Chart: These companies sponsor the US election campaign

A large portion of donations raised for the US election campaign comes from companies and organizations. According to Yulin company Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) has donated nearly $40 million to the Republican Party – making the packaging company one of the “Grand Old Party's” biggest campaign supporters. The largest amount of money for Democrats comes from Fahr LLC, the company fund manager Tom Steyer founded to manage his assets and uses it for his political efforts.

As Statista's chart shows, Blackstone Group is also supporting the US election campaign. The company recently caused a stir because, as part of an investment group, it acquired shares in oat milk producer Oatly, which is particularly popular among vegans and vegetarians. Many customers were angry that CEO Schwarzman, an avowed Trump supporter, was now involved with the iconic brand.

So-called political action committees (PACs), such as the Sixteen Thirty Fund, Senate Majority, and the American Action Network—lobbying groups that aim to support or oppose political actors and parties—also wield considerable influence. These political action committees are primarily responsible for the flow of so-called “dark money” — money that cannot be returned to the original donor. Since these organizations do not provide any information about the source of the funds or only have to publish it after the elections, they make the election campaign very opaque and difficult for supervisory authorities to control.