Billionaire Elon Musk committed around $45 million a month to a new super political-action committee supporting former President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday, citing people familiar with the matter. Musk is the richest person in the world, worth more than $250 billion.
America PAC, established in June, aims to boost voter engagement in swing states. Their strategy involves encouraging voter registration, promoting early voting, and increasing mail-in ballot requests. This initiative responds to the historically strong “get out the vote” efforts by Democrats and the substantial resources allocated by the Biden campaign for grassroots activities in key battleground states. America PAC’s mission is to provide a counterbalance to these Democratic initiatives.
The NY Times on Monday cited a friend of one of the leaders of America PAC who was told in the spring that the group expected a major donor to fork over $160 million in four batches over the course of the campaign. The friend, who insisted on anonymity, was not told the identity of the megadonor.
According to the NYT, America PAC is spearheaded in part by Joe Lonsdale, a Palantir co-founder and venture capitalist based in Austin who serves as a political advisor to Musk. According to three sources familiar with the organization, Lonsdale has been instrumental in the group’s initial fundraising efforts, leveraging his network of influential entrepreneurs to garner support. His personal company has contributed $1 million to the super PAC.
Among the notable early contributors to America PAC are several prominent conservatives from the technology sector, including Antonio Gracias, a private-equity magnate and SpaceX board member, who donated $1 million; Ken Howery, a former PayPal executive alongside Musk and Trump’s former ambassador to Sweden, who also contributed $1 million; and Shaun Maguire, a Sequoia Capital investor with close ties to Musk, who gave $500,000.
According to The Washington Post, a number of the contributors were present at a recent high-profile fundraising event hosted by David Sacks, an investor and podcast host known to be close to Musk. The gathering, held at Sacks’ San Francisco residence, required a $50,000 contribution per attendee. During his address at the Republican National Convention on Monday evening, Sacks criticized the current state of his home city, stating, “San Francisco, under Democratic leadership, has seen its once-beautiful streets deteriorate into a hub of criminal activity, sprawling homeless camps, and blatant drug use in public spaces.”
