By Victor Reklaitis
Some donors are back to supporting Donald Trump after distancing themselves from him
Former President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign plans to hold a big fundraising event Saturday featuring major Wall Street figures, with billionaires from other industries also slated to attend.
The “Inaugural Leadership Dinner” at the Palm Beach, Fla., home of hedge-fund manager John Paulson comes after Trump and the Republican National Committee told Politico they had raised $65.6 million in March and ended last month with $93.1 million in cash on hand.
Trump’s team, hit with legal bills due to multiple criminal cases against the former president, is working on reducing the cash advantage that President Joe Biden’s re-election effort has enjoyed. The campaign’s Saturday event in Florida is expected to set a fresh record after Biden’s campaign last Thursday hauled in a record-setting $25 million at a New York City bash featuring entertainment-industry stars as well as former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.
Related: Some contributions for Saturday’s fundraiser could go to Trump’s lawyers
Besides Paulson – whom Trump has floated as a possible Treasury secretary – other Wall Street heavyweights set to take part in Saturday’s fundraising dinner are former hedge-fund CEO Robert Mercer, Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick and Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) CEO Jeff Sprecher, according to an invitation to the event.
Other notable figures slated to attend include TD Ameritrade heir and Chicago Cubs co-owner Todd Ricketts; Mike and Tina Hodges, executives at payday lender Advance Financial; Continental Resources founder Harold Hamm; former WWE CEO Linda McMahon, who served in Trump’s cabinet; Wynn Resorts (WYNN) founder Steve Wynn; John Catsimatidis, whose businesses include the Gristedes and D’Agostino’s grocery chains in New York; Trump’s former commerce secretary, Wilbur Ross; and Woody Johnson, a Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) heir and New York Jets co-owner who was Trump’s ambassador to the U.K.
Mercer and his daughter Rebekah are backing Trump again after distancing themselves from him in previous years, and Hamm’s support comes after he gave money to Trump’s rivals in the GOP presidential primary.
Last week, Trump scored two big financial victories, as a court ruling reduced an appeals bond he owed and as his net worth jumped due to a stock listing for Trump Media and Technology Group (DJT).
Related: Trump’s DJT stock trades at multiples that exceed the peak of the meme-stock era
Trump’s chance of winning November’s presidential election stands at 44%, versus Biden’s 39%, according to betting markets tracked by RealClearPolitics.
-Victor Reklaitis
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04-03-24 1225ET
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