Leaked donor list shows $333M in ballroom gifts, at least $77M from anonymous donors

What happened

On October 15, 2026, the Washington Post published the donors behind Trump’s White House ballroom, from an internal spreadsheet used to track the fundraising. The list holds the 67 donations above $10,000 recorded as of late September and shows a total of $333 million. Additional internal records indicate at least $77 million came from donors who requested anonymity. Nvidia, Apple, the Adelson Family Foundation and Charles Ergen each committed $25 million.

The money is collected by the Trust for the National Mall and channeled to the government and into a White House account the president directly controls, the Post reported. Some donors wrote checks; others are paying in installments. Trump is not on the list. The Post reported that companies or executives of firms with federal contracts in Trump’s second term account for about half the total. The Post said its reporting “does not establish a connection between the donation commitments and favorable actions.” A White House spokesman declined to discuss individual gifts and said the administration would “relentlessly pursue those responsible for this cowardly leak.”

Who benefited

The ballroom project, which now has $333 million in private commitments toward the $400 million Trump has said he wants to raise. Trump said last year, days after demolition began, “It’s being paid for a hundred percent by me and some friends of mine.” The list shows no gift from him. The Post said the estimated cost of the new East Wing, including the ballroom, had risen to $600 million.

Who wanted something

The Post’s list does not say what any donor wanted, and every donor who commented denied a connection to government action. It does show sequences. FCC Chair Brendan Carr dropped an investigation of Ergen’s EchoStar in September 2025; Ergen committed $12.5 million in December and $12.5 million in February, and the FCC and Justice Department approved EchoStar’s license sale to AT&T in May. Ergen and EchoStar declined to comment. Salesforce committed $1 million on December 24 and $1 million on January 29, and Marc Benioff committed $1 million separately; between those dates the Army awarded Salesforce a contract worth up to $5.6 billion, with one bid received. A Pentagon official said political connections “play absolutely no role.” Salesforce did not respond. Isabela Herrera, whose father Julio Herrera Velutini’s bribery charges were reduced to a misdemeanor in August 2025, committed $2.5 million in September 2025 and paid a first installment of $835,000 on October 14, 2025. Trump pardoned her father in January 2026. Neither responded.

Nvidia, which asked that its $25 million be kept anonymous, said its support for the United States “is paramount, and independent of any business interests.” A Rocket spokesperson said the company’s government approvals and its $10 million gift were not connected; ServiceNow, which committed $5 million, said its government business is “separate and unconnected to any donations.”

Who lost out

Taxpayers are covering part of the cost, and the public cannot see who paid the rest. The Post reported that the White House has used taxpayer dollars for some of the construction. Ordinary political giving must be disclosed; these gifts go through a nonprofit, which generally does not have to name its donors. A 12-page agreement between the government and the Trust requires it to keep donors anonymous to the extent provided by law unless White House Executive Residence staff authorize otherwise in writing. The Trust said it is “not uncommon for donors to request their gifts remain anonymous.”

Why it matters

The White House named 37 donors last October without giving amounts; this list gives the amounts, and most come from companies and wealthy individuals with interests before the federal government, the Post found. The $333 million sits in an account the president controls, and none of it had to be reported. The Money ledger counts the pieces separately, including the $22 million from YouTube’s settlement, which the Post’s list shows, and the more than $50 billion in federal contracts that went to 14 ballroom donors. This receipt is not counted again. AT&T, listed for a $5 million “pledge,” told the Post it has no plans to give and was listed in error; it is left out.

Sources The Washington Post (via The Spokesman-Review)The Washington Post (via The Spokesman-Review)ForbesGizmodo