Booker bats for billionaires, but betrays bottom 80 percent of Americans

Senator Cory Booker, often portrayed as a progressive champion, has accepted millions in campaign contributions from billionaires, including many who are major donors to Donald Trump and Republican causes.

His first US Senate candidacy indulged in a fundraising event at Trump Tower, hosted by Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner.

An analysis of federal campaign finance records reveals that Booker’s political career, from his first Newark City Council race to his 2020 presidential run, has been heavily funded by corporate elites, Wall Street financiers, and pro-Israel megadonors.

These financial ties have raised serious questions about whether Booker’s legislative record—particularly on financial deregulation, health policy, and military aid to Israel—aligns with the interests of his wealthiest backers rather than the Democratic voters in New Jersey who elected him.

A Forbes investigation revealed that 45 billionaires and their spouses donated to Booker’s 2020 presidential campaign, with significant overlap between his backers and donors to Republican causes, including Donald Trump.

Booker’s Billionaire Backers

Federal Election Commission (FEC) and New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission records show that Booker has received donations from more than four dozen billionaires over his career, including:

1. Michael Bloomberg – (Former NYC mayor, Bloomberg LP founder, $109B)
2. George Soros – (Soros Fund Management, $9B)
3. Marc Benioff (Salesforce CEO, $9B) 
4. Leon Cooperman – (Hedge fund manager, Omega Advisors, $3B)
5. Paul Singer – Republican megadonor and pro-Israel hawk who has donated to Booker.
6. Seth Klarman – Billionaire investor and pro-Israel donor who funds both Republicans and Booker.
7. Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook, $260B)
8. Haim Saban – Pro-Israel media mogul who has donated heavily to Booker.
9. Tory Burch (Fashion mogul, $1B)
10. Richard LeFrak (real estate empire $6.3B)
11. James Simons (Renaissance Technologies) – Hedge fund billionaire and Booker donor.
12. Laurene Powell Jobs – Philanthropist and Booker supporter.
13. Priscilla Chan (Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, $30B)
14. Reid Hoffman (LinkedIn co-founder) – LinkedIn founder billionaire.
15. Eric Schmidt (ex-Google CEO, $15.5B net worth)
16. Bill Gates (Microsoft co-founder, $108B)
17. Joe Gebbia (Airbnb co-founder, $4.2B)
18. Bill Ackman (Pershing Square, $1.7B)
19. Jonathan Gray (Blackstone president, $3.8B)
20. Marc Andreessen (co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz and Netscape)
21. Steven Spielberg (Filmmaker, $5.3B)
22. Steven Tisch (Loews, New York Giants, $1.6B)
23. John Doerr (chairman, Kleiner Perkins, $8.8B)
24. Stewart and Lynda Resnick (The Wonderful Company, $12.6B)
25. John and Doris Fisher (Gap Inc., KIPP charter school network $5B)
26. Ivan Boesky (convicted stock trader $3B)
27. Melinda French Gates (Microsoft divorcee, $29B)
28. Nicole & Kevin Systrom (Instagram, $2.4B)
29. Cameron Winklevoss (Cryptocurrency investor, $4.4B)
30. Tyler Winklevoss (Cryptocurrency investor, $4.3B)
31. Marc & Cathy Lasry (Milwaukee Bucks Owner, Avenue Capital Group. $1.8B)
32. Oprah Winfrey (media mogul, television host, and author, $4B)
33. Hamilton “Tony” James (Blackstone, $4B)
34. Chris Larson (cryptocurrency, $60B)
35. William Oberndorf (businessman and Republican political donor.)
36. Chris & Crystal Sacca (venture investor, Google $1.2B)
37. Bill Ackman & Neri Oxman (Pershing Square Capital Management, $9.4B)
38. Ralph Herzka (Meridian Capital Group CEO, $30B)
39. Gary & Alya Michelson (Medical device, $2B)
40. Jared Polis (American Information Systems, $1B)
41. Judy Dimon (wife of JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, $2.7B)
42. David Bonderman (Private equity, $3.7B)
43. Christy Walton (Walmart widow, $18.2B)
44. John Connaughton (HCA Healthcare & Bain Capital $14.6 Billion)
45. Stephen Pagliuca (private equity, Bain Capital, co-owner of the Boston Celtics $7.4 Billion)
46. Jonathan Lavine (Bain Capital $58 Billion)
47. Robert T. Hale Jr. (Granite Telecommunications, $5.8B)
48. Neil Crespi (Monness Crespi Hardt, Net Return Asset Management)
49. Samuel Bankman-Fried (FTX cryptocurrency fraudster, $26B-$0)

This is far from a complete list, although many of these donors, including Singer, Cooperman, and Saban, have also supported Trump-aligned Republicans or hardline pro-Israel policies.

