For the months leading up to the 2024 presidential election, the race has either been particularly close or in a dead heat. But now former President Donald Trump appears to have a small lead, according to polls this week from The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, and CNBC.
Prediction markets have also shown an election outcome favoring Trump over the Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris. But the richest men in the U.S., who subsequently have the power and money to sway voters, can’t seem to agree on who should take the White House come January.
While Forbes found 81 billionaires support Harris and 51 back Trump, the breakdown of the 10 wealthiest men in the U.S. Shows a split—and, in some cases, a reluctance to fund a candidate or announce their loyalties.
Coins2Day has compiled a list of how America’s 10 richest men have approached the presidential election thus far. Net worth figures come from Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index as of Thursday.
1. Elon Musk
Net worth: $237 billion
Musk has been an outspoken supporter of Trump this campaign season. He’s dropped more than $70 million into helping Trump and other Republicans win in November and has also been on the campaign trail with the former president.
Musk said his super political action committee, America PAC, which he launched in May, “is just aiming for common sense, centrist values,” but he’s already flexing his influence on Trump. The first political favor he’ll ask of Trump is to launch a Department of Government Efficiency, which Musk would lead. Musk would push for a national approval process for autonomous vehicles, fully scrapping state regulations.
2. Jeff Bezos
Net worth: $208 billion
While the Amazon founder wrote in an X post Trump showed “tremendous grace and courage under literal fire” after the assassination attempt at a July 13 rally, Bezos hasn’t directly espoused his support for either candidate.
However, Bezos feuded with Trump during his presidency, and celebrated President Joe Biden’s victory in 2020. Campaign funding information site OpenSecrets also shows Amazon has been one of the top corporate donors to the Harris campaign at nearly $1.5 million total.
3. Mark Zuckerberg
Net worth: $200 billion
Zuckerberg was so overcome by Trump’s assassination attempt in July, he threw his support behind the former president—at least according to Trump’s account of a phone call between them.
“He said, ‘That was really amazing, it was very brave,’” Trump said during a Fox Business interview on Friday, adding Zuckerberg “respected me for what I did that day.”
Trump said the Meta CEO told him he was not going to support a Democrat this election out of respect, although Zuckerberg has said publicly he wouldn’t endorse a presidential candidate.
4. Larry Ellison
Net worth: $183 billion
Ellison is a longtime Republican donor. In 2022, he donated more than $30 million to the campaign of South Carolina Republican Senator Tim Scott, who was floated as a potential running mate for Trump before he selected J.D. Vance.
While the Oracle cofounder hasn’t made a public endorsement of Trump, the two have reportedly had a cozy relationship.
5. Bill Gates
Net worth: $161 billion
A New York Times report this week revealed the Microsoft founder is supporting Harris in the presidential election. Sources close to Gates reportedly told the outlet the billionaire donated about $50 million to a nonprofit supporting the Harris campaign.
Gates has notoriously stayed out of politics, and didn’t confirm or deny the donation to the Times. “This election is different,” he said.
6. Larry Page
Net worth: $148 billion
While some major tech executives have made donations to the Trump campaign, the former Google CEO hasn’t supported Trump—or either candidate, for that matter.
“Business leaders supporting Trump may regret it later,” Anat Admati, a professor of finance and economics at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and director of its Corporations and Society Initiative, told The Guardian in September. “The business leaders who fund or endorse Trump might face a backlash coming from employees, customers, or the public, so they are taking a big risk.”
7. Steve Ballmer
Net worth: $147 billion
The former Microsoft CEO has been focused on the facts, having launched a nonpartisan political website, USAFacts, which crunches government statistics into information the general public can understand.
The Los Angeles Clippers owner has dodged questions about who he’ll vote for this election season.
“Now will I vote? Sure, I’m a citizen. I’ll go privately and I’ll vote,” Ballmer told Scripps News. “There are issues on which I have clear public opinion. Do I think our country needs to spend more on preschool for less affluent kids? I will say that. And it turns out, by the way, that’s a nonpartisan issue.”
8. Warren Buffett
Net worth: $145 billion
The legendary Berkshire Hathaway CEO has squarely said he won’t be endorsing anyone this election season.
“In light of the increased usage of social media, there have been numerous fraudulent claims regarding Mr. Buffett’s endorsement of investment products as well as his endorsement and support of political candidates,” according to a Berkshire Hathaway statement published this week. “Mr. Buffett does not currently and will not prospectively endorse investment products or endorse and support political candidates.”
9. Sergey Brin
Net worth: $139 billion
The Google cofounder and former Alphabet president hasn’t publicly endorsed either presidential candidate. However, according to OpenSecrets, Brin has supported several Democratic causes in the past, including former President Barack Obama, Californians for Clean Alternative Energy, and DNC Services Corp.
10. Jensen Huang
Net worth: $122 billion
Huang also has not publicly endorsed either candidate, but commented on both candidates’ tax policies to CNBC. “Whatever the tax rates are, we’ll support it,” he said.