Which firms donated to Trump’s inaugural committee and how much did each give?
Executive summary
A comprehensive, itemized accounting of every firm that donated—and the exact dollar amount each gave—to President Trump’s inaugural committee depends on which inauguration is meant and the underlying filing; public reporting covers both the 2017 inaugural (commonly cited) and the much larger 2025 effort, and news outlets and watchdogs summarize major corporate donors but do not publish a single definitive, fully exhaustive table in these sources [1] [2] [3] [4]. Major corporate donors to the 2017 committee included casino magnate Sheldon Adelson ($5 million) and dozens of corporations across industries such as defense, energy, finance and tech, while reporting on the 2025 committee highlights another wave of large corporate gifts—often at the $1 million level—from Big Tech, airlines, retailers, and crypto firms [2] [3] [5] [6] [4].
1. The headline donors commonly reported for the 2017 inaugural fund
Sheldon Adelson was the single biggest reported donor to the 2017 inaugural committee at $5 million, according to filings summarized by Fortune and other outlets [2] [3] [7]. Aerospace and defense giants Boeing and Lockheed Martin each are listed as giving $1 million to the 2017 effort [2]. Financial services and individual financiers who gave $1 million included Charles Schwab, Bank of America, private-equity titan Henry Kravis, and Cantor Fitzgerald chairman Howard Lutnick, as reported in contemporaneous coverage [2]. Energy and industrial gifts included Chevron Products ($525,000), Citgo Petroleum ($500,000), Exxon ($500,000), Murray Energy ($300,000), with Anadarko and Continental Resources each at $100,000, according to CNBC’s April 2017 summary of the FEC filing [3]. Microsoft appears on the 2017 roll as a $500,000 contributor, partly listed as in‑kind equipment [3]. General Motors is reported at $498,650 in combined cash and in‑kind vehicle expenses [3]. Hedge fund and billionaire donors reported in 2017 included Steven A. Cohen and Robert Mercer at $1 million each [3] [7].
2. Firms and sectors highlighted across watchdog analyses and later coverage
OpenSecrets and related watchdog reporting cataloged more than 200 corporations and anonymous LLCs that gave to the inaugural committee and flagged that many inaugural donors were companies with government contracts or regulatory interests—an observation tied to how such donations can create access [8] [9]. Global Witness and Campaign Legal Center focused on fossil fuel and contractor donors, estimating that fossil-fuel-linked donors gave millions to Trump’s inaugural funds and that numerous contractors who donated later won government awards—an angle that frames donations as a potential lever for influence [10] [4].
3. The 2025 inaugural filings and the newer wave of corporate donors
Reporting on the 2025 inaugural committee shows a much larger haul and a partially overlapping roster of corporate donors: Amazon and Meta were each reported at $1 million, along with other tech firms and crypto companies that, in aggregate, provided large sums to the 2025 committee, according to Rolling Stone, CNBC and Washington Post summaries of the filings [5] [6] [4]. Coverage notes airline, retail and pharma firms among donors in 2025, and watchdogs point to crypto industry contributions numbering in the tens of millions—summaries that reflect both the scale and a shifting corporate donor mix [4] [5].
4. Limitations, discrepancies and the path to a definitive list
The public record requires consulting the FEC itemized transactions for the committee (listed as TRUMP VANCE INAUGURAL COMMITTEE, INC.) to assemble an exhaustive, line‑by‑line roster; summaries in the press draw the largest and most politically salient corporate donors but do not replace the full FEC database or OpenSecrets’ compiled datasets [1] [11]. Reporting has also identified filing errors, anonymous donors, and instances where donor identities remain unclear or where donations were later amended—factors that complicate a simple, definitive statement of “which firms and exactly how much” without doing the raw-data accounting [12].
5. Competing interpretations: tradition vs influence buying
Defenders of corporate inaugural donations describe them as a time‑honored way for companies to mark a transition and secure access to new administrations, a point cited by analysts at the time [2], while critics and watchdogs argue the scale and composition of donors—especially contractors, fossil-fuel interests and nominees who donated—amount to pay‑for‑access and merit close scrutiny [4] [10].
For a firm‑by‑firm, dollar‑by‑dollar roster, the Federal Election Commission’s itemized filing for the relevant Trump inaugural committee and OpenSecrets’ donor pages are the authoritative primary sources to download and cross‑check; press coverage summarizes the largest and most consequential donors but does not constitute a complete ledger [1] [11] [8].