President Donald Trump says his $300 million White House ballroom will be paid for “100% by me and some friends of mine.” The White House released a list of 37 donors contributing to the pricey project. That list includes crypto billionaires, charitable organizations, sports team owners, powerful financiers, tech and tobacco giants, media companies, longtime supporters of Republican causes and several of the president’s neighbors in Palm Beach, Florida.
Keep reading to learn about the background of each known donor, including their history and current relationship with President Trump.
Not All Of The Donors Want To Be Public
But even with 37 names, the list is incomplete. Among others, the list doesn’t include Carrier Group, which offered to donate an HVAC system for the ballroom. It also doesn’t name artificial intelligence chipmaker Nvidia, whose CEO, Jensen Huang, publicly discussed its donation. The White House hasn’t said how much each donor is giving.
Additionally, almost none of the donors were willing to divulge that. Very few commented on their contributions when contacted by The Associated Press. A senior White House official said the list has grown since it was first released in October. However, some companies don’t want to be publicly named until required to do so by financial disclosure regulations. No foreign individuals or entities were among the donors, according to an anonymous source who spoke to AP.
Amazon, Google, Apple & More Tech Companies Donated To Build New White House Ballroom
At least eight tech giants donated to the White House ballroom project, and plenty are super popular companies. Here’s a breakdown of each company and their CEOs relationship with Donald Trump.
- AMAZON: Once upon a time, Trump used to pop of on the company’s founder Jeff Bezos, who also owns The Washington Post. But lately that hasn’t been the case, especially with Amazon’s donation. The company poured over $1 million into Trump’s inauguration, an event Bezos attended. Also, its video streaming service paid $40 million to license a documentary about first lady Melania Trump. Moreover, its cloud-based computing operation, Amazon Web Services, is a major government contractor. But, for now, the amount given to the ballroom is still a mystery.
- APPLE: After a rollercoaster relationship during Trump’s first term, CEO Tim Cook has aimed to improve his standing with the president this time. Before returning to the White House, Trump hosted the Apple CEO at his Palm Beach estate, Mar-a-Lago. He said he had spoken with Cook about the company’s long-running tax battles with the European Union. Cook also donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund. In the spring, Trump threatened the computing giant with tariffs after Apple announced plans to build manufacturing facilities in India. In August, Cook presented the president with a customized glass plaque with a gold base. At the time, the CEO announced plans to bring Apple’s total investment commitment in U.S. manufacturing to $600 billion over four years.
- GOOGLE: During his first term, President Trump’s administration sued Google for antitrust violations. While a candidate last year, Trump suggested he might seek to break up the search engine giant. Once Trump won the election, Google donated $1 million to his inauguration, and its CEO, Sundar Pichai, joined other major tech executives in attending the ceremony. Google’s subsidiary, YouTube, agreed in September to pay $24.5 million to settle a lawsuit with Trump. The lawsuit came after YouTube suspended his account following the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. According to court filings, $22 million of that went to the Trust for the National Mall, which can help pay for ballroom construction.
#1
- HP: The company donated to Trump’s inaugural fund. HP’s CEO, Enrique Lores, participated in a White House roundtable event in September. Lores also previously met with President Joe Biden at the White House on multiple occasions as top CEOs endorsed that administration’s economic plans.
- META: Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg had been critical of Trump going back to 2016, and Facebook suspended Trump for years after the Jan. 6 insurrection. This time around, Meta contributed $1 million to Trump’s inauguration, and Zuckerberg attended.
- MICRON TECHNOLOGY: In April 2024, the producer of advanced memory computer chips announced an agreement with the Biden administration to provide $6.1 billion in government support for Micron to make chips domestically. Then, in June, Micron pledged $200 billion for U.S. memory chip manufacturing expansion under Trump. However, at least $120 billion of that involved holdovers first announced during the Biden administration.
- MICROSOFT: The company donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration, twice what it spent for Biden’s or for Trump’s first inauguration. CEO Satya Nadella has also met with Trump numerous times. Microsoft has supported the administration’s relaxation of regulations on artificial intelligence. He met previously with Biden, too. Trump has called for Microsoft’s president of global affairs, Lisa Monaco, to be fired because she was a deputy attorney general under Biden when the Justice Department led several investigations against Trump.
- PALANTIR TECHNOLOGIES: Co-founded by billionaire libertarian Peter Thiel, the firm concentrates on artificial intelligence and machine learning. It has seen profits soar thanks to lucrative defense and other federal contracts.
