Until now, Trump has done little to court the party's benefactors. Last year, he called candidates who depended on rich donors "puppets," and he pledged to crack down on a loophole that allows some investment managers to pay a low tax rate on their earnings, saying "the hedge fund guys are getting away with murder."
Some are unlikely to come around to Trump. Paul Singer, the New York hedge-fund manager who is among the top Republican donors in the country, spent millions of dollars on an advertising campaign against Trump during the latter part of the Republican primary season. Since then, he's remained staunchly in the anti-Trump camp. Last week, a person with knowledge of his plans said he intended to sit out the Republican convention in Cleveland next month.
Gelb, a veteran Republican fundraiser and former executive at Clairol and Bristol-Myers Squibb, dismissed concerns about Trump's finances. "Hillary has got a mountain of money, and the Republican party does not," he said after the dinner. "My feeling is, it's not the money that's getting him votes, it's what he has to say."
Gelb, a top fundraiser for George H.W. Bush's presidential campaign, said his $50,000 Trump ticket was the biggest contribution he's ever made to a candidate. "The more I see him, I'm convinced its what America needs at this time."
At Tuesday's dinner, hedge-fund managers and real-estate titans mingled next to a two-story chilled glass tower displaying the restaurant's wines, before heading to the dining room paneled in polished Macassar ebony.
Kalikow, a prominent real-estate developer, says he now supports Trump because he knows he's a great negotiator from years of doing deals together. "It's kind of fun for me," he said in an interview before the event, "to be at a point in life where you have a president you know, and you know can do the job firsthand."
Kalikow's wasn't the only boldface name on hand Tuesday whose business and social life had overlapped with Trump's over the years. Icahn struck a deal with Trump decades ago during the bankruptcy of the Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City. Bo Dietl, a media personality and former New York City police detective, said he'd known Trump for 35 years.
"Lemme tell you something, if I had a million dollars, I would give him a million dollars," Dietl said. "I need this country to get straightened out."