Skydance Media CEO David Ellison attends the 81st Annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton on January 7, 2024 in Beverly Hills, California.
Kevin Winter | The Hollywood Reporter | Getty Images
David Ellison, the son of Republican megadonor Larry Ellison, gave $929,600 to support President Joe Biden’s re-election efforts, placing him among the incumbent Democrat’s top recent donors.
David Ellison’s donation is the largest recorded contribution the Skydance Media CEO has ever made to a federal candidate, according to Federal Election Commission records.
His February contribution to the Biden Victory Fund is on par with other significant contributors in the first quarter of 2024.
Others who donated the same amount as David Ellison this quarter include attorney George Conway, a leading critic of former President Donald Trump, and Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskowitz.
David Ellison’s donation comes as his father, Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison, has kept his wallet tight this election cycle.
Larry Ellison, who has historically been a major GOP donor, has not made a single federal political donation so far in 2024, records show. Larry Ellison has donated more than $31 million to Republican candidates in the 2022 congressional midterms, according to OpenSecrets data.
Charles Myers, a former vice president at investment bank Evercore and Biden campaign official, said David Ellison’s donation to support Biden is a “very big deal” because of his family ties.
“This is as impactful as if one of Soros’ sons started writing huge checks to Trump,” Myers told CNBC, referring to Democratic megadonor George Soros.
Biden’s allies have been pushing to recruit David Ellison, as the president’s political team tries to build a campaign war chest large enough to effectively combat presumptive Republican nominee Trump in the presidential election.
The move to secure David Ellison’s support — and his large donation — was largely orchestrated by Hollywood mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter, who was granted anonymity to discuss private questions.
Katzenberg is co-chairman of Biden’s campaign, and his efforts to secure David Ellison as an endorser included arranging a meeting with Biden, the source said.
David Ellison in December attended a private roundtable in Los Angeles with Biden and fewer than a dozen other participants that included wealthy donors, the source said. This event took place at the home of Kurt Rappaport, a real estate investor and Biden donor.
Rappaport told CNBC that he invited a “small group of friends” to his home to attend the event and that those in attendance were “not necessarily” all of Biden’s top financiers, but declined to comment any further.
Larry Ellison, founder and former CEO of Oracle Inc., watches a practice race from a powerboat before the America’s Cup World Series sailing competition on the Great Sound in Hamilton, Bermuda, October 16, 2015 .
Mike Segar | Reuters
David Ellison made his donation to the Biden Victory Fund after the event at Rappaport’s home.
The Biden Victory Fund funds the Biden campaign, the Democratic National Committee and dozens of state parties, according to Federal Election Commission records. Rappaport gave $929,600 to that fund last July, according to FEC records.
David Ellison’s donation helped the Biden Victory Fund raise more than $121 million in the first quarter of this year. A similar Trump-supporting entity, called Trump Save America, raised more than $65 million that quarter, according to FEC records.
Biden trails Trump by a single percentage point in the latest public opinion poll from the New York Times and Sienna College.
Larry Ellison supported Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., in his bid for president, but did not contribute to his campaign. He is now reportedly trying to sell Scott to Trump’s team as the former president’s running mate.
Even though the Ellisons could be on different camps in the 2024 election, the two are working together on a major media deal.
David Ellison’s Skydance Media recently made a bid to acquire National Amusements and merge with Paramount Pictures. Larry Ellison, whose reported net worth is more than $149 billion, plans to help finance the proposed deal.
A spokesperson for David Ellison declined to comment. Katzenberg and the Biden campaign did not respond to requests for comment.
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