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From crypto billionaires to cabinet members: What to know about the donors paying for Trump’s ballroom

<i>White House via CNN Newsource</i><br/>

By CNN Newsource

Published October 23, 2025 8:47 pm

By Casey Tolan, Majlie de Puy Kamp, Melanie Hicken, Blake Ellis, Isabelle Chapman, Curt Devine, Bob Ortega, Em Steck, CNN

(CNN) — As demolition crews this week bulldozed the White House’s East Wing to replace it with a massive ballroom, President Donald Trump has emphasized that the dramatic changes will come at “zero cost to the American Taxpayer.”

Instead, the donors picking up the tab include some of the country’s biggest corporations, including many who have business before the federal government, along with many longtime supporters of the president, according to a CNN review of a donor list released by the Trump administration.

Trump has been recruiting donors for the construction project for months, showing off renderings and scale models to Oval Office visitors. Now estimated to cost $300 million, the work is being funded by private, tax-deductible donations routed through the nonprofit Trust for the National Mall.

The president has said he will personally pay for some of the project, but the White House hasn’t specified how much. At least one donation of $22 million from Google was made on “behalf” of Trump as part of a legal settlement over the president being banned from YouTube in 2021, court documents show.

The ballroom donors were feted at a White House dinner last week. Now that the demolition has begun, here’s who’s paying for the overhaul of the country’s most famous residence.

Adelson Family Foundation

Miriam Adelson, a billionaire who made her fortune in casinos alongside her late husband Sheldon and has been a major Trump donor, runs this philanthropic foundation. Trump awarded Adelson the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2018.

Past donations to Trump: Miriam and Sheldon Adelson have been some of Trump’s top political donors since his first presidential bid, giving more than $30 million to pro-Trump PACs and his campaigns over the years. Miriam also gave $1 million to the president’s 2025 inaugural committee.
Key issues: The foundation’s stated aim is to “strengthen the state of Israel and the Jewish people,” and Trump has publicly praised Adelson and her support of Israel. Adelson, who is the majority owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, has also donated to lawmakers and PACs that support pro-gambling and sports betting legislation.

Altria Group

Previously known as Phillip Morris, tobacco giant Altria Group is the seller of Virginia Slims, Marlboro and Parliament cigarettes in the United States.

Industry: Tobacco
Past donations to Trump: A subsidiary, Altria Client Services, LLC, gave $1 million to a Trump-associated PAC in May 2025, $1 million to the president’s 2025 inaugural committee and $500,000 to his 2017 inaugural committee.
Key issues: Altria has fought tighter industry regulations and, along with other tobacco companies, pushed legislation that would limit FDA oversight of e-cigarettes.

Amazon

Amazon billionaire founder Jeff Bezos told the world he was “optimistic” about a second Trump presidency late last year, saying he appreciated his “energy” around reducing regulations. The president called out Amazon publicly earlier this year when he learned that the e-commerce retailer was considering displaying tariff costs for consumers, which the company said it would not do.

Industry: Tech, e-commerce
Past donations to Trump: Amazon gave $1 million to Trump’s 2025 inaugural committee and made an in-kind donation of almost $900,000 for digital services and advertising supporting the event. The company also gave about $58,000 to his 2017 inaugural committee.
Government business: Amazon Web Services – the company’s cloud computing platform – earned more than $500 million from federal contracts over the last three years, government data shows.

Apple

Apple CEO Tim Cook served on Trump’s American Workforce Policy Advisory Board during his first term. He attended the president’s 2025 inauguration along with other tech leaders, and this summer presented Trump with a customized 24-karat gold-and-glass statuette in the Oval Office while announcing plans to invest $100 billion in US jobs and suppliers.

Industry: Tech
Past donations to Trump: Cook personally gave $1 million to Trump’s 2025 inaugural committee.
Key issues: The company secured a major win this summer, when smartphones were exempted from heavy tariffs levied on goods imported from India.

Betty Wold Johnson Foundation

The late Betty Wold Johnson was a philanthropist and mother of the two owners of the New York Jets, who are the foundation’s co-presidents. One of her sons, Woody Johnson, served as ambassador to the United Kingdom during Trump’s first term.

