Where did Kamala Harris’ 3/4 of a Billion Dollars in Donations Come from?
A consumer-focused deep dive on her prolific fundraising efforts over just 64 days.
Since launching her unprecedented run for President on July 21st, Kamala Harris’ campaign has seen a windfall of donations unlike any other politician in American political history. As of the time of publishing (based on data from 8/22/24), the Harris campaign and outside groups supporting her have raised a total of $772,460,240 — that’s an average of over $12 million per day.
While the Harris campaign has made a point of stressing the “unprecedented grassroots” nature of its fundraising, a closer look reveals that corporate donors and private equity investors are among Kamala Harris’ top individual donors. In fact her TOP 10 Donors (listed below) MAKE UP NEARLY 17% of ALL of her donations.
So who are the biggest donors to Kamala Harris in 2024? FEC data reveals that the Harris campaign’s biggest donors of 2024 consist of the usual Democrat dark money PACs, global media companies, and venture capital firms. Below is a breakdown of who these groups are and what they may be angling for in a potential Harris presidency. And in keeping with the theme of Shoppyist, we’ve included a breakdown of the major consumer brands that some of these donors are connected to.
Tech Brands: Zoom (x2), Apple (in Shoppyist app), Coinbase (in Shoppyist app), Lyra, Cisco, Paypal, Google
Social Media Brands: Linkedin (x2), Facebook, Instagram, Medium, Reddit, YouTube
Entertainment Brands: Pandora, Roblox
Food Brands: Instacart (in Shoppyist app), Doordash (x2) (in Shoppyist app)
Other Brands: Peloton, 23ANDME, SpaceX, AirBnB (x2) (in Shoppyist app), Duolingo
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The numbers from the top 10 Harris donors ($130million, or 16.8% of all her donations):
10. Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria — $4,108,844
According to their website, The Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria are a community of Coast Miwok and Southern Pomo groups recognized as a federation by Congress. The bulk of the Federation’s support for Harris, $4 million exactly, appears to have been funneled through the Californians for Choice PAC.
The Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria support for Harris comes as no surprise given their past political activity, which has exclusively been in favor of Democrats. What is notable is the amount of money the Federation has donated so far. In total, this group has spent $6,035,794 during the 2024 cycle — over 1000 times more than the $4,507 spent by the federation in 2020. In addition to the Harris campaign, The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), Democratic National Committee (DNC), House Majority PAC, and Senate Majority PAC have all received donations in 2024. With their marked rise in donations, it’s clear that the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria want to become a power player in Democratic politics.
9. Dragoneer Investment Group (Marc Stad) — $5,013,200
This San Francisco based tech investment group was founded by Marc Stad in 2012, has over $23 billion in assets under its management according to Forbes. Prior to founding Dragoneer, Stad was the youngest ever President of the City and County of San Francisco Finance Corporation, a period which overlapped with Harris’ tenure as District Attorney for San Francisco.
Stad has funneled $5 million to the Harris campaign through Future Forward USA PAC — the Harris Campaign’s main fundraising vehicle. Similar to others on this list, Stad’s political activity has been minimal in the past, and it appears he is placing quite the bet on Kamala Harris winning this election. With his relationship with Harris stretching back over a decade and such a large donation in support of her campaign, don’t be surprised to see Stad’s name mentioned amongst potential cabinet members if Harris emerges victorious in November.
Brands Dragoneer Investment Group is connected to: Dragoneer Investment Group’s investment portfolio includes companies such as Zoom, Doordash, reddit, Peloton, and Duolingo.
8. Newsweb Corp (Fred Eychaner) — $7,010,485
This Chicago based media company is one of the United States largest printers of ethnic and alternative newspapers, and owns several radio and television stations in the Chicago area. Founded by progressive philanthropist Fred Eychaner in 1971, Newsweb Corp has a long history of political activism, mostly bolstered by Eychaner himself. With a net worth estimated to be around $500 million Eychaner has been a major contributor to Democrats for decades — even giving $25,000,000 to the Clinton Foundation ahead of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign. This after he was the top individual donor to Democratic candidates in the 2012 election cycle, spending a total of $14 million for PACs supporting Barack Obama’s reelection campaign and other top congressional Democrats.
Newsweb Corp (likely Eychaner himself) has contributed $7 million to Future Forward USA PAC in a direct attempt to boost the Harris campaign. Eychaner’s motivations likely haven’t changed from past cycles, as he has been known to support candidates who in his opinion are the most pro LGBT. As Election Day draws closer, keep an eye out for additional contributions by Newsweb and Eychaner.
7. Democracy PAC — $7,650,000
According to its website, Democracy PAC is “a federal political action committee that supports pro-democracy candidates and incumbents from both sides of the aisle.” Founded by George Soros in 2019, the PAC spent a total of over $62 million in the 2020 campaign, exclusively in support of Democrats and President Joe Biden. And in 2022, Democracy PAC contributed $14 million to Democrats’ Senate Majority Fund. Although claiming to support candidates on both sides of the aisle, our research did not indicate any public support of Republicans by Democracy PAC since its founding, so it appears the group is all in on a Harris Presidency and Democratic majorities in congress.
6. Sequoia Capital — $7,806,625
Founded in 1972 by Don Valentine, the “grandfather of Silicon Valley venture capitalism” Sequoia Capital is one of the largest early stage investors across the technological industry. Sequoia has supported the Harris campaign through two outside PACs — American Bridge 21st Century ($6.8 million) and the Lincoln Project ($1 million).
