Where Donald Trump, Other Presidential Candidates Get Their Cash

Battle of the backers

To qualify for the next Republican presidential debate, which will be held in Miami on November 8, candidates are required to have a minimum of 70,000 financial donors, including 200 in at least 20 states.

Donald Trump's campaign manager has already warned voters not to expect the 45th onstage, though as the current GOP forerunner, he'll undoubtedly qualify. So which other contenders are we likely to see in Miami – and how much money have they raised from donors so far?

Read on to discover the war chests of the most successful GOP candidates, including Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis, and find out how much their major challengers have raised to fight them. All dollar amounts in US dollars.

Chris Christie: $3.9 million cash on hand

Chris Christie entered the presidential race on June 6. Once an ally of Donald Trump, he's since become one of the 45th POTUS's fiercest critics, marketing himself as an alternative to Trump 2024. 

Christie raised $1.65 million during the first few weeks of his candidacy. By the end of June, it was reported the campaign had $1.59 million cash on hand and zero debt, which his team said reflects "a lean, modern, and responsible operation."

In late July, Christie's political action committee (PAC) Tell It Like It Is announced it had raised $5.9 million on his behalf. It added another $3.8 million to this amount in the third quarter, with the GOP candidate now reporting a cash-on-hand war chest of $3.9 million.

While his current total is the lowest of all qualifying Republicans, he still has some high-profile names in his support network...

Chris Christie: $3.9 million cash on hand

One particularly surprising name can be found on Christie's financial disclosures: Murray Kushner, who's the uncle of Donald Trump's son-in-law (and former White House employee) Jared Kushner.

Murray and his wife Lee both donated $3,300 – the maximum amount that can be donated during the primary cycle – to Christie's campaign, having previously supported his short-lived presidential bid in 2016.  

Other prominent backers of Christie include Trump's former communications director Anthony Scaramucci, who, along with his wife Deidre, has also donated $3,300; hedge fund founder Stanley Druckenmiller, who also donated $3,300; the former US representative Barbara Comstock, who donated $500; and George Conway, the ex-husband of Trump's former White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, who donated $500. Meanwhile, registered Democrats David and Susan Rockefeller donated $2,000.

Vivek Ramaswamy: $4.2 million cash on hand

Vivek Ramaswamy is one of the richest Republican candidates this year. The aspiring POTUS, who has made his fortune in the biotech industry, previously pegged his net worth at around $1 billion, while an article published by Forbes on August 21 estimated it was "more than $950 million [though] was over $1 billion about a week ago."

Whatever the reality of Ramaswamy's fortune, we do know he raised $7.4 million in the latest quarter, with $4.2 million in cash by the end of September. We also know he hasn't shied away from boosting his campaign from his own coffers; Ramaswamy poured $5 million into his campaign in the second quarter, while NBC News previously reported in April that he'd loaned $10.25 million to his campaign in the first three months of the year. But himself aside, who else has backed his bid for the White House?

Vivek Ramaswamy: $4.2 million cash on hand

While Ramaswamy has claimed he's willing to spend as much as $100 million on his campaign, the average donation in the second quarter was just $30.94, one of the lowest averages of any candidate.

This suggests his plan to focus on small-dollar donors has paid off – and, ever the entrepreneur, he's apparently found a novel way to appeal to them.

Dubbed "Vivek's Kitchen Cabinet," Ramaswamy launched a scheme whereby anyone who donates to his campaign receives a personalized link they can send out to friends and family. People will receive a 10% commission when anybody else donates to Ramaswamy's campaign via their unique link, which might just explain why he claims to have 65,000 individual donors, according to the latest available figures.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: $6.2 million cash on hand

The nephew of JFK, it's safe to say independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has politics in his blood. He had $6.2 million in cash at the end of September this year, with his third-quarter fundraising total sitting at $8.7 million, meaning he spent around $2.5 million in the latest three months.

Thanks to his controversial comments about issues such as COVID-19, the lawyer-turned-politician is a divisive figure. Members of his own family have condemned his campaign, while Republican rival Donald Trump publicly expressed his respect for Kennedy over the summer. (The respect was shortlived; Trump's campaign manager Steven Cheung has now slammed the presidential wannabe for having "a disturbing background steeped in radical, liberal positions," probably in response to Kennedy's claim that by going independent he aims to "spoil" the election for both Biden and Trump.)

Trump may have withdrawn his good opinion, but Kennedy still has cross-party support. According to POLITICO analysis of state and federal election filings, many of his donors are people who have previously given funds to Republican candidates, including Trump and Ron DeSantis.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: $6.2 million cash on hand

In fact, at least $100,000 of Kennedy's fundraising total has come via former Republican donors. Among them is Omeed Malik, a former senior executive at the Bank of America, who, POLITICO reports, "maxed out donating to Kennedy." (As already mentioned, the max that can be donated during the primary cycle is $3,300.)