#2
Five Crypto Companies Who Dropped A Ballroom Bag
And now for the crypto companies that’ve donated funds to the ballroom build.
- COINBASE: The major cryptocurrency exchange was founded by Brian Armstrong, a top donor to a political action committee that helped Trump and other pro-crypto candidates in 2024. Armstrong attended the first crypto summit at the White House in March. Coinbase also hired Trump’s co-campaign manager, Chris LaCivita, to its Global Advisory Council.
- RIPPLE: In March, the Securities and Exchange Commission dropped a lawsuit filed during Trump’s first term. The lawsuit accused the company of violating securities laws by selling XRP crypto coins without a securities registration. In his second term, Trump has eased regulations on digital assets. He repealed an SEC accounting rule and a previous presidential executive order that mandated more federal study and proposed changes to crypto regulations.
- TETHER: A cryptocurrency company and major stablecoin issuer, Tether paid fines for misleading investors. CEO Paolo Ardoino has visited Trump’s White House. In April, the company hired former Trump administration crypto policy official, Bo Hines, to lead its domestic expansion efforts.
- CAMERON & TYLER WINKLEVOSS: Each Winklevoss twin is listed as a separate donor. Best known as Zuckerberg’s chief antagonists in ‘The Social Network,’ the brothers founded the Gemini cryptocurrency exchange. Biden’s SEC sued Gemini for selling unregistered securities, but the case has been paused under Trump.
#3
Four Energy & Industrial Donors Supporting Trump's White House Upgrade
Donors from the energy and industrial fields also stepped up. Here’s what to know.
- CATERPILLAR: The equipment maker’s PAC has donated to candidates from both parties, but has given more to Republicans. It has also publicly stated that Trump’s tariffs, some of which the administration has now eased, could increase its costs and harm earnings.
- NextEra ENERGY: NextEra is the world’s largest electric utility holding company. Trump says he’ll work to ensure tech giants can secure their own sources of electricity to power data centers, especially as they expand energy-hogging artificial intelligence operations.
- PAOLO TIRAMANI: An American industrial designer who has donated to Trump’s political campaigns. Tiramani, with his son, runs BOXABL, a firm specializing in modular, prefabricated homes.
- UNION PACIFIC: Trump has endorsed the company’s proposed $85 billion acquisition of Norfolk Southern, which would be the largest-ever rail merger. It will also be up to the president to appoint two more Republican members of the Surface Transportation Board, who will ultimately decide whether to approve the merger. In August, Trump fired one of the two Democratic members of the board.
#4
Philanthropy Names Also On The Donor List
Even philanthropy giants ended up on Trump’s donor list for the ballroom.
- ADELSON FAMILY FOUNDATION: Founded to strengthen the state of Israel and the Jewish people, the foundation was created by Miriam Adelson. Adelson is the majority owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, a close Trump ally, and a longtime GOP megadonor. She’s also the widow of Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire founder and owner of Las Vegas Sands.
- BETTY WOLD JOHNSON FOUNDATION: Based in Palm Beach, the foundation supports health, arts and culture initiatives, as well as environmental and educational programs. It’s named in honor of the mother of New York Jets owner Woody Johnson. Johnson served as Trump’s ambassador to the United Kingdom during his first term.
- LAURA & ISSAC PERLMUTTER FOUNDATION: The nonprofit based in Lake Worth Beach, near Palm Beach, focuses on promoting health care, social justice, the arts and community initiatives. Isaac is an Israeli American businessman and financier and former chair of Marvel Entertainment. He and his wife have donated to Trump’s presidential campaigns and affiliated PACs.
#5
Three Communications & Entertainment Donors
Get into the communications and entertainment donors that cut a check for the ballroom.
- T-MOBILE: The wireless carrier is indirectly linked to Trump Mobile. The president’s family controls the venture and offers gold phones and cell service in a licensing deal. Trump Mobile uses Liberty Mobile Wireless, a small, Florida-based network that T-Mobile says operates on T-Mobile’s network. T-Mobile reportedly says its decision to be a ballroom donor is not related to its Trump Mobile deal. Instead, it states that the renovation is intended to “restore and enrich the historic landmarks that define our nation’s capital.”
