At least 30 individuals and companies who collectively donated more than $116 million for Trump have reaped substantial benefits, ranging from pardons and policy reversals to the dismissal of government lawsuits.
As reported by Financial Times, while there is no evidence of bribery or illegal activity, the frequency and immediacy of these favourable outcomes have triggered alarm among ethics experts and watchdog groups.
“It looks like a pay-off,” said Virginia Canter, a former White House associate counsel and SEC ethics lawyer. “What is unique about this presidency is the open transactionalism that characterises Donald Trump’s governance style,” said Bob Bauer, former White House counsel to Barack Obama.
How is the cryptocurrency sector benefitting from Trump administration?
The cryptocurrency sector has been a major beneficiary under Trump’s second term. Donors include Coinbase, Crypto.com, and the Winklevoss twins, whose combined contributions exceed $3 million. After giving $1 million to MAGA Inc in January, the SEC closed a long-standing investigation into their firm Gemini.
The twins also invested in American Bitcoin, co-founded by Donald Jr. and Eric Trump backed a PAC to promote Trump’s crypto agenda.
The president’s decision to dismantle the DOJ’s crypto enforcement unit and appoint crypto advocate Paul Atkins to head the SEC helped the industry dodge key legal challenges.
The SEC later dropped lawsuits against several firms linked to major Trump donors, including Coinbase, Nova Labs, and OpenSea, all backed by Andreessen Horowitz, which itself has donated nearly $14 million.
Billionaire Justin Sun, although ineligible to donate as a foreign citizen, purchased $75 million in tokens from a Trump family-controlled crypto firm and became the top holder of the $TRUMP memecoin.
He was later invited to a private Trump dinner. “My new title: TOP fan of Trump,” Justin Sun on X
Trump pardoning individuals
Trump has issued over 1,600 pardons in his second term compared to just 237 in his first many to January 6 rioters. But several high-profile pardons followed sizable donations.
Trevor Milton, founder of electric vehicle company Nikola, was sentenced to prison in 2023 for defrauding investors.
He gave $920,000 to a Trump PAC in late 2024 and received a presidential pardon in March. Weeks later, the SEC dropped its case against him.
Similarly, Elizabeth Fago, a Florida businesswoman, donated $1 million in April. Her son, Paul Walczak, convicted for tax fraud, was pardoned shortly thereafter.
Policy shifts for big donors
Tobacco and insurance giants also appear to have benefited. RAI Services gave $10 million to Trump-aligned groups in 2024; shortly after, the administration reversed a Biden-era ban on menthol cigarettes.
RAI and fellow tobacco firm Altria later donated an additional $3 million.
UnitedHealthcare contributed $5 million in January. By April, the White House finalised favourable Medicare Advantage rates for 2026, benefiting the firm, the largest player in the sector. Even niche players profited.
Extremity Care, a provider of pricey human tissue-derived bandages, gave $15 million via various affiliated entities. The Trump administration delayed planned Medicare cuts to the sector just weeks later.
Trump’s abrupt reversal on TikTok, once a target of his national security rhetoric, has also raised eyebrows.
In March, Jeff Yass, a major investor in TikTok owner ByteDance, gave $16 million to MAGA Inc coinciding with Trump hinting a deadline extension for the company.
By September, the administration brokered a deal allowing existing US investors, including Yass and Trump megadonor Bill Ford to retain stakes.
MGX, an Abu Dhabi fund that transacted with a Trump-linked crypto stablecoin, also secured a lucrative slice of TikTok’s US arm.
While Trump has denied any special treatment, “decisions are made based on what is in the best interest of the American people,” said spokesperson Abigail Jackson, watchdogs remain unconvinced.
“We’re in an unprecedented new world of financial conflicts of interest and industry overlap with politics,” Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette, Project on Government Oversight
At a glittering White House dinner this week to raise funds for Trump’s new ballroom, attendees included executives from Coinbase, RAI, Altria, and the Winklevoss twins, a fitting snapshot of a presidency where, critics say, donations have bought more than just access.