Past donations to Trump: Woody Johnson has given more than $4.7 million to Trump’s campaigns and supporting PACs since 2016.

Booz Allen Hamilton

A major federal contractor, Booz Allen Hamilton primarily provides technology and consulting services and takes in billions in annual revenue.

Industry: Defense and national security consulting
Government business: About $6 billion paid by federal agencies over the last year, government data shows.
Key issues: In January, Booz Allen Hamilton agreed to pay the US government nearly $16 million to settle a case alleging that a subsidiary submitted fraudulent claims related to a Defense Department contract.

Stefan E. Brodie

Stefan Brodie co-founded the chemical manufacturing company Purolite. Brodie, who was found guilty of violating American sanctions on Cuba in the early 2000s, was denied pardon by former President Joe Biden in 2023. It’s unclear if he has petitioned Trump for a pardon.

Industry: Biotech
Past donations to Trump: Brodie and several other family members each gave more than $840,000 to Trump’s joint fundraising committee in 2024.

Charles and Marissa Cascarilla

Charles Cascarilla is the co-founder and CEO of blockchain firm Paxos Trust Company, which provides digital asset infrastructure to financial institutions.

Industry: Cryptocurrency
Past donations to Trump: Charles Cascarilla gave just under $1 million to Trump’s 2025 inaugural committee.
Key issues: Cascarilla has advocated for “a more welcoming and clearly defined regulatory environment for digital assets.”

Caterpillar

The Texas-based Caterpillar manufactures construction and mining equipment and supplies it to the US military and other government agencies. During Trump’s first term, the Department of Justice dropped a criminal investigation into Caterpillar for allegedly dodging taxes days after Trump appointed the company’s former attorney, Bill Barr, as attorney general. Barr said he would recuse himself from issues involving Caterpillar or other former clients.

Industry: Construction and mining equipment, defense
Past donations to Trump: Gave $100,000 to Trump’s 2025 inaugural committee.
Government business: Nearly a billion dollars from federal contracts in roughly the last three years, federal data shows.

Coinbase

Coinbase, one of America’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, was founded in 2012 by CEO Brian Armstrong. The corporation, which went public in 2021 with a valuation of about $100 billion, helps users buy, sell and store cryptocurrencies. The Securities and Exchange Commission sued the company in 2023 for allegedly acting as an unregistered broker, but the Trump administration dropped the lawsuit earlier this year. Coinbase had said it was not in violation of any law.

Industry: Cryptocurrency
Past donations to Trump: Coinbase gave $1 million to Trump’s 2025 inaugural committee.

Comcast

One of the world’s biggest telecommunications companies, the conglomerate owns NBCUniversal, which includes film studios such as Universal Pictures and DreamWorks, cable channels such as CNBC and Bravo, as well as Peacock, a streaming platform.

Industry: Media
Past donations to Trump: Gave $1 million to Trump’s 2025 inaugural committee, after giving $250,000 to his 2017 inauguration.
Key issues: The company and its CEO, Brian Roberts, have been frequent targets of Trump. This spring he called the company and Roberts a “disgrace to the integrity of Broadcasting,” and previously declared Roberts the “Lowlife Chairman of ‘Concast.’”

J. Pepe and Emilia Fanjul

Jose “Pepe” Fanjul and his wife Emilia are part of a Cuban-American family that owns a massive sugar conglomerate. The Biden administration had previously blocked a company partially owned by the Fanjul family from shipping sugar to the US over allegations of forced labor practices, which the company denied. The Trump administration lifted that block in March.

Industry: Sugar
Past donations to Trump: The couple have given more than $3 million to Trump’s campaigns and associated PACs going back to 2016.
Key issues: In July, Trump announced he persuaded Coca-Cola to release Coke made with cane sugar instead of high-fructose corn syrup – a move that could benefit the sugar industry. The US government has long supported the domestic sugar industry and boosted prices. Brazil, the largest exporter of sugar to the US, was hit by a 50% tariff in July.

