscape of political donations in the US is intricate and not easily understood, and contributors can often find methods to give without public disclosure.
There are several avenues for individuals to donate to political campaigns in the US. One method is a direct contribution to a candidate’s campaign, which is limited to $3,300 per individual. Another option is contributing to a political action committee (Pac) that directly supports a political campaign, funding staffing, outreach, events, and advertising.
The 2010 groundbreaking Supreme Court case Citizens United v. FEC significantly simplified the process for industries and affluent individuals to financially support political campaigns, often through mechanisms that are challenging to trace but completely legal.
That ruling led to a third, less transparent method of donating: Super Pacs. Businesses and wealthy individuals can contribute unlimited sums to a Super Pac. The only restriction is that Super Pacs cannot directly donate to a campaign—however, they can spend freely on political advertisements for their preferred candidates.
Consequently, individual and corporate spending on campaigns is virtually unbounded. This is how Elon Musk was able to allocate his $242.6 million to Trump’s campaign and how numerous others managed to spend millions supporting their chosen candidates.
For many of Trump’s richest backers, the former president’s rhetoric was eclipsed by his 2017 tax reductions, which are set to lapse at the close of 2025. These tax cuts significantly lowered taxes for the wealthy and corporations.
However, Musk is not the only wealthy individual who has shifted his endorsement toward Trump after years of criticism. Andreessen, who was a prominent supporter of Hillary Clinton in 2016, previously condemned Trump’s stances on immigration. Doug Leone from Sequoia, who labeled the January 6 insurrection as “horrific” and attributed the blame to Trump, ultimately contributed $3.5 million to his campaign this year.
This trend of shifting support reflects a broader ideological change occurring in Silicon Valley. The tech industry, which has traditionally distanced itself from Washington, has become more politically engaged as it rallies around emerging technologies like crypto and AI, both of which have not yet faced significant governmental oversight or regulation.
A person lifts their arms, holding a microphone, with the US flag behind him, while two panels on the right encourage early voting.
The right-leaning faction of Silicon Valley scores wins both nationally and locally.
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Support for Trump has proven beneficial for sectors aiming to prevent regulatory scrutiny. Executives in the oil and gas industry contributed millions to Trump’s campaign, with him vowing to promote oil drilling.
The crypto sector’s donations, along with Trump’s evolving perspectives, have seemingly started to yield results. Recently, Trump appointed Paul Atkins, CEO of Patomak Global Partners, to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission, the primary regulatory agency overseeing financial markets. Atkins is regarded as supportive of crypto and would take over from Gary Gensler, whose regulations governing the $3.5 trillion crypto market have led to conflicts with the cryptocurrency community.
While fossil fuel companies are usually the largest corporate contributors during elections, the cryptocurrency sector is rapidly becoming the top political donor in the United States. A report by the progressive think tank Public Citizen indicated that the crypto industry was the highest corporate contributor in the 2024 election cycle.
Much of the crypto industry’s influence was visible during congressional elections, where the crypto lobby spent $40 million to undermine Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown’s campaign in Ohio, but it also played a role in presidential races.
Although Trump once referred to cryptocurrencies as a “scam,” he has warmed to the industry as its proponents have joined his circle. Trump himself has also ventured into cryptocurrency by launching his own digital currency.
In May, Trump became the first presidential candidate to receive donations in bitcoin. Shortly thereafter, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, the billionaire founders of the cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, contributed a total of $2.5 million to Trump’s campaign, much of which was in actual bitcoin. Tyler Winklevoss has labeled Gensler as “evil,” and both twins have actively campaigned for lenient regulation of the crypto sector.
The twins received some of their bitcoin contributions refunded by Trump’s campaign committee after surpassing the allowable donation limit.
During the summer, Trump complimented the Winklevoss twins, describing them as “male models with a big, beautiful brain.”
