Follow the money — that’s the new edict given by the Donald Trump campaign, after his suggestion in the first presidential debate that rival Hillary Clinton hasn’t made many good deals in her “30 years” of public service.
In a Wisconsin rally he pointed out, “Everything you need to know about Hillary Clinton can be understood with this simple phrase: Follow The Money.”
It was a challenge we couldn’t pass up, and here’s what Briefing found:
The top billionaires who donate to Clinton combine for a net worth well north of $50 billion and own telecommunications networks, manufacturing empires, high rises and hotels, banks and hedge fund companies, and publishing businesses. Some frequently donate to progressive NGO’s and think tanks, and many are returning to back Hillary after helping her into the Senate.
Show me the money
Of the top ten industries donating to Clinton’s cause, Securities & Investment have by far brought the biggest cash hoard to Clinton’s war chest: $58,580,685. So when Trump points at Wall Street investors and manufacturers who own overseas labor as Clinton cronies, he is not far from the truth.
Source: OpenSecrets
Silicon Valley bankrolling Hillary
Silicon Valley accounts for 50 percent of California’s GDP, and the Golden State owns the world’s sixth largest economy. It’s no wonder more money hasn’t flowed toward Washington so that projects of “disruption” don’t garner more lenient laws — say, on immigration so that the best talent can be hired — but for the most part, the technocrats have stayed on the sidelines until 2016. That’s when Peter Thiel jumped in, Apple’s Tim Cook hosted a fundraiser for Clinton, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has given more than $100,000 to the Democratic nominee.
He joins other heavy hitters to donate six figures, including the CEO’s of Salesforce and Solar City, Google’s CFO, Zynga’s chairman, and LinkedIn’s founder who’ve all done the same. Early in September, Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz set a new benchmark, when he donated $20 million to Hillary’s campaign. It is by far the single largest donation toward a political campaign to come from Tech.
Super PAC donations
Right now donations of $200 or less make up just 19 percent of the campaign’s contributions. Her primary opponent, Bernie Sanders, famously touted a $27 average donation as he decried the Citizens United ruling and promised to have it overturned. Nearly 30 percent of Hillary’s $516.6 million war chest comes from super PAC’s, much of that from the wealthy donors and companies who have given to Priorities Action USA.
WATCH: Donald Trump accuses Clinton of pay-to-play, ‘follow the money’