The political landscape has changed since Donald Trump first ran for office about 8 years ago when most rich Americans kept their distance; now hes got powerful friends with deep pockets
Elon Musk‚ the worlds richest person leads this new-money coalition: hes talking with Trump about running a made-up “Department of Government Efficiency“ (which they want to call Doge for some reason). The tech-savvy billionaire wants less rules for his companies SpaceX‚ Tesla and Neuralink – and he brings his 200m social-media followers to the table
John Paulson‚ who made big money during the 2008 housing crash wants to be part of the team too; his ideas include cutting green-energy support and keeping tax-cuts going. Meanwhile Steve Wynn‚ the 82-year old casino boss stays close despite past issues with legal stuff
All of these tax subsidies for solar‚ for wind inefficient‚ uneconomic energy sources: Eliminate that
Howard Lutnick whos running the transition team (and survived the tragic 9/11 attacks at his company) likes the idea of making money from China tariffs. The investment world brings more support through Nelson Peltz – whose fancy Florida house parties help bring other rich folks to Trumps side
Some interesting connections show up in the tech world: Jeff Yass owns part of TikTok and might benefit from Trumps softer stand on the app while Peter Thiel – who put early money in Facebook keeps his influence through his friend JD Vance
The old-money crew includes Miriam Adelson whos keeping up her late husbands pro-Israel support and Timothy Mellon – a quiet railroad rich guy who gives lots of campaign money but dont talk much about it
Dana White from UFC isnt quite billionaire-level rich but he brings something different: a direct line to young male voters and sports-entertainment influence. Plus theres Scott Bessent who learned money tricks from George Soros and might end up running the Treasury department