What specific donors and dollar amounts have been publicly disclosed for the White House ballroom, and where are those records held?
Executive summary
A White House-published list identifies 37 donors backing President Trump’s $300 million ballroom project, but public records name dollar amounts for only a handful of contributors; most amounts remain undisclosed and the donations have been routed to the nonprofit Trust for the National Mall, which holds the financial receipts [1] [2] [3]. Congressional investigators and critics are now seeking donor files and communications from the White House and individual contributors after reporting that some donors and contributions were omitted from the public list [4] [5].
1. What the White House has publicly released: a 37-name donor list, few dollar figures
The administration released a list of 37 corporations and individuals identified as donors to the ballroom and circulated that list widely to the press; outlets from CNN to NBC to Fortune have published versions of that roster [6] [7] [8]. The White House and its press secretary have acknowledged the list but have not provided a dollar-by-dollar accounting for most entries, and several major companies on the list declined to disclose the size of their gifts publicly [8] [1].
2. The donors and amounts that are on the public record
A small set of specific dollar amounts are publicly documented: Alphabet/YouTube is tied to a $22 million payment that will be contributed to the Trust for the National Mall as part of a legal settlement (reported in court documents and noted by multiple outlets) [3] [9]. Paolo Tiramani, CEO of a construction company listed on the donor roster, publicly confirmed donating $10 million in stock to the Trust for the National Mall [2] [3]. Reporting based on internal documents and reporting by Fortune and other outlets indicates Extremity Care gave $2.5 million, and some outlets reported Lockheed Martin is contributing “more than $10 million,” though White House materials did not uniformly list those figures [5] [8].
3. Where the records and receipts are held — Trust for the National Mall and donor files
The Trust for the National Mall, a 501(c) nonprofit that supports the National Park Service, is the entity designated to receive these tax-deductible donations, and press reports cite the Trust as the repository for the financial contributions toward the ballroom [2] [3]. Specific dollar amounts that appear in court settlements and company confirmations are recorded in those legal filings and corporate statements — for example, the $22 million was recorded in court documents related to the YouTube/Alphabet settlement [3]. The White House itself provided the donor list to news organizations, so its communications and any internal pledge forms are likely held by White House offices and by the consultants and campaign operatives organizing the fundraising, and Senate investigators have already requested preservation of such records from identified intermediaries [4] [10].
4. Gaps, omissions and ongoing inquiries: what is not yet publicly documented
Reporting by The New York Times and others found that the public list omits names and amounts for dozens of gifts and that the White House’s released roster may not reflect all contributors or pledge sizes; in response, Sen. Richard Blumenthal’s office has sent letters seeking documents and communications from donors and others about undisclosed contributions [5] [4]. Multiple news outlets note that many corporate donors declined to reveal sums and that donors were sometimes permitted to remain anonymous on pledge forms, so the full dollar-by-dollar ledger is not currently in the public domain [5] [2].
5. Competing narratives, incentives and where to look next
The White House insists the project is privately funded and has said the president will disclose his own contribution, while critics argue that undisclosed donors and withheld amounts raise conflict-of-interest concerns because donors may seek favorable regulatory or policy outcomes [11] [12]. For verifiable figures, researchers should consult the Trust for the National Mall’s filings and public statements, the cited court documents (e.g., the Alphabet/YouTube settlement), company confirmations (as with Tiramani), and the congressional letters requesting donor records — those are the concrete public records referenced in reporting so far [3] [2] [4] [10]. Reporting limitations: many donor amounts remain unreported in the sources provided, and this analysis does not assert the existence or nonexistence of undisclosed records beyond what the cited sources state.