The Trump Money vs Clinton money question shows Trump losing by a landslide when we follow the money by fundraising, gender and even gambling. First, as of 7/28/16, Clinton has out-fundraised Trump by a four to one margin. That’s staggering. That not only means Clinton is better armed for the coming media battle but it also says something shocking about her relative popularity. Second, the fundraising gender gap is telling. Donors of Clinton money skew slightly female, but donors of Trump money are overwhelmingly male. There are nearly three times as many men giving money to Trump as there are women. It means that in a country that’s about half female, Trump may have already lost about a quarter of potential voters. Finally, look at the Vegas betting odds. Oddsmakers put Clinton as the four to one favorite where gambling is concerned. We break out the details below, along with tables showing who’s giving money to each candidate.
Clinton Money Beats Trump Money in a Landslide
Trump Money vs Clinton Money: The Fundraising Landslide | |
---|---|
Clinton Money | $374,400,000 |
Trump Money | $91,400,000 |
As the table above shows, as of 7/28/16 Hillary Clinton has raised $374.4 million to Trump’s $91.4 million. That means there’s about four times more Clinton money than Trump money. That’s cash Clinton can use for four times more ads, four times more campaign stops and four times more everything than Trump. Astute readers will of course point out that Trump is worth billions (more than ten billion according to Trump) but in the first place that sum has been called into question and in the second most of it is tied up in the operation of his business empire. Could Trump donate $300 million to his campaign? Probably. Whether he’s worth $3 billion or $10, he can probably scare up enough cash to beat Clinton’s fundraising success. But the real point here is what Clinton’s cash victory means for her popularity. Donations are a kind of voting done with the checkbook, and by that measure, Clinton has already won in a landslide.
Trump Money vs Clinton Money by Gender: Where Are Trump’s Women?
Trump Money vs Clinton Money by Gender | ||
---|---|---|
Gender | Clinton Money | Trump Money |
Female | 53.80% | 27.20% |
Male | 46.20% | 72.80% |
Vegas Bets the Smart Money on Clinton
Trump vs Clinton Betting Odds |
---|
Hillary Clinton -240 |
Donald Trump +200 |
The L.A. Times poll below may make a Trump victory look certain, but the money disagrees.
Great new poll – thank you!#MakeAmericaGreatAgain pic.twitter.com/mXovx0TLPC
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 27, 2016
The 1% Give their Money to Clinton
The table below shows the top 10 Clinton money donors. It’s been said over and over in the media and by protestors that the richest 1% of the nation controls the outcomes of our elections. That was the basic rallying cry of Bernie Sanders‘ supporters speaking out against Hillary Clinton. Whether it’s true or not, that 1% appears to be solidly behind Hillary Clinton. The list of Clinton’s top 10 donors includes five large investment firms. To be fair, it also includes a nonprofit, a biotech firm, two labor unions and a media business devoted to ethnic news stories. Does this mean Clinton is in Wall Street’s pocket? That’s certainly on the table for speculation, but the point of this article is to show how the money points to a Clinton victory. If it’s true that the 1% will decide the election (a big if) then Trump will lose. That’s because that same 1% are not giving their money to Trump.
Top Clinton Money Donors | ||
---|---|---|
Group | Type | Money |
Saban Capital Group, Inc. | Private investment firm | $10,036,238 |
Renaissance Technologies LLC | Investment management firm | $9,518,800 |
Pritzker Group Private Capital | Venture capital firm | $7,873,257 |
Soros Fund Management LLC | Hedge fund | $7,044,600 |
Paloma Partners LLC | Securities firm | $6,108,400 |
Newsweb Corporation | Ethnic media firm | $5,013,500 |
DE Shaw Research (DESRES) | Biotech firm | $3,053,601 |
The Center for Middle East Peace | Nonprofit lobbyist firm | $3,008,100 |
Plumbers and Pipefitters Union | Labor union | $3,007,275 |
The Laborers Union | Labor union | $3,006,610 |
Related: Hillary Clinton Net Worth
The 99% Won’t Donate to Trump
One argument in favor of the idea that Trump could win is that he has already proved droves of naysayers wrong. Early in the primary season he was given slim odds of going the distance and he’s since taken his party’s nomination in a landslide. The error in logic comes when voters assume a victory in the Republican party can translate to a win in the general election. A recent Gallup poll shows the U.S. split between 43% democrats and 39% republicans. While Trump may have won more than 50% of that 39%, it doesn’t follow that he can win more than half of all democrats. He would need to in order to take the election. Not only does the money show him losing, the voter numbers are all but insurmountable.
Our country does not feel 'great already' to the millions of wonderful people living in poverty, violence and despair.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 28, 2016
Who Donates to Trump?
If Clinton is getting more of the money from the 1% than Trump and more of the money from the 99% than Trump, then where is the Trump money coming from? Trump’s top 10 fundraising sources are shown in the table below. His #1 donor demographic is retired people. According to U.S. Census data, Americans age 65 and older make up about 13% of the total population. That Trump’s biggest donors are from a small subset of the population doesn’t bode well for him. Further, it’s not as if he corners the market on that old-age money. While Trump has received $3.8 million from retirees, Clinton has taken in $31.6 million from that same group.
Top Trump Money Donors (By industry) | |
---|---|
Retireees | $3,840,878 |
Real Estate | $678,173 |
Miscellaneous Business | $415,250 |
Miscellaneous Finance | $374,700 |
Healthcare Professionals | $365,321 |
Non-Profits | $232,486 |
Lawyers and Law Firms | $194,198 |
TV, Movies and Music | $183,597 |
General Contractors | $176,101 |
Insurance Firms | $111,645 |
Related: What is Bernie Sanders’ Net Worth?
Sanders Money May Become Clinton Money
To put the final nail in the Trump money coffin, let’s take a look at what happens to all the money Bernie Sanders raised over the course of his campaign. Sanders raised $228 million. However, he spent about $220 million. That leaves him with $8 million left over. Presumably, that money will now revert to the DNC and fall into Clinton’s hands. It’s “only” $8 million, so not enough to make a gigantic difference in the outcome of the 2016 election. That said, what will happen to all the future donations from the Sanders crowd? There is some evidence that it won’t go toward Clinton’s campaign. Sanders supporters are by and large disgruntled with the loss of their candidate. However, as the election nears, most pundits believe those disgruntled voters will come firmly into the Clinton camp. That can only further the money victory of a candidate who was already leading her opponent four to one in the fundraising war.
If you liked reading about Trump money vs Clinton money, try this post on Donald Trump’s net worth or this one on how much money YouTube is worth.
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