Edward and Shari Glazer

The Glazers are part of the extended family that owns the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers and a majority share in the English football team Manchester United. Edward Glazer is the co-chairman of the Bucs and oversees real estate acquisitions for the family company, First Allied Corporation, according to Forbes. Shari Glazer is the founder and CEO of Kalos Labs, a consulting agency that advises and strategizes global brands on blockchain technologies, NFTs and cryptocurrency.

Industry: Sports, real estate, cryptocurrency
Past donations to Trump: The couple gave at least $675,000 to committees associated with Trump’s 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns.

Google

Google and its parent company Alphabet have joined Trump administration initiatives to promote AI education, and CEO Sundar Pichai praised the administration’s investments in AI at a White House event last month. Google-owned YouTube agreed to pay $22 million towards Trump’s ballroom project as part of an agreement settling legal claims brought by Trump over his removal from the video platform.

Industry: Tech
Past donations to Trump: Google gave $1 million to Trump’s 2025 inaugural committee, after having given $285,000 to his 2021 inauguration.
Government business: Among other deals, the company was awarded a contract in July worth up to $200 million related to AI capabilities at the Department of Defense.

Harold G. Hamm

Harold Hamm is the billionaire founder of Continental Resources, a natural gas and petroleum production company based in Oklahoma City. Considered a pioneer in hydraulic fracking, Hamm is one of the richest oil men in America and among the richest men in the world, according to Forbes.

Industry: Energy
Past donations to Trump: Hamm has donated more than $3 million to Trump-associated PACs between 2016 and 2024, and his company Continental Resources gave more than $3.5 million. Continental also gave $100,000 to Trump’s 2025 inaugural committee.
Key issues: In his second term, the Trump administration has significantly curbed environmental regulations and opened up more oil and gas production on federal lands – all issues Hamm supports and reportedly pushed for in 2024.

Hard Rock International

Hard Rock International is owned by the Seminole Tribe of Florida and includes a global chain of theme-bar restaurants, casinos, hotels and museums. Hard Rock International in 2017 purchased an Atlantic City, New Jersey, casino that was once owned by Trump. It re-opened the following year as Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City.

Industry: Hospitality, entertainment and gaming
Trump connection: Hard Rock’s board chairman Jim Allen had previously served as vice president of operations at the Trump Organization, Trump’s business and real estate conglomerate. He also serves as the CEO of Seminole Gaming.

HP Inc.

HP Inc. is a multinational information technology company based in Palo Alto, California, primarily producing printers, printing supplies, and personal computers. CEO Enrique Lores attended a White House roundtable in September, according to his LinkedIn.

Industry: Tech
Past donations to Trump: Gave $50,000 to Trump’s 2025 inaugural committee.
Government business: The company has received contracts from the US military and other departments, records show.

The Laura & Isaac Perlmutter Foundation

Isaac Perlmutter sold Marvel Entertainment to The Walt Disney Company in 2009. Perlmutter and his wife, Laura, have supported healthcare and education initiatives through their foundation, including a more than $50 million donation to NYU’s Langone Medical Center earmarked for cancer research.

Industry: Media and entertainment
Past donations to Trump: The couple have given more than $23 million to Trump’s campaigns and supporting Super PACs since 2016.

Benjamin Leon Jr.

Benjamin Leon Jr. is a Cuban-American entrepreneur who founded a chain of healthcare centers in the Miami area. In January, Trump nominated Leon to be US Ambassador to Spain.

Industry: Healthcare
Past donations to Trump: Gave more than $3.8 million to Trump’s campaigns and pro-Trump PACs in 2020 and 2024.

Lockheed Martin

The Pentagon’s largest aerospace and defense contractor, Lockheed Martin projects more than $74 billion in sales this year. In a statement about its ballroom donation, a spokesperson for the company said it is “grateful for the opportunity to help bring the President’s vision to reality and make this addition to the People’s House, a powerful symbol of the American ideals we work to defend every day.”

Industry: Defense
Past donations to Trump: Gave $1 million to Trump’s 2025 inaugural committee.
Government business: Earned more than $40 billion from federal contracts over the last year, according to government data.

