BILLIONAIRES: King Wenceslas wasn’t American, so his riches were missed

In one way, this holiday season does not reflect a joy to the world.

True, one Wise Man, Warren Buffett Thanksgiving week donated $1.1 billion, if not gold, frankincense and myrrh. But hundreds of Scrooges backed Donald Trump’s campaign for the White House, and some of them are likely to get cabinet posts.

The British newspaper The Telegraph reports that this coalition of the super-rich collectively are worth $408 billion, and Forbes magazine reports that Trump’s biggest backers have a combine net worth of $143 billion.

David Kass, the executive director of Americans for Tax Fairness, told The Guardian that the goal of Trump’s “government by the billionaires for the billionaires” was huge tax cuts for the super-rich, which would be achieved at the cost of slashing services such as education, Social Security and Medicaid.

“Voters wanted a change,” Kass said. “I think what’s going to happen is that people will say, ‘That’s not actually what I wanted. The rich are rich enough and don’t need more tax cuts. How about helping me?’

“I think there’s going to be a huge mobilization against this.”

A few others have weighed in:

* “The combined net worth of America's 12 wealthiest people just passed $2 trillion. Twelve people: $2 trillion. The bottom half of America collectively holds $3.5 trillion. Wealth inequality is eating this country alive.” – former Labor Secretary and economist Robert Reich

* “Why are the ultra-wealthy pumping hundreds of millions into both the presidential election and critical down ticket races? Because these hedge fund executives, crypto companies and union-busting CEOs aren’t satisfied with just their massive unearned profits and mega yachts. They want total control of our democracy, too.” – AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler

* “We’ve said all along that no matter who is in the White House, our fight remains the same. It’s time for Washington, D.C. to put up or shut up, no matter the party, no matter the candidate. Will our government stand with the working class, or keep doing the bidding of the billionaires?” – UAW President Shawn Fain

* “The next four years are going to be a smash and grab under Trump. [The] special interests who put Trump back in office expect a return on their investment – all the more reason not to let up on oversight.” – U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), chair of the Finance Committee

 

TRUMP’S BILLIONAIRES

Beyond Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, other wealthy Americans supported Doanld Trump, and some have been nominated for influential positions in the new administration, such as multi-millionaires Doug Burnum (nominated to be Interior Secretary), Dr.. Oz (named administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services), David Sacks (appointed AI and crypto “czar), and Scott Turner (nominated to be Secretary of Housing and Urban Development).

However, there also are billionaires expected to help shape Trump’s second term beyond Musk and his “Department of Government Efficiency” partner Vivek Ramaswamy.

Here are some of them

Bill Ackman is a hedge fund manager who endorsed Trump despite supposed misgivings, Reuters reported.

Miriam Adelson is a physician and part owner of the Las Vegas Sands casino and the Dallas Mavericks. Widow of long-time GOP campaign contributor Sheldon Adelson, Miriam is one of Trump’s largest donors, having given $100 million to the Political Action Committee Preserve America to back his candidacy, according to the Center for Responsive :Politics.

Marc Andreessen is a Silicon Valley venture capitalist who’s said he supported Trump because the Republican is expected to help the tech industry through deregulation and tax cuts.

Scott Bessent is a hedge fund manager who advised Trump’s campaign, according to Politico reports, and has praised Trump’s economic philosophies. Trump’s nominated him to be Treasury Secretary.

Diane Hendricks co-founded ABC Supply, a distributor of roofing supplies, siding and windows, and was featured at the GOP National Convention. Forbes reported that her net worth of $20 billion makes her the top “self-made woman” in the country.

Robert Wood Johnson IV owns the New York Jets, and was ambassador to the United Kingdom in Trump’s first term.

Howard Lutnick is chairman and CEO of financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald who once appeared on Trump’s “Apprentice” TV show. He co-chairs the Trump 2024 transition team.

Timothy Mellon is the grandson of Andrew Mellon, and an heir to the Mellon banking fortune. He’s helped fund Trump endeavors for years and donated some $115 million to Trump’s campaign, Reuters reported .

Linda McMahon helped husband Vince McMahon develop the World Wrestling Entertainment business and led the U.S. Small Business Administration in Trump’s first term.   Trump nominated her to be Secretary of Education.

John Paulson, another hedge-fund billionaire, endorsed Trump in 2024 but has supported his campaigns since 2016, according to Politico. Paulson also has advocated deregulation and lower taxes for years, Reuters reports, and has backed tariffs.

 to for national security and to counter unfair trade practices, as has Trump. 

Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal and investor in Facebook, is a strong supporter of Ohio Senator and Vice President-elect JD Vance. USA TODAY reported that Thiel has spent more than $49 million on campaigns since 2000.

 

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SEEMS TO BE GETTING ‘MUSK-Y’

Sometimes described as “a Bond villain,” Elon Musk for years has bought his way into business, and now seems to have bought an entrée into government.

The 53-year-old entrepreneur, whose net worth is $344 billion, according to Forbes magazine, spent more than a quarter of a billion dollars to help elect Trump, NBC reports, based on Federal Election Commission data.

His “investments” in Trump range from his own super PAC (America PAC) – which was responsible for his $1 million daily giveaways that urged swing-state residents to register to vote and sign a petition he made supporting conservative ideals (reportedly sent by checks from Musk’s Texas company “United States of America, Inc.”) – and the separate RGB PAC funded by his additional $20.5 million contribution that sought to convince voters that Trump’s views on abortion rights are like those of the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, which they’re not, Ginsburg family and other observers say.

Growing up in a prosperous family in the emerald business in apartheid South Africa, Musk moved to the United States in 1995 to attend college, becoming a U.S. citizen in 2002.

In 1999 he co-founded a company that became PayPal, but eventually was ousted as CEO.

In 2003, he was brought in as an $6.5 million investor in Tesla, which was launched earlier that year by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning, who made Musk board chair. After becoming CEO in 2008, he cut about 20% of Tesla’s employees and forced Tarpenning and Eberhard out.

In 2009 Musk arranged a partnership with Diamler, which invested $50 million in Tesla, and a year later got another $40 million in debt financing.

By 2018 Musk himself left Tesla after a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit about Musk allegedly falsely claiming that he’d secured funding for a private takeover of Tesla. To settle the case Musk paid a $20 million fine and agreed to step down.

He bought Twitter for $44 billion in 2022, after which the platform was renamed X and became more of a Right-wing site espousing disinformation and hateful rhetoric in the name of free speech.

“We’ve never really seen anyone be that directly connected with a campaign unless they were the candidate,” says Jason Seawright, a Northwestern University political science professor and co-author of the book “Billionaires and Stealth Politics.”

Trump named Musk and fellow billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy to lead an independent “Department of Government Efficiency,” and the two vowed to cut $2 trillion in federal spending despite existing agencies responsible for such activities, including the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office and the Government Accountability Office (an auditing organization that cut $70 billion from federal agencies in fiscal year 2023. Also, of course, Congress itself has the sole constitutional power to spend federal funds.

After the November election results were announced, Musk posted on X, “Novus Ordo Seclorum,” Latin for “New World Order.”

In the days following the election, Musk’s personal wealth grew about $70 billion higher CNBC reported. Tesla stock jumped more than 25% since Nov. 5, adding around $225 billion of market value, Axios reported; Musk's artificial intelligence startup xAI, maker of the chatbot Grok, is raising up to $6 billion at a $50 billion valuation, CNBC reported; and his SpaceX company is preparing a tender offer that would value the rocket company at more than $250 billion, up $40 billion from earlier this year, according to the Financial Times.