This is part of a series revealing the billionaires donating to Democrats running for president. See more on the supporters of Joe Biden, Michael Bennet, Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Tulsi Gabbard, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer and Elizabeth Warren.
Andrew Yang’s “freedom dividend,” which would give every American adult $1,000 a month, wouldn’t mean much for billionaires. But a few of them are supporting the Democratic underdog anyway. Four members of the three-comma club have contributed to Yang’s presidential campaign this year, according to an analysis of federal election filings.
Twitter cofounder Jack Dorsey became Yang’s first billionaire donor in March. Noting Dorsey’s contribution, Yang tweeted, “More people join the #YangGang all the time.” Dorsey publicly showed his support for the fellow entrepreneur in July, tweeting, “I appreciate Andrew’s focus on the coming displacement of work due to [artificial intelligence] and automation.”
Read more in our series: Here Are The Billionaires Funding The Democratic Presidential Candidates
In August Yang picked up support from three more billionaires. Indianapolis shopping mall developer Herb Simon contributed $1,000 on August 1, one day after the conclusion of the second Democratic debates. Simon is not all-in on Yang. The developer, who did not respond to a request for comment, has also given to the campaigns of six other Democratic contenders this year.
Next came a donation from Silicon Valley cybersecurity entrepreneur Ken Xie whose company Fortinet sells cloud security and firewalls to other businesses. Xie had previously donated to the congressional campaigns of Democratic Representatives Ted Lieu and Mike Honda, both of California.
At the end of August, Elizabeth Johnson, a billionaire heiress to the Fidelity fortune, contributed to Yang’s campaign. Johnson, who owns a stake in Fidelity worth an estimated $3.5 billion and runs a stable for show-jumping horses in Florida has supported the campaigns of Democratic senators Mark Warner of Virginia and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York. Her sister Abigail Johnson serves as CEO of Fidelity and gave over $200,000 to a committee supporting Hillary Clinton in 2016. Abigail Johnson has not donated to any presidential candidates this election cycle.
Here are Yang’s billionaire backers, ranked by net worth:
JACK DORSEY
Net worth: $4.1 billion *
Source of wealth: Twitter, Square
Size of donation: $6,600 **
Also supported: Tulsi Gabbard, Jay Inslee (dropout)
ELIZABETH JOHNSON
Net worth: $3.5 billion
Source of wealth: Fidelity
Size of donation: $2,800
Also supported: Kirsten Gillibrand (dropout)
Other notable contributions: Friends of Mark Warner ($5,600) to support the Virginia Democratic senator ***
HERB SIMON
Net worth: $3.3 billion
Source of wealth: Real estate
Size of donation: $5,600
Also supported: Joe Biden, Michael Bennet, Steve Bullock (dropout), John Delaney, Kamala Harris (dropout), Amy Klobuchar
Other notable contributions: Team Holcomb, to support Republican Indiana governor Eric Holcomb ($50,000)
KEN XIE
Net worth: $1.5 billion
Source of wealth: Cybersecurity
Size of donation: $1,000
Also supported: No one directly
* Forbes Real-Time net worth as of Dec. 29, 2019.
** This amount exceeds contribution limits. A spokesperson for Yang’s campaign explained that the campaign is in the process of refunding the excess amount.
*** Contribution amounts represent donations given from January to September 2019, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
This post will be updated as new federal filings are released.
Additional reporting by Giacomo Tognini
