Meet the Billionaires Who Spent Billions on US Midterms – Some Won, Some Lost

WASHINGTON, Nov 4 : Some of America's wealthiest individuals spent hundreds of millions of dollars trying to influence the outcome of the 2026 US midterm elections, with several major donors backing Republican candidates and political groups that failed to prevent Democrats from taking control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Elon Musk topped the list of individual political spenders, contributing approximately $445.5 million during the election cycle, according to OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan organisation that tracks political spending. The figures underline the scale of wealthy donors' involvement in American elections, although the full spending totals are not expected to become clear until post-election campaign finance reports are filed.

The 20 largest political donors contributed roughly $2 billion to federal races during the cycle, according to a New York Times analysis published Sunday, based on campaign finance filings through mid-October.

Here is a look at the major donors, arranged by the reported amounts of their contributions:

Major Republican donor

The world's richest person and head of Tesla, SpaceX and social media platform X was by far the biggest spender, contributing nearly $300 million more than the next-largest super PAC donor.

Musk's spending included $216 million for America PAC, the political action committee he established in 2024, and $158 million for the Senate Leadership Fund, the main group working to protect the Republican Senate majority.

A significant portion of his spending went to Texas, where he reportedly spent about $212 million supporting state Attorney General Ken Paxton's Senate campaign. Paxton lost to Democratic state lawmaker James Talarico.

Musk, who headed the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency in 2025, urged his followers to vote Republican on Election Day in a post on X that was later deleted.

After the results emerged, he wrote: "Guess my election-interfering space lasers didn't work this time."

Major Republican and conservative donors

The couple behind Uline, a US supplier of shipping, packaging and industrial materials, contributed approximately $150 million, mainly to Republican and conservative political organisations.

Their largest contribution, about $136.7 million, went to Restoration of America, an organisation supporting Republican congressional candidates.

They also funded groups backing conservative judicial candidates and Republican congressional hopefuls.

Major Republican donor

Jeff Yass, co-founder of trading firm Susquehanna International Group, contributed approximately $109 million, according to OpenSecrets.

His largest individual contribution, $20 million, went to a super PAC supporting the Ohio gubernatorial campaign of Vivek Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur who also invested $25 million of his own money in the race.

Ramaswamy lost to Democratic candidate Amy Acton, who secured 52% of the vote against his 45%.

Donors to both parties

The co-founders of Silicon Valley venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, also known as a16z, contributed a combined $115.3 million, according to the New York Times analysis.

Unlike several other major donors, they supported organisations linked to both political parties.

Forbes reported that their largest contributions went to super PACs promoting the cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence industries, as well as MAGA Inc., the political organisation supporting President Donald Trump. The reported total also includes contributions from their firm.

Major Democratic donor

Hungarian-born American investor and philanthropist George Soros was among the largest financial backers of Democratic-aligned organisations, with approximately $102 million contributed through entities associated with him.

The money went to Democracy PAC, an organisation founded by Soros in 2019 that distributes funds to groups aligned with Democrats.

About half came from his private investment company, Geosor Corp., while the remainder came from the Fund for Policy Reform, a nonprofit affiliated with his Open Society Foundations, Fortune reported.

Major Democratic donor

Michael Bloomberg, billionaire founder of Bloomberg LP and a former three-term mayor of New York City, contributed approximately $84.2 million, primarily supporting Democrats.

His contributions included $24 million to the Everytown for Gun Safety Victory Fund, which supports candidates favouring stricter gun laws, and $16 million to House Majority PAC, which works to elect Democrats to the House.

He also contributed $11 million to Stand for New York PAC, which supported Democratic congressional candidate Micah Lasher.

Major Republican donor

Miriam Adelson, the Israeli-American widow of casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, contributed approximately $67.6 million to Republican-aligned political organisations.

She donated $30 million in a single contribution to the Senate Leadership Fund, while another $25 million went to MAGA Inc., according to Forbes.

Despite the financial backing, Democrats won control of the Senate, with victories in Maine and Michigan contributing to their success.

Major Republican donor

Paul Singer, founder of hedge fund Elliott Management and a longtime Republican donor, contributed approximately $53.5 million, according to a Washington Post report published October 23.

His contributions included $15.1 million to STW PAC, $14.5 million to the Senate Leadership Fund and $8 million to the Congressional Leadership Fund, which supports Republican candidates for the House.