Hollywood A-listers, tech executives top Warren’s donor list

By Michael Stratford
Amy Schumer, Scarlett Johansson and Ryan Reynolds were among the Hollywood heavyweights who donated to Warren’s campaign

Sen. Elizabeth Warren has sworn off private fundraisers for her presidential campaign, focusing instead on raising money online. But as the Democrat gathered steam in the second quarter of 2019, some of the biggest names in the donor-rich tech and entertainment industries chipped in anyway.

Actors Amy Schumer, Scarlett Johansson and Ryan Reynolds are among the Hollywood heavyweights who donated to Warren’s campaign in recent months, according to quarterly disclosure documents filed with the Federal Election Commission on Monday. Schumer gave $2,800 for the primary and $2,800 for the general election, Johansson donated $2,800, and Reynolds gave $2,000.

Shonda Rhimes, the prolific television producer of shows such as “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Scandal,” gave $2,800 to Warren’s campaign as did actor and director Rob Reiner. Screenwriter and “Lost” creator Damon Lindelof and his wife, Heidi Fugeman, also each contributed $2,800, the maximum individual amount for an election.

Democratic Hollywood fundraiser Jeffrey Katzenberg, the former head of DreamWorks, gave $2,800 to Warren in the second quarter, as did his wife, Marilyn.

Donors who gave the maximum contribution account for just 2 percent of the $19.8 million Warren raised in the year's second quarter, most of which was given by small donors online. But Warren's growing big-name support reflects the enthusiasm that has built up for her campaign since the beginning of the year. She raised just over $6 million in the first quarter of 2019.

Warren also drew some high-profile donations from Silicon Valley, which she has targeted during her campaign with a proposal to break up giants like Facebook, Amazon and Google.

Tech supporters included John Macfarlane, the founder of Sonos, who gave $2,500, and Spotify executive Barry McCarthy, who contributed $2,800. Chamath Palihapitiya, a former Facebook executive who runs a tech-focused venture capital firm Social Capital, kicked in $2,800 for the primary and $2,200 for the general.

Zach Montellaro contributed to this report.