Beyond George Soros, Republican mega-donors represent 7 of top 10 individuals pouring into $17B midterms

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While the total cost of 2022 state and federal elections is projected to exceed $16.7 billion, George Soros topped the list of individual donors dipping into their own pockets ahead of the midterms. But Republican mega-donors represent seven of the top 10 individual donors making hefty monetary contributions this election cycle. 

Liberal billionaire Soros ranked top of the list for individual donors in the 2022 midterm election published by OpenSecrets, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that tracks data on campaign finance and lobbying. 

He contributed $128,475,971 to Democrats – and $0 to Republicans – this election cycle. That far outweighs the estimated $20 million Soros donated ahead of the 2018 midterms. 

The Budapest-born billionaire who survived Nazi-occupied Hungary successfully backed far-left leaning district attorneys in Democrat-run cities across the country that have seen dramatic spikes in crime. 

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George Soros, billionaire and founder of Soros Fund Management LLC, speaks during an event on day two of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday, May 24, 2022. (Jason Alden/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Second on the list is shipping magnate Richard Uihlein, who donated $80,692,168 to Republicans and $0 to Democrats. That makes him the top Republican individual donor for the 2022 midterms. 

Uihlein has already funneled millions into pro-life PACs earlier this year around the time the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and has given heavily to Republican Sen. Ron Johnson in the Wisconsin Senate Race against Democratic challenger Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes. 

The Wisconsin Senate race is among the 10 most expensive congressional races this cycle and is considered a toss up by the Cook Political Report. 

Another GOP megadonor, Kenneth C. Griffin, ranks third on the OpenSecrets list. CEO of hedge fund Citadel, Griffin has poured $68,571,500 in support of Republican candidate ahead of the midterms. 

In June, the $51 billion hedge fund founded by Griffin announced it was moving its global headquarters out of Chicago and to Miami, citing concerns about rising crime in the Windy City and benefits from Florida’s business-friendly climate and tax advantages. 

A spokesman for Griffin told CNBC in October that the Citadel founder wants to, "elevate talented candidates and broaden the tent of the Republican Party to make it more representative of our country." 

Kenneth Griffin, founder and chief executive officer of Citadel LLC, speaks during the Skybridge Alternatives (SALT) conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., on Wednesday, May 11, 2016.  (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Griffin, "elevate talented candidates and broaden the tent of the Republican Party to make it more representative of our country," the spokesman added.

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Fourth on the list are Jeffrey S. & Janine Yass, who donated $44,075,100 to Republican candidates. Jeffrey Yass, founder of quantitative trading firm Susquehanna International Group and vice chair of the libertarian Cato Institute’s board, is considered Pennsylvania’s richest resident.

He reportedly donated $15 million to the School Freedom Fund, which through the Club for Growth, helped air ads ripping Democratic candidates for COVID-19-era school closures and critical race theory. 

Ranking fifth on the list is Republican billionaire Timothy Mellon. 

He contributed $40,035,815 to Republican candidates this election cycle, and $10,700 to Democratic candidates. The Wyoming-based grandson of banking tycoon and former Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon donated $53.1 million in stock to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s border wall fund, according to The Texas Tribune. 

Founder and CEO of crypto exchange FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, is the sixth-highest individual donor for the 2022 midterm cycle, according to Open Secrets. A relative political newcomer, he donated a whopping $36,793,956 to Democratic candidates, while $235,200 went to Republicans. 

Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal, Palantir Technologies, and Founders Fund, holds hundred dollar bills as he speaks during the Bitcoin 2022 Conference at Miami Beach Convention Center on April 7, 2022, in Miami, Florida.  (Marco Bello/Getty Images)

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Ranking seventh, Fred Eychaner donated $35,784,000 to Democratic candidates and $0 to Republicans this cycle. The longtime Democratic mega-donor is based in Chicago, has advocated for LGBTQ causes and is the chairman of Newsweb Corporation, a media company running a handful of newspapers and TV and progressive-leaning radio stations in the Chicago area. 

Stephen A. Schwarzman, chairman and CEO of the Blackstone Group, one of the world’s largest private equity firms, ranks eighth on the list compiled by OpenSecrets, having donated $35,506,058 to Republican candidates and $0 to Democrats ahead of the 2022 midterm elections. 

PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel ranks as ninth-largest individual donor after shelling out $32,623,342 for Republican candidates and $0 to Democrats. The current leader of the data analytics firm Palantir Technologies donated largely to two GOP Senate hopefuls, giving $15 million to a super PAC supporting Arizona’s Blake Masters, a former executive at Thiel’s firm, and another $15 million to a super PAC supporting J.D. Vance in Ohio, The Hill reported. 

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Meanwhile, ranking tenth place is chairman of the Oracle Group, Lawrence Ellison, who gave $31,007,944 to Republican candidates this cycle and $0 to Democrats. 

The wealthiest individual on the list, with an estimated net worth of nearly $100 billion, Ellison donated $20 million to the super PAC Opportunity Matters Fund which is aligned with Sen. Tim Scott, R-South Carolina.