The ex-president, who originally struggled to get wealthy donors to back his second term in the White House, has seen his taking soar after he cemented his place as the Republican nominee
Donald Trump has asked diners to fork out more than $800,000 (£633,000) for a seat on his table at a fundraising event – as he seeks to out-raise Joe Biden in the run-up to the election.
The ex-president could walk away with as much as $43million (£34million) following the dinner in Palm Beach, Florida, today (Saturday) where dozens of his wealthy billionaire backers are set to attend. Trump originally struggled to pull in sizeable cash donations, with several of his former supporters deciding to spend their money on other Republican nominees’ campaigns for the White House during the primaries.
However, when it became clear that the ex-reality TV star was certain to face off against Joe Biden in the race for the presidency, donors were quick to jump behind him again and pledge cash towards his re-election.
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Trump reportedly managed to fill out all the seats for his intimate dinner by making “peer-to-peer” calls to members of the wealthy business elite. Those who really wanted to splash their cash were given the chance to purchase $814,600 (£644,564) “chairman level” tickets for the event – giving them direct access to Trump with a seat at his table.
Others who may be feeling a little less generous can pay $250,000 (£197,816) for a “host committee” ticket at the event, billed as an “inaugural leadership dinner”. John Paulson, who is reportedly in the running to become Trump’s treasury secretary and who will host the event at his $110million (£79million) Florida mega-mansion, said there had been an “overwhelming” response to the dinner.
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He told Yahoo! news in a statement: “The response to our fundraising efforts has been overwhelming, and we’ve raised over $43 million so far. There is massive support amongst a broad spectrum of donors.”
There are only expected to be around 38 individuals attending the dinner, who have been drawn from a wide range of prominent industries. Among the attendees is oil tycoon Harold Hamm, whose personal net worth is believed to be over $18billion (£14billion).
Robert Bigelow, a Las Vegas-based hotelier who has supported investigations into UFOs, has also purchased one of the exclusive tickets. While Woody Johnson, who owns the New York Jets American football team, similarly forked out to be seated with Trump.
Trump’s tactic of targeting extremely wealthy donors sits at odds with Biden, who recently held a fundraising event at Radio City Music Hall where attendees could pay as little as $250 (£197) for a ticket. The evening featured performances from singers Queen Latifah, Lizzo and Ben Platt, with Mindy Kaling emceeing the event.
Biden pulled in just $25million (£19.7million) from the event, which also featured appearances from former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, significantly lower than his rival.
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