Kelly Loeffler and Jeff Sprecher

Kelly Loeffler, a Trump cabinet member who leads the Small Business Administration, was previously appointed US senator representing Georgia in 2020 and later lost her seat to Raphael Warnock in a run-off election. Her husband, Jeffrey Sprecher, is the CEO and founder of Intercontinental Exchange, which owns the New York Stock Exchange.

Industry: Finance, government
Past donations to Trump: The couple donated at least $13.5 million to Trump’s campaigns, super PACs supporting them, and other associated political action committees since 2020. In June 2025, Sprecher and Loeffler donated $2.5 million each to MAGA Inc., a super PAC that supports Trump.

The Lutnick Family

Howard Lutnick joined the Trump administration as Secretary of Commerce after decades as CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, a financial services firm. Lutnick handed the reins of the company to his 27-year-old son, and his other son also works at Cantor.

Industry: Finance, cryptocurrency, government
Past donations to Trump: Howard Lutnick gave a total of more than $9 million to a pro-Trump Super PAC, Trump’s 2020 and 2024 presidential campaigns and associated fundraising committees.
Key issues: Since Lutnick’s appointment, he has focused on implementing Trump’s tariff strategy. Lutnick, who has said he is heavily invested in cryptocurrency, has also pushed for pro-crypto policies during his tenure.

Micron Technology

A US-based maker of advanced memory chips, Micron Technology was lauded by the White House earlier this year for a $200 billion investment in the United States, including the construction of a new facility in Idaho.

Industry: Technology, manufacturing
Past donations to Trump: Gave $1 million to Trump’s 2025 inaugural committee.
Government business: The Biden administration announced billions in funding for Micron last year.

Microsoft

Microsoft has been somewhat quieter than other tech firms about its support of President Trump and his administration. CEO Satya Nadella didn’t sit front row during Trump’s inauguration, unlike Meta’s Zuckerberg, Amazon’s Bezos and Google’s Pichai. Nadella has met with Trump, including attending a tech dinner at the White House last month, shortly before the president called for the company to fire a former Biden official who serves as its chief of global affairs.

Industry: Tech
Past donations to Trump: Donated at least $750,000 to Trump’s 2025 inauguration committee.
Government business: Paid roughly $1.4 billion from federal contracts over the last three years, government data shows.

NextEra Energy

NextEra Energy is a major producer of solar and wind power. The company was hurt by the elimination of clean energy tax credits in the president’s landmark tax and spending cuts bill. CEO John Ketchum has said he agrees with the administration’s focus on bringing jobs back to America but criticized Trump’s efforts to boost the coal industry.

Industry: Renewable energy
Past donations to Trump: Gave $1 million to Trump’s 2025 inaugural committee, after giving $250,000 to his 2017 inauguration.

Palantir

Founded in 2003 by Peter Thiel and several associates, the data analytics firm provides services for several government agencies, including Department of Homeland Security, the Internal Revenue Service and the Army. Thiel has been a longtime supporter of the Republican Party, a friend of Vice President JD Vance and an early supporter of President Trump.

Industry: Tech
Past donations to Trump: CEO Alex Karp gave $1 million to Trump’s 2025 inauguration and another $1 million to a Trump-associated PAC the month after the 2024 election.
Key issues: Earlier this year, CNN reported that the Department of Government Efficiency, then run by Thiel ally Elon Musk, was using Palantir to build a database to speed up immigration enforcement.
Government business: Palantir inked a deal with the Army in July worth up to $10 billion over the next decade.

Reynolds American

One of the country’s largest tobacco manufacturers, Reynolds American’s subsidiaries manufacture cigarette brands including Newport and Camel. The company also sells e-cigarettes.

Industry: Tobacco
Past donations to Trump: The company’s political action committee gave $25,000 to a Trump fundraising committee in 2016.
Key issues: Reynolds American is among a number of tobacco companies pushing for less regulation on the industry, and it has opposed state bans on flavored tobacco.

Ripple

Ripple helped launch XRP, one of five cryptocurrencies Trump has said should be included in a new US crypto strategic reserve. The company’s CEO shared a photo alongside Trump on X earlier this year, saying he had “a great dinner” with the president.

