Elon Musk, the world's richest person and CEO of Tesla, donated approximately $75 million (about 102.24 billion KRW) in the third quarter (July to September) to support the election of former President Donald Trump, the Republican candidate in the U.S. presidential race.
U.S. political media outlet Politico reported on the 15th (local time), citing documents submitted to the Federal Election Commission, that Musk is the sole donor to American PAC. American PAC is a super PAC (political fundraising organization) established last summer by Musk to support former President Trump. Politico described it as "an enormous amount donated by one person," adding, "Musk officially declared his support after Trump was shot during the campaign in July, and since then, he has played an increasingly important role in Trump's political activities."
During the same period, American PAC spent a total of $72 million. This amount is also large compared to other super PACs supporting former President Trump. Earlier, Musk conducted a petition campaign through American PAC in seven battleground states including Pennsylvania, seeking pledges supporting the First Amendment (freedom of expression) and the Second Amendment (right to bear arms). In this process, he actively distributed cash, offering a referral fee of $47 per person who joined the pledge. Earlier this month, Musk also appeared at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where he drew attention by jumping and shouting "Let's fight" next to former President Trump.
By donating $75 million to American PAC, Musk also joined the ranks of major Republican donors. Ahead of the November presidential election, Miriam Adelson, a prominent Republican donor, donated $100 million to Preserve America, another super PAC supporting former President Trump. Known for her pro-Israel stance, she is the co-founder of Las Vegas Sands, the largest casino group in the U.S. Timothy Mellon, heir to Mellon Bank, contributed $125 million to the MAGA super PAC.
Meanwhile, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Musk's total net worth as of this date is $241 billion, ranking first. He is followed by founder Jeff Bezos and Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
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