Secret Records Show $333 Million in Private Donations for Trump’s White House Ballroom

Internal fundraising records obtained by The Washington Post show that private donors have committed $333 million to President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom project, including contributions from major technology companies, wealthy individuals and donors with ties to government contracts or regulatory decisions.

President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom project has attracted hundreds of millions of dollars in private donor commitments, according to records obtained by The Washington Post. [Photo: G. Edward Johnson, Wikimedia Commons]

The records identify Nvidia and Apple as the largest corporate contributors, each committing $25 million.

The Adelson family and billionaire Charles Ergen, co-founder and chairman of Dish Network, also committed $25 million apiece, according to The Washington Post reporters Jonathan O’Connell, Sarah Blaskey and Aaron Schaffer.

The newspaper reviewed an internal spreadsheet tracking 67 donations exceeding $10,000 as of late September.

The document records the source, date and amount of the contributions.

Trump is not listed as a donor in the spreadsheet, although he has previously said he would help pay for the project alongside private supporters.

The records also indicate that at least nine donors requested anonymity. Separate fundraising documents show that at least $77 million came from donors who sought to remain unidentified, according to the newspaper.

Some donors have business interests that intersect with federal policy, government contracts or regulatory decisions.

The records do not, by themselves, establish that contributions were made in exchange for favorable government treatment.

The fundraising arrangement has raised questions among ethics experts and legal scholars because the donations are being collected through a nonprofit and directed toward a government project rather than through an ordinary political campaign.

Unlike conventional campaign contributions, the ballroom donations are not subject to the same public disclosure framework. That difference has prompted scrutiny over transparency and the possibility that donors could seek access or influence through their financial support.

Some donors have said their contributions were not connected to government decisions.

Nvidia, for example, has described its support as independent of its business interests.

The records provide a more detailed picture of the fundraising effort, but they do not prove that any donor received preferential treatment or that any contribution was unlawful.