Kamala Harris needs lots of cash. Luckily for her, she has a history of finding it. Since launching her campaign 108 days before the election, she raised $200 million in her first week atop the ticket to help close the $32 million gap between outgoing president Joe Biden’s campaign and Donald Trump’s war chest.
Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/zacheverson/2024/07/28/kamala-harris-billionaires-presidential-campaign-contributions-donations-cash/
Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1
Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:
https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript
Stay Connected
Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com
Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes
More From Forbes: http://forbes.com
Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.
Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/zacheverson/2024/07/28/kamala-harris-billionaires-presidential-campaign-contributions-donations-cash/
Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1
Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:
https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript
Stay Connected
Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com
Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes
More From Forbes: http://forbes.com
Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00Today on Forbes, billionaires loved Kamala Harris for 2020.
00:05How many are backing her for 2024?
00:09Now the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, Kamala Harris needs lots of cash.
00:14Luckily for her, she has a history of finding it.
00:18Since launching her campaign 108 days before the election,
00:22she raised $200 million in her first week atop the ticket
00:26to help close the $32 million gap between outgoing President Joe Biden's campaign
00:32and Donald Trump's war chest.
00:34And Harris has grabbed support from the likes of such billionaires as
00:37Melinda French Gates, Sheryl Sandberg, and Reed Hastings.
00:42There's likely plenty more where that came from.
00:44In the early days of the 2020 election, when she last ran for president,
00:48more billionaires and their spouses donated to Harris than to any other candidate.
00:54Through September 2019, 47 billionaires and their spouses
00:58had donated to Harris's fledgling presidential campaign,
01:01according to a Forbes analysis of Federal Election Commission records.
01:05Next best at the time was her fellow Senate Democrat, Cory Booker,
01:09who had pulled in donations from 45 members of the Three Comma Club.
01:14Meanwhile, by that point, 44 billionaires or their spouses
01:18had donated to the eventual winner, Joe Biden.
01:23While past performance is no guarantee of future results,
01:26the vice president's campaign could enjoy a substantial cash boost
01:30should these billionaires come back to her in 2024.
01:34Three of Harris's 2020 billionaire donors have passed away since the last election.
01:39Of the remaining 44, 26, or 60 percent,
01:43had donated to Biden's reelection as of May 30th,
01:47about two months before he dropped out of the race
01:49and Harris took over the top of the ticket and its pile of campaign cash.
01:54The Trump campaign has filed a complaint with the FEC
01:57over Biden turning over his campaign funds to Harris,
02:00although experts say the transfer is legal
02:02because her name was jointly listed on the filings for the Biden-Harris campaign committee.
02:07And the complaint is unlikely to be resolved until long after the election.
02:12All but one of the 26 donors who had contributed to Biden's reelection
02:16have maxed out already for this election,
02:18giving as much as the law allows an individual to donate to a presidential campaign,
02:23$3,300 for the primary and $3,300 for the general election.
02:28In all, their donations total $162,000.
02:33Notable 2020 Harris backers who donated to Biden's reelection effort
02:37include LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman,
02:40who also funneled an additional $7 million to a pro-Biden PAC this spring,
02:45director Steven Spielberg,
02:47and businesswoman and philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs,
02:50who inherited much of her wealth from her late husband Steve Jobs.
02:54Susan Pritzker, the wife of Hyatt Hotels heir Nicholas Pritzker II,
02:59meanwhile, only gave $3,300 to Biden,
03:02meaning she can still chip in another $3,300 for Harris.
03:07And then there are the 18 billionaires and their spouses who donated to Harris for 2020,
03:12but did not contribute to Biden's reelection.
03:14If they were to all come back into the Harris camp and max out with $6,600 contributions,
03:19that would put another $125,000 into Harris's coffers.
03:24Director George Lucas and Craigslist founder Craig Newmark
03:28are among the big names who contributed to Harris before switching to Biden in 2020,
03:33but did not donate to Biden in 2024.
03:36Of course, the real financial benefit these billionaires can bestow on Harris's candidacy
03:41doesn't come via contributions to the campaign,
03:44but rather through donations to other political groups working on her behalf.
03:48Individuals can donate $5,000 to PACs,
03:52$41,300 to the Democratic National Committee,
03:55and an unlimited amount to super PACs.
03:58For example, Reed Hastings already put in $7 million,
04:02and Reed Hoffman told CNN he was, quote,
04:05redoubling his efforts, having already donated $7 million to a pro-Biden PAC.
04:11There are more than a dozen other billionaires and their spouses
04:14who Harris might be able to tap for more campaign cash.
04:17A few of the wealthy moguls who gave to Harris's 2020 campaign,
04:21but did not contribute to Biden's 2024 re-election,
04:24include John Fisher, Robert F. Smith, Gordon Getty, and C. Dean Metropolis.
04:31For full coverage and to see the whole list,
04:34check out Zach Everson's piece on Forbes.com.
04:38This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes.
04:41Thanks for tuning in.
04:44♪♪