At a fundraising event for Kennedy in July, Malik described the donors in the crowd as "a complete hodgepodge of characters." Kennedy's support base ranges from die-hard fans of his famous family to Gavin de Becker, a self-describing Democrat who donated $4.5 million.

Malik's support of Kennedy doesn't mean he's turned his back on the GOP; this summer, he hosted separate fundraising events in the Hamptons for both Kennedy and DeSantis. Similarly, billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman has donated $3,300 to Kennedy's campaign but claims he also supports Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. 

Nikki Haley: $11.6 million cash on hand

Although the 2024 Republican field might be the most diverse in history, Nikki Haley is still the only woman in the GOP who’s running for president.

Haley has three committees funding her bid: her main campaign committee, a super PAC titled Stand For America Fund, Inc., and a joint fundraising committee named Team Stand For America, which diverts funds to the other two. According to the latest reports, Haley had cash on hand that totaled $11.6 million as of September 30, having raised $8.2 million in the most recent quarter.

This is notably lower than the funds raised by her Republican rivals Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis, although the figure is still only a small snapshot of the total funds she has available. For example, Stand For America Fund, Inc. confirmed to Fox News in July that it had $17 million in cash on hand.

Nikki Haley: $11.6 million cash on hand

Documents obtained by POLITICO in 2022 revealed some big names have poured money into Haley's non-profit Stand For America in recent years, including the late casino tycoon Sheldon Adelson and his wife Miriam, who both gave $250,000 in 2019. Miriam Adelson would later donate a further $5,000 to the PAC in 2021.

More recently, Haley has received support from wealthy real estate developer Harlan Crow. It's not clear which other big names feature among her backers, but she doesn't seem short of supporters; according to her campaign, Haley had received 160,000 donations – the "vast majority" of which were under $200, reported The New York Times – across all 50 states by the end of the second quarter. Her campaign also announced she'd hosted a sold-out $25,000-per-person fundraiser in Los Angeles following the second GOP debate.

However, Haley's campaign has come under fire for claims it's made in the past. Back in April, Haley's campaign manager Betsy Ankney circulated a release that stated the GOP hopeful had raised "more than $11 million in just six weeks." CNN reported this figure was reached by double-counting the $2.7 million "that first landed in the joint fundraising committee and then was parceled out to the campaign committee and the leadership PAC."

Tim Scott: $11.6 million cash on hand

Tim Scott has been gaining in the polls, despite being considered a longshot candidate when he first entered the presidential race back in May. 

The former insurance salesman had a campaign bank balance totaling $21.1 million by the end of June, while it was announced in mid-July that his super PAC Trust in the Mission (also known as TIM PAC) has raised around $19 million over the last quarter. Trust in the Mission had previously announced it was reserving $40 million to spend on TV and digital ads from the fall, with the rollout scheduled to begin in July. However, the campaign has since revealed it will be canceling the remainder of its fall program, saying: "We aren't going to waste our money when the electorate isn't focused or ready for a Trump alternative."

Like DeSantis, Scott transferred a significant sum of money that was collected via a previous campaign (in his case, his Senate campaign) to his presidential fund. By the end of September, he was sitting on $11.6 million cash.

Tim Scott: $11.6 million cash on hand

Reports show that Scott is keen to court potential billionaire donors; the senator has apparently scheduled meetings with deep-pocketed donors such as Ronald Lauder, heir to the Estée Lauder fortune.

He's also organized a fundraising event for wealthy donors in collaboration with metal tycoon Andy Sabin. Back in 2020, Sabin donated $120,000 to Donald Trump's campaign but has since said he's "not going to give him a f*****g nickel."

One of the most notable people to have donated to Scott's campaign is Larry Ellison, the co-founder of tech company Oracle. Ellison, who donated $30 million to Scott's super PAC in last year's midterms, is allegedly planning to donate up to $60 million to Scott's presidential bid (as reported by Yahoo in May). 

Another big investor is Bill Oberndorf, who has donated $200,000 and describes Scott as "someone who has the integrity and experience to be president of the United States."

Ron DeSantis: $12.3 million cash on hand

Before formally announcing the news via a glitch-ridden Twitter Spaces session back in May, Ron DeSantis was widely tipped to be Donald Trump's main GOP competitor. He might now be trailing in the polls but, according to The New York Times, DeSantis made more money than any other presidential candidate – Republican or Democrat – between April and June, with total funds of $20.1 million. 

