61 Individual and Corporate Donors Gave $1M or More to Trump’s Inaugural.  Where did the $239M Go?  We’ll Likely Never Know.

Brian Beihl

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for April 23, 2025

A parade of well-known brands and CEOs lavished a post-election tribute of $239 million dollars to the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee,  according to a new filing with the Federal Election Commission.  What was it used for?  Voters will likely never know.

Let’s start with the $5 million dollar donation by Pilgrim’s Pride, one of the world’s largest meat processors and subsidiary of a Brazilian company.  Cryptocurrency company Ripple gave almost $4.9 million, followed by billionaire investment banker Warren Stephens.  Stephens’ contributions to the inaugural and another $4 million to two Trump Super PACs likely earned him the nomination to be ambassador to the UK. 

Donors sorted High to Low (FEC Data) Download

In the latest FEC report, 61 donors gave  $1 million dollars or more.  Manufacturers included Toyota, Tyson, Boeing, and Nvidia.  Unsurprisingly, fossil fuel companies like Occidental, ExxonMobil and Chevron were on the list, as were pharmaceutical companies Merck, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer and trade association PhRMA.  The transportation sector included United Airlines, Fedex, Uber and Delta.   McDonalds, Target, Verizon, Comcast and Amazon each gave $1 million as well.   

Federal Election Commission detail report:

https://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/forms/C00894162/1889684/f132: 61 Individual and Corporate Donors Gave $1M or More to Trump’s Inaugural.  Where did the $239M Go?  We’ll Likely Never Know.

What do donors get for their money?  Apple CEO Tim Cooke, who donated a million, got a tariff exception for Apple’s Chinese made products.  And where does that money go?  Federal law does not require disclosure of expenses for inaugural committees.

See the list of donors at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

American Democracy Minute – What are the Rules as to How Contributions to Inaugural Committee Funds Are Spent?  There Aren’t Any.
Federal Election Commission – Schedule 13-A Summary for the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee
Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee (via FEC) – Submitted Records
Federal Election Commission – Itemized Donations
Open Secrets – Warren Stephens donations in the 2023-24 Election Cycle
Yahoo Finance – Chicken, crypto, and Nvidia: The companies that helped Trump’s inauguration shatter fundraising records

CNBC – Apple regains $3 trillion market cap after Trump exempts tariffs on iPhones
Groups Taking Action:

Common Cause, Public Citizen,  C.R.E.W., Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State

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