The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Dec. 15, 2025
Brian is away today, so we’re running a still timely report from October. Several of the donors to the White House Ballroom project were cryptocurrency titans. Reuters estimates that the Trump Organization gained $802 million in crypto profits just in the first half of 2025.
The Trump administration announced a list of 37 corporate and wealthy donors for the White House ballroom project October 22nd, just days after beginning the East Wing’s demolition. Over $350 million dollars has been raised for the $300 million dollar project according to President Trump, and it raises questions of special interests currying favor with the administration.
Cryptocurrency donors, including Coinbase and Ripple, both donors to Trump SuperPACs and inaugural fund, contributed to the ballroom fund. Trump told a crypto convention in July, “From now on, rules will be written by people who love your industry, not hate your industry.”
Tech companies contributed, including Apple, Meta, Microsoft and Google, and Palantir Technologies, the company hired to create the massive voting and personal data database for sharing between federal and state agencies. CBS news reports Palantir has received over $800 million dollars in federal contracts from the administration in the 2025 fiscal year.
Sources at defense contractor Lockheed Martin told CBS it contributed $10 million dollars to the project. Others on the list are T-Mobile, Comcast, AI chipmaker Nvidia and others, all which have had business before Trump administration regulators.
Hilary Braseth of money-in-politics tracker OpenSecrets said in a statement, “When private money moves through government without transparency, from White House upgrades to military pay, it opens the door to hidden influence.”
We’ve linked the full list at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. I’m Brian Beihl.
The 37 known donors to the White House ballroom so far, from a guest list to a thank you dinner given by President Trump on Oct. 15.
Altria Group, Inc.
Amazon
Apple
Booz Allen Hamilton
Caterpillar, Inc.
Coinbase
Comcast Corporation
J. Pepe and Emilia Fanjul
Hard Rock International
Google
HP Inc.
Lockheed Martin
Meta Platforms
Micron Technology
Microsoft
NextEra Energy, Inc.
Palantir Technologies Inc.
Ripple
Reynolds American
T-Mobile
Tether America
Union Pacific Railroad
Adelson Family Foundation
Stefan E. Brodie
Betty Wold Johnson Foundation
Charles and Marissa Cascarilla
Edward and Shari Glazer
Harold Hamm
Benjamin Leon Jr.
The Lutnick Family
The Laura & Isaac Perlmutter Foundation
Stephen A. Schwarzman
Konstantin Sokolov
Kelly Loeffler and Jeff Sprecher
Paolo Tiramani
Cameron Winklevoss
Tyler Winklevoss
Today’s Links
Articles & Resources:
American Democracy Minute – (2024) Colossal Crypto Contributions Change Trump’s Mind, Likely Leading to Friendly Regulation – Or None at All
American Democracy Minute – (April) 61 Individual and Corporate Donors Gave $1M or More to Trump’s Inaugural. Where did the $239M Go? We’ll Likely Never Know.
BitGet – Fed Opens Up Direct Payment Pathway for Cryptocurrency Firms
CBS News – What donors to Trump’s White House ballroom stand to gain from the federal government
CNN – White House releases list of donors for Trump’s multi-million-dollar ballroom
FedScoop – The government’s embrace of Palantir is years in the making
The White House – White House Ballroom Continues Proud Presidential Legacy
Open Secrets – Private funds flowing into government spaces threaten transparency and accountability
FactCheck.org – Trump’s White House Ballroom Sparks Questions About Funding and Ethics
Groups Taking Action:
C.R.E.W., Issue One, Open Secrets
Register or Check Your Voter Registration:
U.S. Election Assistance Commission – How to Register And Vote in Your State
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