Industry: Cryptocurrency
Past donations to Trump: Ripple gave nearly $4.9 million to Trump’s 2025 inaugural committee, the second-largest single donation the committee received.
Key issues: Ripple has previously battled federal regulators who alleged that the company had violated securities law through the sale of its XRP token to retail investors. A federal judge ultimately sided with the company, finding it had not violated the law.

Stephen A. Schwarzman

Stephen A. Schwarzman is a GOP megadonor and the co-founder of global investment firm Blackstone. He served as the chairman of a business advisory council during Trump’s first term. Schwarzman announced in 2022 that he would not back Trump for a second term, but reversed course in 2024, citing concern with the rise of antisemitism in the US.

Industry: Finance
Past donations to Trump: Gave more than $4 million to pro-Trump political groups and Trump’s campaigns since 2017.
Key issues: Schwarzman has publicly backed Trump’s wide-ranging global tariffs.

Konstantin Sokolov

Konstantin Sokolov is the founder of a private equity firm focused on tech, finance and infrastructure, a major shareholder in Armenia’s largest telecom company and the chairman of an undersea cable initiative to carry energy and telecommunications between Africa and Europe.

Industry: Finance

T-Mobile

One of the largest wireless carriers in the country, T-Mobile said in a statement that its donation wasn’t only earmarked for the ballroom. “Ahead of America’s 250th Anniversary, T-Mobile donated to the Trust for the National Mall, which partners with the National Park Service to restore and enrich the historic landmarks that define our nation’s capital, such as the White House ballroom,” the company said. “T-Mobile has no role in the use of those funds or decisions related to the construction of the ballroom.”

Industry: Telecommunications
Key issues: T-Mobile has reportedly been part of a new wireless service announced by Trump, dubbed Trump Mobile. Democratic lawmakers have criticized the deal as a conflict of interest.
Government business: T-Mobile has received at least a billion dollars from federal contracts in the last three years, government data shows.

Tether

The cryptocurrency company Tether has a multi-billion-dollar valuation and claims to have 500 million users worldwide. The firm, which is headquartered in El Salvador, hired former Trump administration crypto official Bo Hines to lead its US expansion earlier this year.

Industry: Cryptocurrency
Key issues: Howard Lutnick, the Secretary of Commerce and former CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, had previously promoted Tether — with Cantor Fitzgerald reportedly securing a financial stake in the company. At his confirmation hearing, Lutnick told lawmakers he would divest himself of interests in his companies, including Cantor.

Paolo Tiramani

An industrial designer, Paolo Tiramani co-founded a modular homes company, BOXABL, with his son. A donor-advised fund created by the company donated $10 million in preferred stock to the Trust for the National Mall, which supports Trump’s ballroom initiative.

Industry: Construction
Past donations to Trump: Tiramani gave at least $100,000 to Trump’s joint fundraising committee in 2024.

Union Pacific Railroad

One of the nation’s largest railroad companies, Union Pacific operates more than 32,000 miles of track in 23 states.

Industry: Transportation
Key issues: Union Pacific is awaiting regulatory approval for a merger with Norfolk Southern that would create the country’s first transcontinental freight railroad. CEO Jim Vena is reportedly attempting to get Trump’s support for the deal and met with the president last month to discuss the benefits of the proposed merger.

Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss

The Winklevoss twins became some of the first cryptocurrency billionaires after using a multi-million-dollar legal settlement from Mark Zuckerberg to invest in Bitcoin more than a decade ago. The brothers also founded the cryptocurrency exchange Gemini and an investment company that focuses on tech and blockchain start-ups.

Industry: Cryptocurrency
Past donations to Trump: Each of the twins has given more than $1.6 million since last year, largely in cryptocurrency, to Trump’s campaign and supporting PACs.
Key issues: The Winklevoss twins have advocated for crypto deregulation and Trump’s plans for greater government embrace of cryptocurrency. In addition to their political donations, they also invested in American Bitcoin, a crypto mining company co-founded by Eric and Donald Trump Jr. This summer, the twins donated $21 million to a crypto super PAC supporting conservative candidates.

CNN’s Emily Condon, Rob Kuznia, and Logan Schiciano contributed reporting.

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