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View Winners → Politics May 22, 2024
President Joe Biden in the Oval Office. | Photo courtesy of the White House
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President Joe Biden leads all 2024 presidential candidates in fundraising with more than $282.3 million, according to the latest campaign finance data. Citing figures from the Federal Election Commission released April 22, the nonprofit Open Secrets reported these top financial contributors to Biden’s reelection bid:
Future Forward USA Action – $9,019,574
This super PAC is a major financial player in the 2024 election. The nonprofit is based in Washington, D.C., and supports Democrats. A CNN investigation found that in 2022, the George Soros-linked Open Society Policy Center gave $15.2 million to Future Forward USA Action; a nonprofit tied to James McClave and Emily Berger from the New York trading firm Jane Street gave $7.2 million; while other left-leaning nonprofits such as the League of Conservation Voters and the Fund for a Better Future each gave $2.5 million along with $1.55 million from the Hopewell Fund.
Greylock Partners – $9,009,400
This behemoth venture capital firm began in the 1960s in Boston, then relocated to Silicon Valley where it focuses on technology investments in artificial intelligence and notable technology companies including Airbnb, Coinbase, Instagram, LinkedIn, Meta, Nextdoor, Okta, Redfin and Workday, according to the firm’s website.
Newsweb Corp. – $5,009,400
Newsweb Corp. publishes ethnic and alternative newspapers. The company, founded by Fred Eychaner in 1971, also owns several radio stations in the Chicago area, where it is based.
Democracy PAC – $4,050,000
Billionaire George Soros launched this super PAC in 2020, and it continues to help fund Democrats’ campaigns during this election cycle.
American Bridge 21st Century – $3,181,654
This PAC was founded in 2010 by David Brock, a former conservative turned liberal commentator and political consultant. American Bridge 21st Century bills itself as “the largest research, tracking, and rapid response operation in the Democratic Party” that this year is focusing on “tracking Republicans’ anti-abortion positions, protecting democracy by focusing on extremist down-ballot Republicans threatening our elections, and touting the Biden administration and Democrats’ record of results for families and businesses.”
Arista Networks Inc. – $2,628,580
Arista Networks is headquartered in Santa Clara and works in sectors that include datacenter, cloud computing, high-performance computing and high-frequency trading. In March founder and former Chairman Andreas Bechtolsheim agreed to pay almost $1 million to settle insider trading charges, according to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Sequoia Capital – $2,506,600
Sequoia Capital is a venture capital firm founded in 1972 by Don Valentine and based in Menlo Park that invests in technology companies. The company is big into clean tech, consumer internet, crypto, financial services, healthcare, mobile and robotics, according to published reports.
Euclidean Capital – $2,506,600
Details on this New York City investment fund are murky, but it is reportedly the family office of Jim Simons, founder of Renaissance Technologies. Simons was said to have launched the fund as he stepped down as CEO of Renaissance in 2010. Euclidean Capital’s current portfolio totals nearly $780 billion, according to the firm’s March 31 SEC filing.
Laborers Union – $2,111,288
The Laborers’ International Union of North America is a longstanding labor union with about 420,000 American in construction and other trades. Brent Booker is the general president, and Michael F. Sabitoni is the secretary-treasurer.
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers – $1,571,664
This union represents 820,000 workers in the United States, U.S. territories, Canada and Panama. The president since last year is Kenneth W. Cooper, and also elected in 2023 was Secretary-Treasurer Paul A. Noble.
Open secrets provided this explanation of the data: “The money came from the organizations’ PACs; their individual members, employees or owners; and those individuals’ immediate families. At the federal level, the organizations themselves did not donate, as they are prohibited by law from doing so. Organization totals include subsidiaries and affiliates.”
The remaining top 20 Biden donors are listed on the Open Secrets website.
