Top Donors to Biden 2020 Campaign

President-elect Joe Biden announced he was running for president in April 2019 and has raised a total of $1.3 billion so far, according to OpenSecrets. This amount includes donations to his official campaign committee and outside groups like single-candidate super PACs and hybrid PACs or Carey Committees.

Where Does the Big Money Go?

Very large donations in U.S. presidential elections are directed toward super PACs (Political Action Committees), or hybrid PACs because of the $5,600 limit on how much an individual can give to a candidate's official campaign committee per election cycle.

Priorities USA Action, a liberal, hybrid PAC in its fifth election cycle, has received the most money of any pro-Biden, single-candidate organization. Millions of dollars have come into the PAC from the affiliated Priorities USA nonprofit, but since it doesn't disclose donors, it's known as a "dark money" group and we can't be certain who contributed to it. Biden supporters may also give to joint fundraising committees set up for the presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee like the Biden Victory Fund and Biden Action Fund.

Top Industries

The biggest industries represented among Biden donors this cycle overall are Finance, Securities & Investment, and Education.

The following were the top donors to the Biden 2020 campaign (2020 election cycle) according to processed Federal Election Commission data.***

1. Donald Sussman, Paloma Partners - $9 Million

The founder and chief investment officer of hedge fund Paloma Partners, Sussman has been a longtime major donor to Democrat candidates. He gave to the Priorities USA Action and Pacronym political action committees.

2. James Simons, Euclidean Capital - $7 Million

Jim Simons co-founded legendary hedge fund Renaissance Technologies and is known as the "Quant King." He gave to the Priorities USA Action and Unite the Country political action committees.

3. Deborah Simon, Retired - $6.1 Million

Her father was the late Melvin Simon, the co-founder of America's largest mall operator, Simon Property Group. The philanthropist gave to the American Bridge 21st Century and Unite the Country political action committees. Her sister Cynthia also donated $1.75 million separately.

4. George Marcus, Marcus & Millichap Co. - $4 Million

The billionaire real estate magnate is the founder of Marcus & Millichap Company and chair of Essex Property Trust. Last year he co-hosted a fundraising event for Biden, and he has contributed money to the Priorities USA Action, Unite the Country and American Bridge 21st Century political action committees.

5. Michael Moritz, Sequoia Capital - $3.5 Million

The Welsh native is a partner at venture capital firm Sequoia Capital. He's also an author and former tech journalist. He gave to the Pacronym and American Bridge 21st Century political action committees.

6. Kenneth Duda, Arista Networks - $3 Million

Duda is the co-founder, chief technology officer and senior vice president (software engineering) at cloud networking solutions provider Arista. He gave to the Pacronym and American Bridge 21st Century political action committees.

7. Seth Klarman, The Baupost Group - $3 Million

Billionaire investor Seth Klarman is a longtime independent and has given to the Republican Party in the past. "I’ve seen meaningful numbers of people put aside what would appear to be their short-term economic interest because they value being citizens in a democracy," he told The New York Times in August about the election cycle. He gave to the Pacronym, Priorities USA Action and Unite the Country political action committees.

8.Reid Hoffman, Greylock Partners - $2.5 million

Hoffman is the co-founder and former executive chair of LinkedIn. The billionaire tech investor is currently a partner at a venture capital firm. He backed Alloy, a data exchange platform for the Democratic party which will begin to wind down its operations next year. He gave to the American Bridge 21st Century and Unite the Country political action committees.

9.Stephen Mandel, Lone Pine Capital - $2.5 million

Mandel founded hedge fund Lone Pine, which has an excellent long-term track record. He was among the top 10 highest paid hedge fund managers in 2019, with an income close to $1 billion. He gave to the American Bridge 21st Century political action committee.

10. Phillip Ragon, Intersystems Corporation - $2.5 Million

Also known as "Terry," Ragon is the founder and CEO of private healthcare software company Intersystems. He and his wife, Susan, have signed The Giving Pledge. He gave to the American Bridge 21st Century political action committee.

Other Notables:

Renaissance Technologies director Henry Laufer and his wife, Marsha, together contributed $4 million to back Biden. Stewart Bainum Jr., the chair of Choice Hotels International, gave $2 million to the Unite the Country political action committee.

Big donors from the media industry include director Steven Spielberg and his wife, Kate Capshaw, who together gave $2.5 million. Jeffrey Skoll, the first president of eBay and founder and chair of Participant, which has produced more than 100 feature and documentary films, gave $2 million. Family Guy creator Seth Macfarlane donated $700,000 and media mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg gave $200,000. Kathryn Murdoch and James Murdoch, son of News Corporation executive chair Rupert Murdoch, together contributed $1.6 million.

***Note: We will continue to update this ranking as more FEC data is processed.***