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Billionaire investor John Paulson will host a fundraiser in Florida for Donald Trump next month, as the former president seeks to match Joe Biden’s financial operation and pay a growing pile of legal bills and judgments.
Joining Paulson to co-chair the event will be Robert Bigelow, the real estate investor who was the largest donor to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s ended presidential campaign, and shale baron Harold Hamm, who had called on Trump to abandon the his run for the White House.
The list of 38 co-chairs includes people who served in Trump’s Cabinet, former ambassador to the United Kingdom Woody Johnson and billionaires from Las Vegas to New York, demonstrating that the former president has won back some major donors Republicans despite the criminal charges he faces.
“I am pleased to support President Trump in his reelection efforts,” Paulson said in a statement. “His policies on the economy, energy, immigration and foreign policy will be very beneficial for the country.”
The event in Palm Beach on April 6 will be held just weeks after Trump crushed rivals including DeSantis and Nikki Haley in the Republican primary race to become the party’s presumptive presidential nominee — and invited donors backing other candidates to join behind his campaign.
The former president is also racing to raise money to support President Biden’s campaign, which has opened up a big lead in donations as Trump faces millions of dollars in legal fees. On Tuesday, Trump complained that he may be forced into an asset fire sale to postpone the execution of a $464 million fraud judgment against him in New York.
The fundraising invitation, obtained by the Financial Times, shows two categories of donors: those who give $814,600 per person and can sit at Trump’s table, and those who give at least $250,000. Both will receive photo opportunities with Trump and a “personalized ‘Our Journey Together’ book,” the invitation reads.
As the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Trump can now legally raise more money per person. The fundraiser will also benefit the Republican National Committee and Save America, a campaign group that has already paid more than $50 million in legal fees to Trump.
Paulson has known Trump for about 15 years and was part of his economic policy team in 2016. He has been mentioned in US media as a potential candidate for Treasury secretary if Trump wins November’s general election.
“We are getting tremendous support from donors,” Paulson said. “This support, combined with the landslide victory he achieved in the primaries, demonstrates his strong support among Americans.”
Donors chairing the event will include sugar magnate Pepe Fanjul, casino titans Steve Wynn and Phil Ruffin, former Commerce Department Secretary Wilbur Ross, Key Square Group founder Scott Bessent and conservative mega-donors Robert and Rebekah Mercer. Intercontinental Exchange founder Jeffrey Sprecher and his wife, former Senator Kelly Loeffler, also serve as co-chairmen, as does World Wrestling Entertainment co-founder Linda McMahon.
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South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy — who all ran against Trump in the primaries before endorsing him — will attend the event.
In addition to Bigelow and Hamm, other participants who have now switched to Trump include Omeed Malik, a former DeSantis fundraiser, and Mason Capital’s Ken Garschina, who donated $250,000 to a pro-DeSantis Super Pac early last year.
But Trump has struggled to win over top donors for Haley’s campaign and in January threatened to put her supporters on paper. The former South Carolina governor, who dropped out of the race earlier this month, had warned that Trump would turn the RNC into his “legal slush fund.”
Two of Haley’s major donors, billionaire investors Ken Griffin and Paul Singer, have so far refused to join Trump. A major outside group for Haley – Americans for Prosperity Action – backed by billionaire Charles Koch’s network, has decided to focus on congressional races.