https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/superpac-donors-2016/By Anu Narayanswamy, Aaron Williams and Matea Gold April 15, 2016
Wealthy donors are giving record sums this cycle to super PACs, which can accept unlimited contributions from individuals and corporations. These groups are not allowed to coordinate their advertising with candidates or political parties, but often work in close proximity with the official campaigns. Here’s a look at who has given the most so far.
Tom Steyer
San Francisco, CA
Total given: $17 million
Party Leaning: Democratic
After spending more than $70 million on the 2014 elections, the San Franciso-based hedge fund founder is plowing millions more into a super PAC focused on climate change.
The Top 10
1
Tom Steyer
$17 million
2 - The Wilks family
$15.3 million
3 - Maurice "Hank" Greenberg
$15 million*
4 - Robert Mercer
$14.6 million
5 - Toby Neugebauer
$10.1 million
6 - Paul Singer
$9.9 million
7 - Ronald Cameron
$8.6 million*
8 - Kenneth C. Griffin
$8.3 million
9 - George Soros
$8 million
10 - Elizabeth and Richard Uihlein
$7.5 million
Big givers drive super PAC fundraising
Since 2015, super PACs have raised $607.7 million and have spent $452 million. The top 50 donors together have supplied $248.2 million—41 percent of the money raised to date.
The largest share of the money has come from donors who have given between $1 million and $5 million. Five contributors giving more than $10 million each contributed 14 percent of the total raised.
401 donors gave between $50,000 and $100,000. Donors in this range gave a total of $22.2 million, or four percent of total donations.
Each rectangle is a donor and is sized by the donation amount. The larger the rectangle, the larger the donation.
The top 50 donors and “ghost” corporations
Many of the biggest super PAC donors have spread around their money, financing multiple super PACs that back presidential hopefuls and congressional candidates. They hail from various sectors, with many drawing on fortunes made in the energy industry, on Wall Street and in health care.
The Washington Post is also tracking donations made through “ghost corporations” whose backers cannot be identified. Clicking on “ghost corporations” below brings up a list of the corporate contributors to super PACs who have not yet been publicly linked to individual donors.
[How ‘ghost corporations’ are funding the 2016 election]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/how-ghost-corporations-are-funding-the-2016-election/2016/03/18/2446e526-ed14-11e5-a6f3-21ccdbc5f74e_story.htmlName About Party Leaning Donation
Tom Steyer Former hedge fund manager Democratic $17 million
The Wilks family Energy and real estate magnates Republican $15.3 million
Maurice "Hank" Greenberg Former chairman of AIG Republican $15 million*
Robert Mercer Technologist and hedge fund manager Republican $14.6 million
Toby Neugebauer Energy investor Republican $10.1 million
Paul Singer Hedge fund manager Republican $9.9 million
Ronald Cameron Arkansas-based poultry company owner Republican $8.6 million*
Kenneth C. Griffin Hedge fund manager Republican $8.3 million
George Soros Hedge fund founder Democratic $8 million
Elizabeth and Richard Uihlein Founders of Wisconsin-based packaging company Republican $7.5 million
Norman Braman Auto dealership owner/former Philadelphia Eagles owner Republican $7.3 million
The Ricketts family TD Ameritrade founder; owners of the Chicago Cubs Republican $7 million
Alexandra & Steven Cohen Philanthropist; hedge fund manager Republican $6 million
Marilyn & James Simons Philanthropist; hedge fund manager Democratic $5.8 million
Donald Sussman Hedge fund manager Democratic $5.5 million
Michael Bloomberg Former New York City mayor Independent $5.5 million
Warren Stephens Arkansas-based investment banker Republican $5.3 million
Lawrence Ellison Oracle co-founder Republican $5 million
Cheryl & Haim Saban Women's advocate/author; Univision chairman Democratic $5 million
Laure Woods Medical consultant Democratic $4.8 million
Jerrold Perenchio Former Univision chief executive Republican $4.7 million
Mary Kathryn & Jay Pritzker Philanthropist; investor Democratic $4.3 million
Robert McNair Energy company founder; owner of Houston Texans Republican $4.1 million
Fred Eychaner Media company owner Democratic $4 million
Benjamin Leon Jr. Founder of healthcare company Republican $3.5 million*
Miguel Fernandez Healthcare business owner Republican $3.4 million
Leonard Blavatnik Russian-born investor/owner of Warner Music Group Republican $3.4 million*
Charles Koch Koch Industries chief executive Republican $3 million
Diane Hendricks Roofing company co-founder Republican $3 million
Jeffrey Yass Founder of investment company Republican $2.9 million
Environment America Environmental advocacy group Democratic $2.5 million
Francis Rooney Former investment company executive/former ambassador to the Vatican Republican $2.5 million*
Herbert Sandler Savings and loan co-founder Democratic $2.5 million
Nancy Ann & Ray Hunt Philanthropist; oil company executive Republican $2.4 million
Bernard Marcus Home Depot co-founder Republican $2.3 million
The Devos Family Amway co-founder and family Republican $2.3 million
Jan & Trevor Rees-Jones Philanthropist; natural gas executive Republican $2.3 million
Marsha & Henry Laufer Speech pathologist; former hedge fund scientist Democratic $2.1 million
William Obernorf San Francisco investment manager Republican $2 million
Daniel Abraham Slim-Fast founder Democratic $2 million
David Humphreys Missouri roofing executive Republican $2 million
Laura Perlmutter Philanthropist/wife of Marvel Entertainment CEO Republican $2 million
Bernard Schwartz Former head of Loral Space & Communications Democratic $2 million
Peter Thiel PayPal co-founder Republican $2 million
Seth Klarman Hedge fund manager Republican $1.8 million
Julian Robertson Former hedge fund manager Republican $1.7 million
George Macricostas Data center executive Republican $1.6 million
Jackson Stephens Jr. Biotech investor Republican $1.6 million
Morton Bouchard III Oil barge executive Republican $1.5 million
Charles Johnson Investor/San Francisco Giants part-owner Republican $1.5 million
Methodology
The Washington Post analyzed all donations of $10,000 and more to all federal super PACs through February 29. Donor totals have been adjusted to include refunds. In cases where it could be established that an individual donor gave through a privately held company, the contribution was attributed to the donor. Donations made by labor unions and party committees were excluded from the list of top 50 donors.
*Includes donations made via affiliated corporation.
Source: Federal Election Commission
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graph...c-donors-2016/
