Can 46 rich dudes buy an election?
And just the top 46 donors have given a total of $67 million, or two-thirds of the $112 million in individual gifts to super PACs this cycle. Membership in this select group requires a $500,000 minimum donation.
So who are these folks?
Donors who have given in excess of $500,000 are a rather homogenous group who represent narrow swaths of American industry.
Titans of the financial services industry are well represented, as are energy executives and hoteliers. Almost all are men. Racial minorities are few and far between. So far, the vast majority of their contributions have been made to conservative groups.
“We’re looking at a singularly weird phenomenon,” said John Dunbar, the managing editor for politics at the Center for Public Integrity.
Dunbar argues that super PAC donors can be grouped into general categories based on which presidential hopeful they favor.
The super PAC that backs former Bain Capital CEO Mitt Romney primarily attracts big donors from Wall Street — specifically private equity and hedge fund players.