The Huge Amounts CEOs Are Spending on Midterms
S&P 500 CEOs are contributing millions to the midterm elections.
Amazon’s Jeff Bezos is the index’s top contributor, with over $10 million.
The top five contributors have given money to both partisan and nonpartisan groups, and to both the Democratic and Republican parties.
In less than a week, Americans will cast their votes in what’s poised to be the most expensive midterm election in history, according to a CNN report. Not only is the money behind the election coming from political action committees and brands like Walmart, Disney and Target, but also from wealthy individuals, including S&P 500 CEOs.
Millions of dollars are being poured into the election by the top brass at major companies, according to data released by MarketWatch. Companies whose CEOs have contributed include Netflix, Twenty-First Century Fox and Amgen, with the top contributor — by far — being Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, who has contributed over $10 million.
CEOs Spending the Most on Midterms
Jeff Bezos’ contribution is by far the biggest, with all other CEO contributions remaining in the six-figure range. Here’s a look at the top S&P 500 CEO contributors so far:
CEO | Company | Contribution |
Jeff Bezos | Amazon | $10.16 million |
John Hess | Hess Corporation | $877,600 |
Stephen Alan Wynn | Wynn Resorts Unlimited | $797,468 |
Reed Hastings Jr. | $571,600 | |
James Rupert Murdoch | Twenty-First Century Fox | $506,667 |
Stephen Luczo | Seagate Technology | $469,825 |
Steven Roth | Vornado Realty Trust | $444,900 |
Leslie Wexner | L Brands | $359,700 |
Timothy Wentworth | Express Scripts Holdings | $262,594 |
Robert Bradway | Amgen | $246,356 |
Christopher Crane | Exelon Corporation | $214,661 |
Marc Benioff | Salesforce | $202,233 |
Kenneth Frazier | Merck & Co. | $196,962 |
Mark Alles | Celgene Corporation | $195,683 |
Daniel Amos | Aflac Incorporated | $187,019 |
Ian Read | Pfizer | $181,833 |
Joel Marcus | Alexandria Real Estate Equities | $175,400 |
Safra Catz | Oracle Corporation | $173,433 |
Hock Tan | Broadcom | $168,990 |
David Zaslav | Discovery | $143,600 |
Other top contributors include Walt Disney’s Robert Iger, who contributed $111,800; Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffett, who contributed $104,900; and Chevron Corporation’s John Watson, who contributed $99,825.
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Which Political Parties Are Getting the Most CEO Contributions
Interestingly, Bezos contributed the majority of his money to nonpartisan groups, with only about 0.11 percent of his contribution going to partisan groups; the $10,800 given to partisan groups was split evenly between the Democratic and Republican parties. The lion’s share of his contribution has gone to Honor Fund, a nonpartisan super PAC that backs candidates from both parties who are military veterans.
The next biggest contributor, Hess of the Hess Corporation, gave the majority of his contributions to the Republican party, as did Wynn of Wynn Resorts Unlimited. Netflix’s Hastings Jr., meanwhile, gave his entire contribution to the Democratic party. Twenty-First Century Fox’s Murdoch gave the majority of his contribution to nonpartisan groups, and gave 1.32 percent to the Democratic party.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: The Huge Amounts CEOs Are Spending on Midterms
