USAupdated 1h ago2 min read
Leaked Donor List Shows Nvidia, Apple Gave $25 Million Each for Trump Ballroom
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Nvidia and Apple each contributed $25 million to fund Trump's White House ballroom. The list shows total private donations around $333 million for the project.
Donor List Leaks
A leaked list of donors for President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom project showed $333 million in private donations, with the list recording 67 donations over $10,000 and at least $77 million from donors who requested to stay anonymous. Nvidia and Apple each committed $25 million for the planned ballroom, and the Adelson family also committed $25 million, as did billionaire Charles Ergen, co-founder and chairman of telecommunications company Dish Network.
White House spokesman Davis Ingle defended the donors and said the contributors “represent a wide array of great American companies.” The White House said it would not release information about the donors, and Reuters reported it had not verified the Washington Post’s donor list.
Trump Absent, Ethics
Trump himself was absent from the list, even though he said he was helping to pay for the project. Trump said, “It’s being paid for a hundred percent by me and some friends of mine,” while the documents showed the total of $333 million from private donors.
White House spokesman Davis Ingle told Reuters that “The same critics who are alleging fake conflicts of interests, would also complain if American taxpayers were footing the bill for these long-overdue renovations.” The Washington Post reported that the ballroom donations are collected by a nonprofit and then channeled to the government and into a White House account the president directly controls, and it said the Post’s reporting did not establish a connection between the donation commitments and favorable actions by the Trump administration.
Construction, Court, Fallout
The Reuters report said the US Supreme Court, in a 5-4 ruling in August, allowed Trump to continue construction of the ballroom while he challenges a judicial order that would halt much of the development.
Chief Justice John Roberts dissented, saying the project was “likely unlawful,” and Trump has said the ballroom will seat 1,000 guests.
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon did allow for building of an underground bunker to continue.
The Supreme Court has allowed the ballroom to proceed as the case moves through lower courts, and construction is well underway with the framing of the structure visibly rising on the White House grounds.