- COMCAST: The mass media and telecom company has often been criticized by Trump, including in April, when the president posted that Comcast was a “disgrace to the integrity of broadcasting.” The company owns NBC and is spinning off MSNBC. It could be interested in acquiring Warner Bros. Discover, which would leave Comcast looking for government approval.
- HARD ROCK INTERNATIONAL: A Florida-based gaming and tourism concern owned by the Seminole Tribe. The company operates several casinos, including the former Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Trump has for decades criticized federal exemptions allowing tribes to operate casinos.
#6
Big Tobacco Contributes To Ballroom Fund
Smokers love Trump? These two companies, which sell tobacco, made room in their budget for Trump’s ballroom.
- ALTRIA GROUP: The tobacco giant controls Philip Morris USA, maker of Marlboro. It has pressed for federal crackdowns on counterfeit and illegal vaping products. The company donated $50,000 to Trump’s inauguration.
- REYNOLDS AMERICAN: With brands including Lucky Strike and Camel, the company has been active in lobbying to steer the Trump administration away from a Biden-proposed ban on menthol cigarettes.
#7
Two Defense & National Security Donors On The List
Protecting the United States, down to its renovations? These two companies are.
- BOOZ ALLEN HAMILTON: A major defense and national security technology firm with extensive government contracts. It paid fines to settle lawsuits with the Justice Department under Biden. Booz Allen Hamilton agreed to pay more than $377 million in 2023 to settle allegations that it improperly billed costs to its government contracts. In January, it paid nearly $16 million to settle allegations that it submitted fraudulent claims in connection with government contracts.
- LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION: The massive defense contractor has huge government contracts. It said in a statement that it “is grateful for the opportunity to help bring the President’s vision to reality and make this addition to the People’s House.”
#8
Trump Administration Officials Dug Into Their Pockets
Paying your boss? Here are some White House ballroom donors who also have roles in Trump’s administration.
- Benjamin Leon Jr.: The Cuban American founder of Miami-based Leon Medical Centers is Trump’s nominee for U.S. ambassador to Spain.
- Kelly Loeffler and Jeffrey Sprecher: A former Republican senator from Georgia, Loeffler heads Trump’s Small Business Administration. Her husband is the CEO of the energy market Intercontinental Exchange Inc. and chairs the New York Stock Exchange. The couple faced scrutiny in 2020 for dumping substantial portions of their portfolio and purchasing new stocks. Their purchases included firms that make protective equipment, after Congress received briefings on the severity of the impending coronavirus pandemic.
- Lutnick Family: Howard Lutnick is Trump’s commerce secretary. A crypto enthusiast, he once headed the brokerage and investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald.
#9
Seven Individuals Who Donated To Trump's Ballroom
Big money, better donations? Here are seven individuals (and married couples) who opened their pocketbooks for the president’s White House makeover.
- Stefan E. Brodie: A biotech entrepreneur and co-founder of the chemical manufacturing company Purolite. Brodie and his family donated to Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign and affiliated committees. Brodie and his brother, Donald, were convicted in 2002 of circumventing U.S. sanctions on Cuba.
- Charles and Marissa Cascarilla: Charles Cascarilla is co‑founder of the blockchain firm Paxos. He and his wife are philanthropists who have advocated for deregulation of the financial technology sector.
- J. Pepe and Emilia Fanjul: Longtime Republican donors and Palm Beach residents, the couple controls U.S. sugar refining interests that include the Domino brand.
- Edward and Shari Glazer: Members of the family that owns the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers and has a controlling stake in the Manchester United football club. The couple donated to Trump’s campaign. Edward is the founder and CEO of US Property Trust, which operates shopping centers, and the car dealership company US Auto Trust.
- Harold Hamm: The billionaire oil tycoon and pioneer of hydraulic fracturing heads the oil producer Continental Resources. He’s praised the Trump administration for aggressively moving to purchase oil to replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve stockpile.
- Stephen A. Schwarzman: A Palm Beach resident and chair and CEO of the Blackstone Group, a global private equity firm he helped establish in 1985. Schwarzman has previously donated to Trump and his PACs and led the President’s Strategic and Policy Forum during his first term.
- Konstantin Sokolov: Born in Russia, he immigrated to the U.S. and now heads the Chicago-based private equity firm IJS Investments. Sokolov has donated to many educational and charitable causes in the past, and to Trump’s political campaigns.
Associated Press writers Will Weissert and Darlene Superville contributed to this report via AP Newsroom.
