Who Are the Largest Individual Donors of the American Midterms

Author: Jozo Knez

November 9, 2022

Midterm elections are taking place in the United States. These are elections for the bicameral American Congress, where the full composition of the House of Representatives, consisting of 435 members, is elected, in which Democrats currently hold the majority. These elections are expected to set a new record for campaign spending, with over $9 billion raised by the parties. This is $2 billion more than the previous record set in 2018, according to Visual Capitalist.

According to a recent analysis by the Washington Post, the 50 largest donors contributed about $1 billion to the parties, and here are the ten largest individual donors for the 2022 midterms.

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These ten donors contributed $168 million to the Democrats and $338 million to the Republicans.

George Soros (Net Worth: $7 billion)

George Soros is an American billionaire of Hungarian descent, widely known for his philanthropic ‘efforts’. He had a renowned career as a hedge fund manager, founding Soros Fund Management in 1970. Soros has donated over $30 billion of his wealth to various causes and is the founder and chairman of two Super PACs (Political Action Committees) named Democracy PAC and Democracy PAC II. Unlike regular PACs, Super PACs have no limits on fundraising or political spending.

Elizabeth & Richard Uihlein (Total Net Worth: $7 billion)

Elizabeth & Richard Uihlein are the founders of Uline, one of North America’s largest distributors of logistics supplies (boxes, tape, gloves, etc.). The company generates several billion in sales annually. The couple has attracted media attention by making significant donations to the Republican Party. According to Forbes, the Uihleins have donated a total of $194 million since the 1990s.

Kenneth Griffin (Net Worth: $31 billion)

Kenneth Griffin is the founder and CEO of Citadel, a U.S.-based hedge fund. He also owns Citadel Securities, which is the largest market maker on the New York Stock Exchange.

Market makers act as intermediaries in financial markets, facilitating buy and sell orders for investors. Griffin came into the spotlight during the GameStop saga when his firm provided emergency funds to rescue Melvin Capital Management.

Jeffrey Yass (Net Worth: $30 billion)

Once a professional gambler, Jeffrey Yass is a co-founder of Susquehanna International Group (SIG), a successful trading firm based in Philadelphia. SIG specializes in quantitative research and trading, which involves using computer algorithms to identify opportunities. Yass is often cited as the richest person in Pennsylvania and has attracted media attention for his large political contributions.

Sam Bankman-Fried (Net Worth: $17 billion)

Sam Bankman-Fried is the founder and CEO of FTX, the third-largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world after Binance and Coinbase, which was taken over by Binance due to a liquidity crisis. In May 2022, Bankman-Fried stated he was willing to donate ‘more than $100 million’ in the upcoming 2024 presidential elections.

Stephen Schwarzman (Net Worth: $35 billion)

Stephen Schwarzman is the chairman and CEO of The Blackstone Group, a globally recognized private equity firm. Blackstone’s portfolio includes Ancestry.com, a well-known family history service, and Bumble, a popular online dating platform. Most of Schwarzman’s political contributions have gone to the Senate Leadership Fund, an independent Super PAC aimed at building a Republican majority in the Senate.

Timothy Mellon (Family Net Worth: $11 billion)

Timothy Mellon was the chairman and majority owner of Pan Am Systems, a private transportation company. In November 2020, CSX Corporation announced it had signed a deal to acquire Pan Am. The sale was approved in April 2022. Mellon made headlines in 2021 when it was revealed he made an astonishing donation of $53 million to a fund advocating for a wall along the Texas-Mexico border.

Larry Ellison (Net Worth: $102 billion)

Larry Ellison is the chairman and co-founder of Oracle, one of the largest software companies in the world. Oracle has a market capitalization of over $200 billion. Ellison also served on Tesla’s board from December 2018 to August 2022. The vast majority of his political contributions have gone to the Opportunity Matters fund, which supports candidates promoting the Opportunity Agenda.

Peter Thiel (Net Worth: $4 billion)

Peter Thiel is a successful entrepreneur and venture capitalist, perhaps best known for co-founding PayPal. He is also a co-founder of Palantir Technologies, a data analytics company, and is a general partner at Founders Fund, a venture capital firm that invests in major companies like SpaceX. Thiel is one of the largest donors to the Republican Party, a position that sets him apart from many others in Silicon Valley.

Patrick and Shirley Ryan (Patrick’s Net Worth: $9 billion)

Patrick Ryan is the founder and retired CEO of AON Corporation, one of the largest insurance companies in the world. In 2010, he founded another company known as Ryan Specialty Group, which provides services to insurance brokers. Together with his wife Shirley, the Ryans have made significant donations to the Senate Leadership Fund and other Republican groups.

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