Wealthy businesspeople, venture capitalists and Hollywood stars helped Josh Shapiro raise $9 million during his year in the spotlight
Notable donors include Democratic billionaire George Soros, Hollywood director Steven Spielberg, a former EA video game company executive, and an executive from the company that owns WWE and UFC.
Wealthy businesspeople, venture capitalists, and Hollywood stars contributed a total of $9 million so far this year to Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s campaign coffers.
The Democratic first-term governor raised $9 million since Jan. 1, and still has nearly $9 million in cash on hand as of Oct. 22. The haul is significant for Shapiro, who is not yet running for reelection for governor or any higher office, allowing him to amass a hefty war chest before he runs again.
His top donor was Jennifer Duda, a physician in California, who sent him $2 million so far this year and previously backed Shapiro in his run for governor. He also received $500,000 total from Democratic billionaire George Soros; another $500,000 from former video game company executive John Riccitiello; and $200,000 total from Ariel Emanuel, who leads the company that owns WWE and UFC; among others.
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Other notable contributions include $25,000 from former Meta CEO Sheryl Sandberg, $25,000 from whistleblower Edward Snowden, and $100,000 from Hollywood couple Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw.
Shapiro’s campaign finance report, published Friday, is the first he’s released since he was under consideration to be Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, made a prime-time speech at the Democratic National Convention, and became a sought-after surrogate for Democrats nationally.
On the spending side, the Abington resident made major investments into Democrats’ efforts to retain control of the state House, sending $1 million total to the House Democratic Campaign Committee, as well as $350,000 to the Senate Democratic Campaign Committee as officials try to tighten the lead in the GOP-controlled upper chamber. The report only reflects a $250,000 investment into the SDCC, and will later be updated to include the additional $100,000 contribution, a Shapiro adviser said.
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Shapiro made a $25,000 contribution to State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta (D., Philadelphia), who is running for auditor general, and wrote a $100,000 check to former auditor general Eugene DePasquale, a Democrat running to be the state’s next attorney general. Shapiro previously served as Pennsylvania’s attorney general before his election as governor, and he has shown his prowess for fundraising over his two-decades-long career as an elected official, starting as a state representative and breaking records during the 2022 gubernatorial race.
He also spent nearly $570,000 on private chartered flights, and accepted two gifts on June 3 and Oct. 15 totaling nearly $28,000 from Michael Rubin — the CEO of sports brand Fanatics — according to the report.
In total, Shapiro spent approximately $5 million so far this year.