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172 Billionaire Families Have Spent Record $1.7 Billion on 2026 Midterms So Far
Marc Andreessen and Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen attend a ceremony on April 18, 2026 in Santa Monica, California. | (Photo by Craig T Fruchtman/WireImage)
An analysis released Wednesday shows that 172 billionaire families in the _United States_ have collectively spent more than $1.7 billion on the 2026 elections—a record-shattering sum for a midterm cycle.
The _analysis_ by the Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF) Action Fund shows that the “vast bulk” of _billionaire political spending_ this election cycle has flowed to _super PACs_, a product of the Supreme Court’s notorious 2010 __Citizens United__ ruling. Super PACs can raise and spend unlimited sums in support of favored candidates, giving billionaires a powerful vehicle to influence elections.
ATF Action Fund found that billionaire political spending has increased 53-fold since the __Citizens United__ decision. This cycle, less than 20% of billionaire donations went to committees subject to contribution limits.
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“With each passing election since the _Citizens United_ decision, billionaires have systematically bought up our _democracy_,” said Jodie Rubenstein, ATF Action Fund’s executive director. “These billionaires are backing a crooked tax system that shifts wealth upward through massive tax giveaways to the wealthy and big business. We can’t let billionaire money erode our democracy while working families struggle to get by.”
“Working- and middle-class Americans must fight back and make clear this November that our democracy is not for sale,” Rubenstein added.
The top-spending billionaire families so far this cycle are those of Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, cofounders of the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. The two families have pumped a combined $149 million into the 2026 elections, with donations flowing to both _Republicans_ and Democrats. Andreessen and Horowitz have given _major donations_ to Leading the Future, a super PAC that opposes strict _artificial intelligence_ regulations.
The families of investor George Soros, businessman Jeff Yass, and _Tesla_ CEO _Elon Musk_ are other leading spenders this cycle. The top 15 billionaire spenders have accounted for $962 million in combined 2026 election outlays, according to the new analysis.
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_GOP_ candidates have been the chief beneficiaries of billionaire election spending this cycle, ATF Action Fund found, with 113 billionaire families giving mostly to Republicans and 45 donating predominately to Democrats.
“A large group of billionaires is sending their checks to MAGA Inc., which has raised over $222 million from them since January 2025,” the new analysis shows. “In fact $1 out of every $2 to Donald Trump’s MAGA Inc. super PAC comes directly from a billionaire on our list.”
_Jake Johnson is a senior editor and staff writer for Common Dreams._
* 2026 Midterms
* Billionaires
* Corruption in politics
* Citizens United
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