PURCHASING POWER

What do the biggest donors to Donald Trump's campaign expect to get in return?

- SUSAN B. GLASSER

In February, the billionaire investor Nelson Peltz convened two dozen of the country's wealthiest Republicans for a dinner at Montsorrel, his $300-million oceanfront estate in Palm Beach, just down the road from Mara-Lago. During the 2020 campaign, Peltz had hosted a lavish fund-raiser for Donald Trump at the mansion, which took in $10 million. But, in the aftermath of the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, Peltz, like many Republicans of all income levels, had publicly denounced the President. In an interview with CNBC on January 7th, he apologized for his vote and said that Trump would always be remembered for that day's "disgrace." "As an American," he added, "I'm embarrassed." During this year's Republican primaries, Peltz gave $100,000 to a super PAC supporting Tim Scott, the South Carolina senator, but Scott dropped out before a single G.O.P. vote was cast. By the time of Peltz's dinner, it was clear that Trump would secure the Republican nomination for an unprecedented third consecutive election. Peltz, who was no longer on speaking terms with the ex-President, opened the discussion with a blunt assessment of the race. "I don't like Donald Trump," an attendee recalled Peltz saying. "He's a terrible human being, but our country's in a bad place, and we can't afford Joe Biden." So, Peltz concluded, however much they might dislike it, "we've all got to throw our support behind him." Some of Peltz's guests remained skeptical, holding to the view, as the attendee put it, that "Trump's a terrible personI'm going to focus on the Senate." Most of the donors, however, adopted a more pragmatic approach to the ex-President.