Billionaires bankroll US politics, but voters could demand a fairer system

By João V. Ferreira, Lecturer in Economics, University of Southampton
Foivos Savva, Lecturer in Economics, University of Southampton
Michael Vlassopoulos, Professor in Economics, University of Southampton

Billionaires played an unprecedented role in the 2024 US elections, with 150 of the world’s wealthiest families contributing nearly US$2 billion (£1.57 billion) trying to influence the outcome. This included donations from the likes of Elon Musk (US$133 million for the Republicans) and Michael Bloomberg (US$45 million for the Democrats).

It was a big spend – but from their perspective, a very affordable one. The US$2 billion sum represents just 0.07% of their collective…

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