Former New York City mayor and billionaire businessman Michael Bloomberg has made headlines with his recent $50 million donation to the main super PAC funding Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign. This contribution solidifies Bloomberg as the second-largest individual donor to Harris' campaign, following George Soros.
Earlier this year, Bloomberg donated nearly $20 million to support President Biden's re-election campaign but had refrained from donating to Harris after she replaced Biden on the Democratic Party's ticket. However, under pressure from fellow billionaires, Bloomberg eventually made the substantial donation to Future Forward USA Action, the primary dark money super PAC supporting Harris.
Bill Gates had also previously donated $50 million to Future Forward, prompting Bloomberg to follow suit after discussions with high-profile Democratic donors like Gates, Reid Hoffman, and Ron Conway. Bloomberg's decision to wait until the final days before the election to donate was described as deliberate and sophisticated by Michael Smith, president of House Majority PAC.
Despite Bloomberg's significant contributions this election cycle, totaling around $47 million in federally disclosed political contributions, he had initially been hesitant to donate further to Future Forward. Bloomberg cited the success of Harris' fundraising efforts and prioritized supporting ballot initiatives and state projects, such as his recent $2.5 million donation to oppose a Massachusetts ballot measure.
In 2020, Bloomberg set spending records on his own campaign and continued to support Democrats with a total of approximately $173 million. Notably, he contributed $100 million to Biden's campaign in Florida alone. Comparatively, Bloomberg's contributions in the current presidential cycle amount to $47 million, significantly less than his 2020 spending.
