Exclusive: Names Revealed of 37 Donors Fundingโข Trump‘s $300 Million White house Ballroom Expansion
A group of 37 โindividuals and โcouples have โcollectively contributed โtoโฃ the โ$300 million fundraising effort โฃfor a planned expansion ofโฃ the White House‘s East โRoom, โintended to create a grandโค ballroom. The donors, a mix โof business โleaders, investors, โฃand long-time โRepublican supporters, represent a broad spectrum of industries, fromโ cryptocurrency and energy to real estateโ and โคagriculture. Their contributions comeโ as former President Donald Trump prepares to โpossibly returnโ to office, raising questions about access โandโค influence.
The fundraising initiative, largely spearheaded through Trump’s Save Americaโ political action committee, aims toโ transform the historic East Room into a space capable of โhosting larger-scale events. while White House renovations are not โขuncommon, the scale of this project and its reliance onโฃ private donations are drawing scrutiny from government watchdogs and ethics experts. The influx of funds from these donors could potentially shape policy decisionsโฃ and grantโข privileged access to the incoming governance.
Among the โคkey donors is venture โฃcapitalist Bill Foley, who contributed $50 million.โ He previously served as an โambassador to โขIreland โunderโฃ Trump.โค Florida real estate developer Don Peebles donated $25 million, โคwhile energy executive Harold Hamm and his wife Sue โคAnn contributed $20 million.
Several figures from the tech and finance worlds are also prominent โคcontributors. Cameron and โขTyler Winklevoss, cofounders of the cryptocurrency โplatform Gemini, areโฃ both involved, advocating for clearer crypto laws as consistent GOP donors. Kelly Loeffler,former โU.S. Senatorโ fromโฃ Georgia, and her husband Jeff Sprecher, founder and CEO โขof Intercontinental โExchange (owner of the New โขYork Stock โขExchange), donated $5 million to Trump’s 2024 election efforts and are expectedโ to be considered forโ a cabinet โคposition, specifically Agricultural Secretary.
Other notable donors include:
* Robert and Fredrika Buffett: Descendants of the famed investor โขwarren Buffett.
* Geoffrey โคPalmer: โฃA Los Angeles โขreal estate developer.
* Stephen โฃSchwarzman: CEO of Blackstone, a private equityโฃ firm.
* Stanley Druckenmiller: A hedge fund manager.
* Ken Griffin: Founder of Citadel,a financialโ services firm.
* โข Richard LeFrak: A New York real estate developer.
*โฃ John Paulson: โขA โคhedge fund manager.
* Thomas Peterffy: Founder of Interactive Brokers.
* Paul Singer: Founder ofโข Elliott Management.
* โ Larry Ellison: co-founder of โขOracle.
* Miriam Adelson: Widow of casino magnate โคSheldon Adelson.
* Bernie Marcus: Co-founder of Home โขDepot.
* Constance Adler: A New York socialite and philanthropist.
* โฃ Howardโฃ Lutnick: Chairmanโ andโฃ CEOโข of Cantorโฃ Fitzgerald.
* โ Andrew Farkas: Chairman and CEO โof Islandโ Capital Group.
* โฃ Vincentโ Viola: Owner of theโ Florida Panthers NHL team.
*โ โ Davidโข Rubenstein: Co-founder of The Carlyle Group.
* Ronaldโ Perelman: A businessman and investor.
*โ Michael โขDell: โข Founder of Dell Technologies.
* โค โข Charles Schwab: Founder โขof Charles Schwab Corporation.
* John Catsimatidis: A New York โฃbusinessman.
* โ James Dinan: Founder of York Capital Management.
* Daniel Dwores: A financial executive.
* โ โ Scott Minerd: Chairman โand Chief Investment Officer of โGuggenheim Partners.
* Konstantin Sokolov: A Russian-born American investor in infrastructure and energy.
* Paolo Tiramani: Founder of 3Dโ Modular โSystems, a Florida-basedโค construction-tech โคentrepreneur.
* โข โ J.โค Pepeโ and Emilia Fanjul: Members โof the Florida sugar baron family,โข who hosted a Trump fundraiser at their Palm Beachโฃ estate.
the contributions are raising concerns about potential quid pro quo arrangements and โฃthe blurring of lines between private interests and public โservice. As Trump prepares for a โpotential second term, the influence ofโ these donors will likely โbe closely watched by both the publicโ and policymakers.