Who are Republican megadonors backing in 2024?

Next year’s presidential election won’t be cheap.

Spending in the 2020 presidential election topped $5.7 billion, according to Federal Election Commission filings reviewed by OpenSecrets, and 2024 is also expected to be pricey.

While small-dollar donors have become an important part of campaign fundraising — including for Republican candidates, who have to raise money from at least 40,000 donors from at least 20 states to make it to the first debate in August under new Republican National Committee rules — megadonors play an outsized role.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in its Citizens United case in 2010 against capping campaign donations from corporations and other outside groups, super political action committees, or super PACs, funded by wealthy donors have poured millions into outside ads.

Already, some of the richest Republican donors have indicated they plan to back someone in the primaries, but not every megadonor is getting in on the action yet. Here’s who some of the richest donors in the U.S. are backing in the Republican primary:

Elon Musk

Musk hasn’t made an endorsement, but he’s engaging with candidates on his app, Twitter. Musk hosted Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Twitter’s audio feature Spaces for his campaign announcement, and he retweeted Sen. Tim Scott’s, R-S.C., campaign announcement video, writing, “Great statement.” Musk has said he’s open to hosting other Spaces events with candidates, including Democrats, and he hosted one with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. earlier this month. Last year, Musk tweeted that he recommended voters back Republicans for Congress because divided government “curbs the worst excesses of both parties.” Musk is estimated to be worth $233.8 billion, according to Forbes, making him the world’s richest man.

Larry Ellison

Ellison, the co-founder of Oracle, a computer technology company, is going big for Scott. Last year, Ellison gave $30 million to Opportunity Matters Fund, a super PAC that supported Scott’s Senate reelection campaign and other Senate Republicans in the midterms. The super PAC has since rebranded as Trust in the Mission PAC, or TIM PAC, and a Republican fundraiser told CNBC that Ellison plans to give double his 2022 amount. Ellison attended Scott’s campaign announcement last month and Scott called him one of his mentors. Ellison has backed other Republicans, including Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio’s 2016 presidential bid. Ellison is estimated to be worth $148.2 billion, according to Forbes.

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Miriam Adelson

The widow of the late casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, Miriam Adelson is a coveted donor, and she and her husband gave more than half a billion dollars to Republicans over a decade, according to Politico. This time around, however, Adelson is reportedly planning to sit the primaries out. Despite conversations with several candidates — including former President Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former Vice President Mike Pence — Adelson has told candidates she doesn’t plan to pick a side in the primaries, two people with direct knowledge of the discussions told Politico. The Adelsons supported former Speaker Newt Gingrich in the 2012 primaries and didn’t get involved in the 2016 primaries. Adelson is estimated to be worth $35.3 billion, according to Forbes.

Charles Koch

Americans for Prosperity, a political advocacy group connected to Koch, hasn’t picked a favorite but the group’s CEO hopes Republicans “turn the page.” In a memo released in February, Americans for Prosperity CEO Emily Seidel wrote, “The Republican Party is nominating bad candidates who are advocating for things that go against core American principles. And the American people are rejecting them.” Seidel suggested Democrats were taking advantage of that and wrote, “Our country must move past the current political situation — we’ve got to turn the page on the past several years.” The group plans to support “a candidate in the Republican presidential primary who can lead our country forward, and who can win,” Seidel said. Koch is estimated to be worth $56.9 billion, according to Forbes.

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Robert and Rebekah Mercer

The father-daughter duo, who in the past have donated to Trump, are reportedly hoping for someone else to win the nomination next year. Sources told CNBC the Mercers are “distancing themselves from the ex-president’s third White House bid and cutting back their overall campaign fundraising.” Rebekah Mercer donated $25,000 last year to Friends of Ron DeSantis, a super PAC supporting DeSantis’ gubernatorial reelection campaign

Ken Griffin

Griffin, the CEO of the investment firm Citadel, came out in support of DeSantis before he even announced his campaign. Griffin told Politico last year that DeSantis “has a tremendous record as governor of Florida, and our country would be well-served by him as president.” His only donation to Trump came in the form of $100,000 to his inaugural committee, and Griffin said of Trump’s performance as president, “he did a lot of things really well and missed the mark on some important areas.” He said, “for a litany of reasons, I think it’s time to move on to the next generation.” Griffin’s is estimated to be worth $32.5 billion, according to Forbes.