Unlike most other groups on this list, Sequoia has a long history of supporting candidates and PACs on both sides of the political aisle. In 2024 alone, they have contributed over $7 million to Republicans and conservative leaning groups. Included amongst these contributions is $2 million given to Right for America PAC, the outside group planning a massive ad buy in support of Donald Trump.
With sizable contributions on both sides of the Presidential race, it appears Sequoia is hedging its bets for influence with the next administration.
Brands Sequoia Capital is connected to: Sequoia Capital’s investment portfolio includes companies like Apple, Cisco, Instacart, Doordash, AirBnB, Google, 23ANDME, Linkedin, YouTube, Paypal, SpaceX and Zoom.
5. Euclidean Capital — $9,106,600
Euclidean Capital is the family office of James Simon, a mathematician and hedge fund investor. According to Institutional Investor, “Euclidean itself is a cipher — with no ready information on its assets, strategy, or how closely Simons is involved.” And their political aims are just as mysterious. Simons passed away in May of 2024, with a net worth estimated to be in the neighborhood of $25 billion, and it is unclear who is running the office now or what their motivations for supporting Harris are.
Out of the nearly $15 million Euclidean has contributed during the 2024 election, $14.6 million of it has gone to two sources. Future Forward USA (supporting the Harris campaign) and House Majority PAC, supporting Congressional Democrats. Unless Future Forward reveals who is behind these donations, it appears that this money will remain dark.
4. Greylock Partners — $10,022,600
Greylock Partners is yet another California based venture capital firm backing the Harris campaign. Founded in 1965, the firm invests heavily in AI related products. Their most well known board member is Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn and prolific Democratic donor. Greylock has donated over $10 million to the Harris campaign so far, and was one of over 90 businesses to openly endorse Harris in an early September letter.
Greylock has not limited itself to throwing its financial weight behind the Harris campaign only. In total, the group has spent over $28 million exclusively supporting Democratic candidates and Democrat aligned PACs — after spending $13.4 million on behalf of Democrats in 2022. With one of the the most proliferate Democratic donors in recent memory in Hoffman bankrolling the firm, it’s likely that Greylock’s influence in the donor class will grow
Brands that Greylock Partners is connected to: Greylock Partners investment portfolio includes companies like Airbnb, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Medium, Pandora, Roblox, Coinbase, and Vori.
3. American Bridge 21st Century — $14,229,315
Founded in 2010, this liberal Super PAC bills itself as “ the largest research, video tracking, and rapid response organization in Democratic and progressive politics.” With website headlines regularly decrying Donald Trump and Republicans across the country, American Bridge’s mission is clear — and to this end, the Harris campaign has been the sole beneficiary of their financial support..
American Bridge has not only supported Harris, but also gone on the attack against Trump. The group made headlines in September with a $15 million ad blitz in swing states, targeting Trump’s stance on abortion.
2. Bloomberg LP (Michael Bloomberg) — $19,086,997
Founded by its namesake and former Mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg, Bloomberg LP is one of the largest data management companies in the world. After becoming a titan of finance, Bloomberg entered politics in 2001 and became Mayor of New York City shortly after 9/11. While $19 million may seem like a gargantuan sum, it’s just a fraction of Bloomberg’s $104 billion net worth and far from the most money he’s ever spent on a presidential race. Bloomberg contributed roughly $1 billion of his own fortune to his 100 day long presidential campaign of 2020.
The vast majority of Bloomberg’s contribution to Harris has been funneled through Future Forward USA — $19 million in total which is about half of the $38 million he’s spent so far this cycle. As the race between Trump and Harris continues to be on a knife’s edge, look for Bloomberg to make additional contributions ahead of Election Day.
1. Future Forward USA — $46,342,900
With the amount of donations funneled through Future Forward USA, it’s unsurprising that this Super PAC is atop our list. Founded by advisors of President Biden during his reelection bid, Future Forward has now pivoted to supporting Harris. While the group is by far the most prolific supporter of the Harris campaign, much of the sources of its finances are obscured. As Jacobin explained in a recent article, the group often uses Future Forward USA Action, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit, to keep the source of many of its donors a mystery.
The group has played a critical role in helping Harris open up a slight lead in national polls from the outset of her campaign. Just days after President Biden announced he was dropping his quest for reelection, Future Forward made a massive $50 million ad blitz in support of Harris, and founder Chauncy Mclean has also stressed the tightness of the race in the PACs internal polls.
One thing is for certain, with the amount of donors in its network, and willingness to spend, Future Forward will help shape the outcome of this election.
Remember, big donors get their political power from the access & influence that their big donations buy. But that “big money” is really just a collection of money made on regular people’s small transactions. Whether you know it or like it, where you shop and what you buy is the real source of your political power. Thats why VotingSmarter & Shoppyist have partnered to give you more impact with a little cashback!
Through the teamwork of our members at both VotingSmarter & Shoppyist, we continue to evoke difficult discussions to improve the quality of our “omni-political” content. For this reason, we are constantly looking for alternative ideas to combat our inherent biases and to do our best to look at the world through multiple lenses. Please send sources, articles, and ideas our way in the comments, and follow the socials for @VotingSmarter & @Shoppyist. This piece was authored by Benjamin Coburn, the editor of this blog.