This doesn't mean he has the largest war chest though. In the third fundraising quarter, DeSantis' campaign made $11.2 million, with additional figures reported by CNBC suggesting his joint fundraising committee Team DeSantis brought his total to nearer $15 million. While this represents a larger nest egg than some candidates, it's a substantial decrease from the amount he raised in the second quarter.

Ron DeSantis: $12.3 million cash on hand

DeSantis has many prominent and wealthy backers, including hotel chain founder Robert Bigelow, who's donated $10 million, and hedge fund manager Kenneth Griffin, who's contributed $5 million. But his popularity among rich donors could be more of a hindrance than a help.

DeSantis's campaign is already strapped for cash, with staff redundancies made in July in an effort to cut costs. He's seemingly spending more than many of his rivals and is struggling to appeal to small-dollar donors; just $2.8 million of his total funds came from people who donated less than $200, POLITICO reported earlier this year. And the problem seems to be getting worse.

According to a more recent POLITICO analysis, "roughly 75 percent of all money raised by DeSantis came from donors who can no longer give again for the primary: DeSantis raised $31.3 million through the end of September, and of that, $23.8 million came from more than 3800 donors who have each given at least the maximum primary amount of $3300."

Joe Biden: $90.5 million cash on hand

In the third quarter, incumbent President Joe Biden raised $71.3 million. However, it's worth noting this figure includes donations for the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and a joint fundraising committee as well as for Biden's reelection campaign, so isn't directly comparable to the cash-on-hand figures listed for the other candidates.

The haul has apparently left Biden with cash on hand of $90.5 million, with most media outlets claiming the campaign hasn't revealed how this money is split between the three fundraising bodies. POLITICO, on the other hand, has reported $24.8 million of the total was raised directly by the Biden campaign.

According to a spokesperson, the average grassroots donation was $40, with a whopping 97% of all donations being under $200. Meanwhile, an anonymous source told The New York Times that 49% of the Q3 total came from donors who gave through the internet or mail programs.

Joe Biden: $90.5 million cash on hand

While Biden's campaign manager Julie Chávez Rodríguez has said the "team's strength is [its] grassroots supporters," it's also got no shortage of billionaire backers.

Major donors such as DreamWorks co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, and George Soros's son Alexander have all pledged their support for the Biden Victory Fund, which had received $500,000 from just 10 donors and a further $100,000 from 82 donors by the end of the second quarter.

And the campaign will need that money. On average, Biden is spending more than $1 million a week to run adverts in contentious states, while he's also bulked up his campaign workforce from four to 38 employees.

Donald Trump: $37.5 million cash on hand

The first GOP candidate to throw his (MAGA) hat in the ring, Donald Trump is the richest Republican hopeful this year, with a net worth of $2.6 billion.

The former POTUS has also been the most successful fundraiser, particularly amongst small-dollar donors; reports show the average donation to Trump’s 2024 campaign in the wake of his second indictment was just $34. But despite having the largest war chest of any GOP candidate, Trump is also spending huge amounts of campaign cash on fundraising expenses, while reportedly funneling money from his PACs into his legal defense fund.

By the end of September 30, Trump's campaign had raised $24.5 million, while 'Team Trump' as a whole – including his joint fundraising committee – announced it had made $45.5 million. The fact the campaign received roughly 54% of this total is surprising considering it's supposed to receive 90% of the committee's net proceeds. Or perhaps it's not surprising at all; in the first six months of the year, almost 40% of the funds raised by the joint committee were spent on its own expenditures, according to POLITICO, leaving much less than 90% available for the campaign.

Donald Trump: $37.5 million cash on hand

While Trump may be scoring big with small-dollar donors, many of his billionaire backers are abandoning ship. According to POLITICO, the Conservative organization Club for Growth – which the former POTUS has very Trump-ishly dubbed the "Club for No Growth" – has filed a new PAC, with the main aim of keeping Trump out of the White House.

In a similar vein, Americans For Prosperity, a conservative group that was founded by the billionaire Charles Koch and his late brother David, has also announced that it has raised more than $70 million to stop Trump from winning. It’s also come to light that major donors in the energy industry, such as oil and gas magnate Harold Hamm, are seemingly backing away from Trump. So, which – if any – of his fellow billionaires are still supporting him? 

One big-name backer is the former Disney executive Ike Perlmutter, pictured here with Donald Trump in 2017. The businessman, who is currently Disney’s largest individual shareholder and has a net worth of $3.9 billion, intends to make a “meaningful” contribution to Trump’s 2024 campaign, according to a spokesperson.

It’s not been revealed how much he plans to give; during the 2020 election cycle, he donated $10.5 million to the then-aspiring 45th. His wife, Laura Perlmutter, reportedly matched the contribution. 

Now take a look at some of the latest Trump lawsuits