Andreessen, the co-founder of one of the most prominent venture capital firms in Silicon Valley, had been a Democrat most of his life. He endorsed and voted for Bill Clinton, Al Gore, John Kerry, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, but in the 2024 presidential race, he supported President Donald Trump.

Others have had criminal convictions, such as Boesky and Bankman-Fried.

One-third of Booker’s billionaire donors made their fortunes in technology, and nearly another third came from hedge funds and private equity.

Booker also benefited from United We Win, a super PAC funded by banking heiress Susan Sandler.

Booker’s Senate record includes several votes that align with Wall Street interests:

• Weakening regulations  – Booker voted with Republicans to pass weak cryptocurrency regulations, a move praised by hedge fund donors.
• Flipping on Medicare for All – Despite progressive rhetoric, Booker has done nothing to advance single-payer healthcare, a policy opposed by his billionaire backers in the insurance and pharmaceutical industries.
• Supporting Private Equity Tax Breaks – Booker has backed policies favorable to private equity firms, a sector that includes multiple billionaire donors.

Many of Booker’s Wall Street donors oppose strict banking reforms.

“In 2025, Booker voted  for the Genius Act, which provides the weakest regulation of cryptocurrency,” said Lisa McCormick, the progressive reformer who took nearly two of five ballots away from disgraced US Senator Bob Menendez in the 2018 primary. “Booker’s moves were applauded by financial elites who would harm consumers.”

Booker has been one of the Senate’s most vocal supporters of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, even as his military campaign in Gaza has killed over 40,000 children. Key connections:

• Haim Saban & Paul Singer – Both staunchly pro-Israel billionaires have donated to Booker while lobbying for unconditional U.S. military aid.
• AIPAC & Democratic Majority for Israel – Groups funded by billionaire donors have spent millions boosting Booker.
• Votes for Israel Military Aid – Booker consistently supports billions in U.S. weapons shipments to Israel, including during the Gaza war.

Conclusion: A Senator Serving Elite Interests?

While Booker has co-sponsored Medicare for All legislation, his resistance to eliminating private insurance options and some pro-industry votes have drawn criticism from single-payer advocates who question his commitment to fully replacing the current system.

For example, during his vanity campaign for president, Booker initially embraced Medicare for All but later proposed a more moderate “glide path” approach, stating in a May 2019 CNN interview, “We’re not going to pull health insurance from 150 million Americans who have private insurance who like their insurance.”

He was the only original Medicare for All co-sponsor who didn’t sign onto Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal’s 2019 improved version, which eliminated private insurance duplicating M4A coverage.

The Medicare for All Act of 2019 improves and expands the overwhelmingly successful and popular Medicare program so that every person living in the United States has guaranteed access to healthcare with comprehensive benefits.

“Today in America, 30 million people are uninsured. 40 million are underinsured. We have the most expensive healthcare system in the world and yet our outcomes are the worst of all industrialized countries,” said Jayapal. “It’s time to put people’s health over profit. Our bill will cover everyone. Not just those who are fortunate enough to have employer-sponsored insurance. Not just children. Not just seniors. Not just those who are healthy. Everyone. Because healthcare is a human right.”

While advocating drug price reforms, Booker voted against Senator Bernie Sanders’ 2017 amendment to import cheaper drugs from Canada—a position that aligned with pharmaceutical donors who gave him $1.2 million over his career.

While Booker positions himself as a progressive, his donor base and policy record reveal a different story. His reliance on billionaire cash—including from GOP-linked financiers—raises concerns about whether his votes reflect the will of his constituents or the interests of his wealthiest backers.