▲ Elon Musk
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has poured at least 276 million dollars, or approximately 370 billion won, into supporting the Republican Party during the third quarter alone ahead of the U.S. midterm elections.
Citing an analysis of Federal Election Commission (FEC) data, political outlet Politico reported on the 15th that Musk was the largest political donor in this election cycle.
In the third quarter, Musk donated 158 million dollars (approx. 210 billion won) to the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC supporting Republican Senate candidates.
The organization channeled these funds into a group supporting Republican candidate Ken Paxton running in the Texas Senate race.
Musk also donated 10 million dollars (approx. 13.5 billion won) to Lone Star Liberty PAC, a super PAC supporting candidate Paxton, and 20 million dollars (approx. 27 billion won) to the Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC supporting Republican House candidates.
He also contributed more than 88 million dollars (approx. 118.8 billion won) to America PAC, which was created during the 2024 presidential election to support President Donald Trump.
America PAC is deploying funds this year for advertisements and on-the-ground election campaigns for Republican candidates nationwide.
Although Musk clashed with President Trump last year, reports indicate that his relations with the White House have recently improved.
Alongside Musk, other major Republican mega-donors are injecting massive funds ahead of the midterms.
Midwestern shipping tycoon Richard Uihlein contributed an additional 66 million dollars (approx. 89 billion won) to super PACs funding federal and state elections nationwide, pushing his total donations past 130 million dollars (approx. 175.5 billion won).
Pennsylvania-based businessman Jeffrey Yass also added 10 million dollars (approx. 13.5 billion won) to a super PAC supporting Vivek Ramaswamy's Ohio gubernatorial campaign, bringing his total donations to over 105 million dollars (approx. 140 billion won).
According to Politico, the federal political donations made to the Republican Party by these three billionaires—Musk, Uihlein, and Yass—ahead of this election exceed 600 million dollars (approx. 810 billion won).
While the Democratic Party also has mega-donors, disclosed contribution amounts show they fall short of the Republicans.
The camp of George Soros, a longtime major Democratic donor, contributed 102 million dollars (approx. 137.7 billion won) to the Democracy PAC super PAC ahead of the elections.
(Photo: Getty Images)
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