Wealthy business figures pay between $1 million and $5 million for various levels of access to President Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate, according to WIRED.
The publication, which obtained access to an invitation, revealed that Trump charges $5 million for private one-on-one meetings, while group dining events with the president cost attendees $1 million per seat.
Tech executives eagerly shell out millions for these Mar-a-Lago meetings, with the report specifically noting how Silicon Valley bros have “scrambled to show fealty” to Trump’s administration since his return to the White House.
University of Michigan public policy expert Don Moynihan called the arrangement unprecedented: “I can’t recall a sitting president in the first weeks of his administration asking for millions of dollars in fundraising.”
“The concern is less about fundraising and more about access and influence… People hoping to get favorable treatment view it in their interest to donate money to Trump,” he told WIRED. “The lack of ethical guardrails in the current Trump administration, where there doesn’t seem to be a clear line between Trump’s businesses and the presidency.”
Trump hosted a “MAGA INC. Candlelight Finance Dinner” at Mar-a-Lago on March 1, marking the only such dinner to appear on his official presidential calendar since his January inauguration.
Meredith O’Rourke, Trump’s former 2024 campaign national finance director, managed the invitation process. O’Rourke, who owns political fundraising consultancy The O’Rourke Group, handled all RSVPs for the event.
The invitation described Trump as “a featured speaker” who “is not asking for funds or donations,” yet simultaneously required a $1 million attendance fee. The document emphasized that staff would accommodate reservations on a “first come, first serve basis” with “very limited” space.
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