Are Americans fed up with billionaires meddling in elections? New poll finds growing concern about Elon Musk and the ultra

Americans across the political spectrum are increasingly concerned about how billionaires like Tesla CEO Elon Musk are influencing elections, according to a Washington Post-Ipsos poll.

Billionaires spent record amounts during the 2024 federal election cycle. Just 100 ultra-wealthy families poured a record-breaking $2.6 billion into last year’s elections, according to Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF). That’s two-and-a-half times the amount spent by individual billionaire donors in 2020.

Musk alone donated more than $291 million to Republican candidates, political action committees and other outside spending organizations, according to analysis by OpenSecrets . Business magnate and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg gave nearly $65 million to Democrats.

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