Watchdog: New Report Reveals How Billionaires and Special Interests Used Trump’s Inauguration to Buy Access and Influence

Washington D.C. – Months after taking office, President Donald Trump is finally revealing the billionaire donors and corporate special interests who bankrolled his inauguration. Among the line up of Trump’s backers who put in millions to fund lavish parties for the President, include corporations from Big Tech and the Crypto industry, to Wall Street and Big Oil, with business interests before the federal government – marking a clear move to curry favor with Donald Trump and his Administration. 

“Donald Trump put a ‘For Sale’ sign on the federal government. And corporate special interests from Wall Street, to Big Tech and Crypto have cashed in on the chance to gain favor with Trump and bend up the tax code and federal spending to benefit themselves, at regular Americans’ expense,” said Accountable.US Executive Director Tony Carrk. “Months after the Inauguration, only now are we learning the full extent to which billionaires and big corporations desperately bought influence and propped up Trump. It should concern every American that Trump’s special interest supporters wield outsized access and influence over the federal government because of the millions they gave to fund ritzy parties for Trump.”

Trump’s inauguration backers include:

• Big Crypto: Cryptocurrency company Ripple donated at least $5 million to Trump’s inauguration, in March the Securities and Exchange Commission ended a yearslong investigation into the company. Cryptocurrency companies Robinhood and Coinbase ponied up $2 million each to cozy up to Trump. 

• Big Tech: Technology giants including Amazon, Meta, Google, and Apple, and many of their CEOs including Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, and Apple’s Tim Cook, all donated at least $1 million each to Trump’s inauguration. Many of these companies have anti-trust investigations before the federal government and have much to gain by currying favor with Trump.

• Wall Street: Hedge fund manager Ken Griffin, and JPMorgan Chase lined up to donate $1 million each to the inauguration – as Wall Street continues to push for deregulatory economic policies, and tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans that help them avoid paying their fair share.

• Big Pharma: The pharmaceutical industry’s trade group PhRMA, along with Big Pharma companies Bayer, Merck and Pfizer all gave $1 million to Trump’s inauguration. The pharmaceutical industry continues to litigate and lobby against legislation passed by Democrats to lower the cost of prescription drugs.

• Big Oil: Oil and gas companies showered millions on Trump for the Inauguration. Oil company Chevron gave $2 million, while Occidental Petroleum, Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips each gave $1 million, and the American Petroleum Institute gave half a million. Trump has given big oil and gas companies a seat at the table, by selecting Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, who has cozy ties with industry.

• Cabinet for Sale: Many of the nominees Trump selected for top Cabinet posts and Ambassadorships gave millions to his inauguration, raising questions about whether these billionaires bought their posts. Trump’s NASA pick, Jared Isaacman, gave $2 million, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s company gave just over a million. Meanwhile, Warren Stephens, Trump’s nominee for U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom, gave $4 million; Melissa Argyros, the nominee for ambassador to Latvia, gave $2 million; and Tilman Fertitta, the nominee for ambassador to Italy, donated $1 million. Warren Stephen’s ambassador nomination was announced the same day his donation was made.   

Trump’s scheme to sell influence to the highest bidder, all to fund Inaugural parties for himself and his billionaire buddies is not normal. It’s a free-for-all compared to self-imposed limits by previous Democratic and Republican presidents to limit the potential for corruption.

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