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richard uihlein
With $75 Million Gift, Musk Joins Right-Wing Billionaires Bankrolling Trump Campaign
In the third quarter of 2024, Elon Musk, Miriam Adelson, and Richard Uihlein donated a combined $220 million to super PACs supporting the Republican nominee.
Oct 16, 2024
Prominent members of the United States' billionaire class have shelled out massive sums in the final stretch of the 2024 campaign to elect one of their own, Republican nominee Donald Trump, to the White House, with Tesla CEO Elon Musk donating nearly $75 million in recent months to a super PAC supporting the former president's bid for a second term.
According to federal filings made public Tuesday, at least six other billionaires joined Musk in donating to pro-Trump super PACs in the third quarter of 2024: Miriam Adelson, the widow of casino magnate Sheldon Adelson; businessman Richard Uihlein, the heir to a brewing fortune; David Millstone, co-CEO of Standard Industries; Diane Hendricks, co-founder of ABC Supply; Kelcy Warren, the chair of Energy Transfer Partners; and financier Ike Perlmutter.
Combined, Musk, Adelson ($95 million), and Uihlein ($49 million) funneled around $220 million over the past three months to super PACs supporting Trump, whose campaign has also received huge financial support from reclusive GOP megadonor Timothy Mellon.
Musk, the world's richest man and owner of the critical social media platform X, sent roughly $75 million in donations to his pro-Trump America PAC, which has been accused of voter deception. The Guardian's Hugo Lowell noted that Musk's PAC is "doing the bulk of the Trump campaign's ground game work across the battleground states," and the billionaire has been using his social media platform to incessantly promote the former president.
As The New York Timesreported earlier this month, America PAC has offered to pay $47 to those who help the organization "find Trump voters."
Trump—whose campaign has focused heavily on delivering more billionaire-enriching tax cuts—has said that, if he wins next month's election, he would put Musk "in charge of cost-cutting."
The head of the American Federation of Government Employees expressed alarm last month over Trump's push for a "government efficiency commission" headed by Musk, warning that the two billionaires only "care about one thing: lining their own pockets."
In an X post early Wednesday, Musk announced that he "will be giving a series of talks" throughout the key battleground state of Pennsylvania over the next several days as part of his effort to boost the Trump campaign, whose fundraising operation has struggled to keep up with that of Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.
CNNnoted Wednesday that Harris, who has also received support from prominent billionaires, "has set a blistering pace—raising $1 billion since she became the Democratic standard-bearer in late July—a milestone achieved faster than any other presidential contender."
"Tuesday's filings show that a high-dollar fundraising committee that channels money to her campaign and aligned Democratic committees, took in $633 million during the third quarter—four times the amount raised by Trump's equivalent fundraising arm in that time," CNN added.
The Washington Postemphasized that "a full picture of the financial strength of the Trump and Harris efforts will not be available until Sunday, when the campaigns and parties file detailed reports with the Federal Election Commission."
This year's election is on track to be the most expensive in U.S. history, according to the campaign finance watchdog OpenSecrets, with at least $15.9 billion flowing to candidates for federal office and super PACs—an outgrowth of the Supreme Court's 2010 Citizens United decision.
A report published last month by the progressive advocacy group Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF) estimated that by the end of August, just 150 billionaire families in the U.S. had spent nearly $1.4 billion attempting to influence the outcome of the 2024 election.
"Billionaires are making their 'voices' heard—make sure theirs don't drown out yours," ATF wrote in a social media post on Tuesday, urging people to turn out to vote next month.
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To Protect Abortion Rights, Organizers Urge Ohioans to 'Vote No on Issue 1' in Tuesday Election
"Preserve your voice and protect our democracy," said one Democratic lawmaker. "Vote NO on August 8th to ensure fairness and equity in the democratic process."
Aug 07, 2023
Recent polling in Ohio has shown that a majority of residents disapprove of a proposed measure that will be on ballots across the state in a special election on Tuesday, but abortion rights advocates have spent recent days warning voters that failing to block the proposal could have major repercussions for reproductive freedom in the state.
In the special election, Ohioans will be asked their position on Issue 1, which if approved would raise the threshold for passing new constitutional amendments to 60% rather than a simple majority.
Issue 1 needs just a simple majority to pass.
The outcome of Tuesday's election will determine how many votes will be needed to pass a referendum in November's general election, which will determine whether to codify the right to abortion care in the Ohio Constitution.
If Issue 1 passes, the state will also require signatures from all 88 counties in the state rather than the current requirement of 44 counties, making it harder for supporters of a referendum to secure a place for it on ballots, and would give organizers only one chance to collect enough signatures instead of allowing for extensions if they don't meet the requirement on the first try.
U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes (D-Ohio) is among the lawmakers who have joined advocacy groups in recent weeks in canvassing and promoting get-out-the-vote efforts to ensure the August 8 special election does not go unnoticed by Ohioans.
"We all want the freedom to make decisions that affect our lives," said Sykes on social media late last month. "Issue 1 ends majority rule and the principle of 'one person, one vote.'"
