Tech billionaire Elon Musk spent at least $270 million to help Donald Trump win the US presidency, making him the nation’s biggest political donor, according to new federal filings.
SpaceX and Tesla CEO Musk, the world’s richest man, was a strong supporter of Trump’s White House campaign – investing money in door-knocking operations and speaking at his rallies.
His financial support, which landed him a cost-cutting adviser role in Trump’s incoming administration, exceeded spending by any single political donor since at least 2010, according to data from the nonprofit OpenSecrets. .
The Washington Post reported that Musk spent more this election cycle than Trump supporter Tim Mellon, who gave nearly $200 million and was previously the Republican’s top donor.
Musk donated $238 million to America PAC, a political action committee he founded to support Trump, filings with the Federal Election Commission late Thursday showed.
An additional $20 million went to RBG PAC, a group that used advertising to soften Trump’s radical reputation on the key voter issue of abortion.
Musk has been supportive of Trump since his election victory in November, and has invited him to watch a rocket launch by his SpaceX company in Texas.
Trump has chosen South African-born tycoon and fellow aide Vivek Ramaswamy to head the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, through which the pair have promised to cut billions of dollars in federal spending.
However, because Musk’s businesses have varying levels of interaction with U.S. and foreign governments, his new position also raises concerns about conflicts of interest.
The president-elect has nominated several people close to Musk to roles in his administration, including investor David Sachs as so-called AI and crypto czar.
Meanwhile, billionaire astronaut Jared Isaacman, who has collaborated with Musk’s SpaceX, was named head of US space agency NASA.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
