Trump's super PAC has ballooned to $200M thanks to Musk and other Silicon Valley heavyweights
The funds may be spent to take on rivals in both the Democratic and Republican parties. During the first half of this year, the Trump group MAGA Inc. gathered about $177m in total from Musk, TikTok investor Jeffrey Yass, Silicon Valley executives Ben Horowitz and Marc Andreessen, and others, a Thursday filing with the Federal Election Commission states.
Trump has held several fundraisers this year, costing as much as seven figures a seat, The New York Times noted. The dinners, which have often been held at one of the president's properties, have allowed lobbyists and executives to make their case to Trump about their business interests.
The filing states that the super PAC has $196.1m in cash on hand.
Politicians haven't previously been so meticulous about raising money when they don't have a campaign in the future. Comparatively, a group backing term-limited former President Barack Obama raised $356,000 in the first half of 2013. That June, it had $3.4 million in cash on hand.
MAGA Inc. has collected almost double the money as the Republican National Committee. But the RNC is restricted by contribution limits.
Yass donated $16m to MAGA Inc. while Horowitz and Andreessen jointly contributed $6m. Trump has boosted the crypto industry from which his group collected several seven-figure donations. The group also received a $5m donation from a crypto entity co-founded by Sam Altman, the chief of OpenAI.
Some Republicans have grown confused as to why Trump has been raising so much money for the group. Some of the president's top supporters have pushed for him to run for an unconstitutional third term.
Trump aides have said it would be unwise not to take money that is essentially up for the taking. The funds can be used to attack the president's enemies.
With such a sizable money pot, MAGA Inc. is set to play a significant role in Republican primaries, boosting the value of an endorsement from Trump. Some conservatives have grown worried about the amount of money collected by the Super PAC, with the group likely to be a bigger spender in the 2026 midterm elections than groups connected to the Republican leadership in Congress.
As of June 30, the Congressional and Senate Leadership Funds held $32.7m and $29.7m. Filings show that a super PAC supported by the crypto industry, Fairshake, had $140m on hand, according to filings.
Musk at first said he would spend roughly $100m on Trump's political operation, but in the end, he spent only $5m. Musk and Trump's close relationship has since come to an apparent end. Musk also contributed $5m each to the Senate and Congressional Leadership Funds some weeks after his public feud with the president. But soon after, following the passage of Trump's budget bill, Musk said he would leave the Republican Party to start his own party.
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