In Canton last week, Sykes joined a rally sponsored by the Ohio Education Association, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio (PPAO), and other groups that organized a "parade to the polls" to encourage reproductive rights supporters to vote early in the election.
Polls suggest that the constitutional amendment would easily pass if the state continues its current "majority rules" system for passing constitutional amendments, as nearly 58% of Ohioans have said they support amending the document to enshrine a right to reproductive healthcare. Organizers last month collected more than 495,000 signatures in support of including the proposed constitutional amendment on the November ballot, far surpassing the required 413,446 signatures.
"Majority rule allows for collective decision-making, fostering inclusivity, and reflecting the broader interests of the people," Sykes tweeted last week. "Let's embrace this principle and work together towards a stronger, more equitable future. Vote no on Issue 1!"
The progressive advocacy group Swing Left said Saturday that Republican lawmakers in the state—and right-wing billionaires that have supported the push to pass Issue 1—are counting on low voter turnout to ensure the measure passes. The group has organized numerous phone-banking and door-knocking events in recent weeks.
As Common Dreams reported last month, Illinois-based billionaire Richard Uihlein has donated $17.6 million since 2014 to the Foundation for Government Accountability, which has lobbied for higher thresholds to pass constitutional amendments in several states including Ohio.
The special election was permitted to go forward after a ruling by the Ohio Supreme Court's right-wing majority in June.
By defeating Issue 1, said PPAO last week, voters can help "stop special interests from ending majority rule" in the state.
Heartland Signal reported late last month that voters had already set a record pace for early voting in the special election, with 116,000 people casting their ballots in person in the first week of voting and 38,000 turning in absentee ballots.
By comparison, a total of 138,000 people cast early votes in the May 2022 Republican Senate primaries in the state.
"Election Day is approaching," said Sykes on social media Saturday. "Preserve your voice and protect our democracy. Vote NO on August 8th to ensure fairness and equity in the democratic process."
"Every vote counts," she added, "and together, we can uphold the principles that make our system strong."
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Billionaire-Funded Group Attacking Direct Democracy Across US
The Foundation for Government Accountability, which aims to make ballot initiatives harder to pass, is being bankrolled by Illinois billionaire Richard Uihlein.
Jun 23, 2023
When Ohio voters go to the polls in August for a special election to decide on the threshold needed to pass a constitutional referendum, they will be voting on whether to weaken direct democracy in their own state—but the push to do so is coming in large part from a Florida-based right-wing group whose biggest donor is Illinois billionaire Richard Uihlein.
As The Guardian reported Thursday, the Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA) originally focused its efforts on influencing state policy but in recent months has testified, issued legal memos, and posted on social media about proposals in a number of states to raise the threshold needed to amend state constitutions by referendum.
Uihlein, a key promoter and funder of lies about the 2020 presidential election, has donated $17.6 million to FGA since 2014, contributing to its efforts regarding ballot initiatives as well as its attempts to block ranked-choice voting in states and towns and ban outside financial support for under-resourced election offices.
In Ohio, Arkansas, South Dakota, and other states the FGA has promoted the passage of requirements for a supermajority—rather than a simple majority—to enact ballot initiatives. In Ohio, Republican legislators have pushed for a 60% majority to amend the state constitution, with the GOP aiming to impose the new rules before the November election in order to thwart the passage of an amendment codifying abortion rights in the state.
FGA and its lobbying arm, the Opportunity Solutions Project (OSP), have lobbied lawmakers, testified, and taken other steps to promote the passage of supermajority requirements in at least four states, The Guardian reported.
"Claims about protecting our constitution from outside influence fall flat when the effort is itself supported by more than $1 million of ads paid for by Illinois billionaire Richard Uihlein."
When Republicans in Ohio first proposed the new voting threshold requirement, the only person who testified in favor of the rule was a representative of the OSP. The group argued that the supermajority requirement would "make it more difficult for out-of-state billionaires and dark money groups," a claim that the editorial board of the Dayton Daily News found dubious earlier this month as it called on voters to oppose the measure in the August election.
"Claims about protecting our constitution from outside influence fall flat when the effort is itself supported by more than $1 million of ads paid for by Illinois billionaire Richard Uihlein," wrote the board.
Uihlein donated $1.1 million in the last year to the Save Our Constitution PAC, whose ads called on state lawmakers to support a higher threshold requirement to change the state constitution.
The Statehouse News Bureau in Ohio reported in April that "Uihlein's big donation is just the first installment in the effort to push the amendment," suggesting the billionaire plans to spend more ahead of the August special election.
The Guardian noted that despite Uihlein's bankrolling of FGA and OSP, the organizations have not been successful in all its efforts to gut direct democracy.
OSP published an op-ed, a fact sheet, and social media content calling for the passage last year of Issue 2, which would have required all ballot initiatives to garner at least 60% of the vote to pass. The group spent at least $65,000 on the campaign, but Arkansas voters rejected the measure by 19 percentage points.
The Dayton Daily News editorial board advised Ohioans to do the same last week.
"Very simply, Issue 1 [in the August special election] is about taking power away from you," wrote the board. "Don't disarm yourselves of the 'greatest tools democracy ever had.'"
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