And Citizens United has increased the portion of all political giving that comes from the richest Americans. In 2008, donations from billionaires were less than 1% of all political contributions, but by 2018 they made up nearly 10%, the study found. Final numbers for 2020 weren’t available because most giving will occur during the second half of the year, the study says.
“Billionaires have an outsized influence on our economy, politics and society,” said Frank Clemente, executive director of Americans for Tax Fairness.
Both parties have benefited from the flood of contributions from billionaires.
The study showed that billionaires gave more than twice as much to Republicans in the 2012 election, but just 20% more to the GOP in the 2016 election, and slightly more to Democrats in the 2018 midterms.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.