Influence can come in many forms but in American politics it very often comes with money. Never has that been more evident than today, with the wealthiest people in the US spending record amounts in campaign donations during the 2024 presidential election, and then seeking to cement their power under the Trump administration.

Analysis by the Americans for Tax Fairness group earlier this year showed that 100 billionaire families donated $2.6 billion to candidates for last November’s election, more than two-and-a-half times the amount spent in 2020. The billionaires “heavily favoured Republicans ”, the report said, with 70% of their donations going to the GOP, helping Donald Trump back into the White House.

The “eye-popping amounts speak to the shifts in political power granted to

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