Trump's Second Favorite Island (With Another List)

Republican donors funnel millions through Guam, spotlighting the need for campaign finance reform

Guam.

A U.S. territory in Micronesia that 168,000 people call home.

A World War II battleground in the Western Pacific.

An island known for its warm climate, beautiful beaches, and rich Chamorro culture.

A beach in Guam. Photo by Aljhon Umlas on Unsplash

Turns out Guam also is a paradise for the Republican Party.

Check out this chart:

Fact: The Republican Party of Guam had one donor who gave $48 in 2023.¹

Fact: The Republican Party of Guam had 193 donors who gave $1,930,000 in 2024.²

So, in 2024, 193 people donated $10,000 to a political party located 6,000 miles away from the mainland United States on an island that can’t vote for President.

What’s going on here? Why did all these people donate to GOP Guam?

As you probably guessed, it’s not because they wanted a GOP majority on a remote island. Let’s take a deeper dive.

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February 14, 2024

On February 14, 2024, Jamie McCourt – former LA Dodger CEO, high profile divorcee, and Trump mega-fundraiser – donated $10,000 to GOP Guam. (McCourt is an interesting character, check out this podcast).³

McCourt’s was the first of 193 donations of $10,000 to the Republican Party of Guam in 2024. $10,000 is the maximum amount a single person can donate to a state party.⁴

All of the 193 donors, including McCourt, donated to GOP Guam through “Trump 47 Committee Inc.,” a joint fundraising committee.

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What is the Trump 47 Committee Inc.?

Trump 47 Committee Inc. is a joint fundraising committee (JFC) – an entity that facilitates donations to many smaller political committees to fundraise all at once. Think of it as a group tip jar.

Per The Washington Post, the maximum legally allowed donation to the Trump 47 Committee Inc. was $814,600. And here’s how that $814,600 was required to be allocated:

The first $3,300 of any contribution went to Trump’s primary campaign, the next $3,300 went to Trump’s general election campaign, the following $5,000 went to Save America PAC, then up to $413,000 was allocated to the RNC.

Based on the above chart, in order to donate to a state party like GOP Guam through the Trump 47 Committee Inc., you would have to donate the maximum amounts to Trump’s campaign, Save America PAC, and the RNC first. This adds up to $424,600.

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Suspicions Confirmed

Knowing that there was some “other” reason why 193 people donated 10,000 to the Republican Party of Guam, I followed the money and found that 97.83% of the money that was donated to GOP Guam was subsequently transferred to the RNC.

This is technically legal because unlimited transfers between political party committees is allowed.

FEC contribution limits for 2025-2026 federal elections.

That’s right, almost all of the money that was “supposed to go” to the Republican Party of Guam went right back to the RNC instead.

FEC data showing the amount of money GOP Guam received in 2024 (Total Federal Receipts), and how much money GOP transferred to the RNC in 2024 (Transfers to Affiliated Committees). When you divide the two numbers, you get 0.9783, meaning that 97.83% of all the money GOP Guam received in 2024 was transferred to the RNC, the only affiliated committee to receive funds from GOP Guam.

Wait. But why didn’t they just donate that money to the RNC in the first place?

Well, turns out that all of the people who donated to the Republican Party of Guam ALREADY REACHED THE LEGAL CONTRIBUTION LIMIT TO THE RNC.

Again, per the chart above, they were already forced to max out their donations to the RNC in order to be eligible to donate to GOP state accounts when donating through the JFC.

So essentially, through this loophole, 193 donors were able to funnel an extra $10,000 each to benefit the RNC. That’s $1,930,000 they weren’t supposed to give!

Legal or not, it is pretty obvious that this isn’t right. Donation limits on national parties like the DNC and RNC are necessary because they prevent wealthy donors from exerting influence over national parties, which shape policies and impact the lives of Americans.

Without donation limits, anyone with enough money can buy influence over either party’s policies and candidates.

Politics turns into a pay-to-play game.

And, well, judging by the list of donors who signed up for this scheme, it looks like it already has. The 193 donors include the following categories:

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Cabinet Members and Political Appointees

1. Billionaire Linda McMahon, appointed United States Secretary of Education

2. Billionaire Kelly Loeffler, appointed the 28th Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration

3. Billionaire Scott Bessent, appointed US Secretary of the Treasury

4. Billionaire David MacNeil, appointed Ambassador at Large for Industrial and Manufacturing Competitiveness

5. John Phelan, appointed Secretary of the Navy

6. Jacob Helberg, appointed Under Secretary of State (Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment)

7. Josh Lobel, put on the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board

8. Billionaire Elon Musk, former head of DOGE

9. Billionaire Miriam Adelson, Trump’s nominee for US Antisemitism Envoy

10. John Figueroa, appointed Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs

11. Billionaire Cody Campbell, appointed co-president of Trump’s college sports commission

12. Bryce McFerran, appointed Chief Banking Officer of EXIM

13. Dan Negrea, Former Special Representative for Commercial and Business Affairs

14. Near billionaire Tracy Bisignano, wife of Frank Bisignano, commissioner of the United States Social Security Administration

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Ambassadors

15. Duke Buchan, nominated by Trump as Ambassador to Morocco

16. Benjamin Leon, nominated by Trump as Ambassador to Spain

17. Nicole McGraw, nominated by Trump as Ambassador to Croatia

18. Dan Newlin, appointed Ambassador to Colombia

19. Howard Brodie, appointed Ambassador to Finland

20. Billionaire Charles Kushner, appointed Ambassador to France

21. Joe Popolo, nominated as the Ambassador to the Netherlands

22. Billionaire Melinda Hillebrand, nominated as Ambassador to Costa Rica

23. Michael Kavoukjian, nominated as Ambassador to Norway

24. Peter Lamelas, nominated as Ambassador to Argentina

25. Billionaire Tilman Fertitta, appointed US ambassador to Italy and San Marino

26. John Blanchard, husband of Lynda Blanchard, nominee for United States Ambassador to the United Nations’ Agencies for Food and Agriculture

27. Billionaire Kenneth Howery, nominated by Trump as Ambassador to Denmark

28. Billionaire Jamie McCourt, appointed Ambassador to France and Monaco in Trump’s first term

29. Billionaire Woody Johnson, appointed Ambassador to the UK in Trump’s first term

30. David T. Fischer, appointed Ambassador to Morocco in Trump’s first term

31. John Rakolta, appointed Ambassador to the UAE in Trump’s first term

32. Barbara Hale Thornhill, appointed Ambassador to Singapore in Trump’s first term

33. Billionaire Kelly Craft, appointed Ambassador to the United Nations in Trump’s first term

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Kennedy Center Board Appointees

34. Billionaire Jose Fanjul, whose wife, Emilia May Fanjul, appointed as a Member of the Board of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

35. Billionaire Patricia Duggan, appointed as Member of the Board of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

36. Billionaire Steve Wynn, whose wife, Andrea Wynn, appointed as Member of the Board of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

37. Billionaire Lynnette Friess, appointed as Member of the Board of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

38. Billionaire Kelcy Warren, appointed as Member of the Board of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

39. Billionaire Carl Lindner, appointed as Member of the Board of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

40. Billionaire Laura Ricketts, appointed as Member of the Board of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

41. Jennifer Fischer, appointed as Member of the Board of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

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Crypto Investors

42. Billionaire Cameron Winklevoss, Crypto Summit Attendee

43. Billionaire Tyler Winklevoss, Crypto Summit Attendee

44. JP Richardson- Crypto Mogul

45. Gary Cardone- Crypto Mogul, brother of billionaire Grant Cardone

46. David Bailey, Trump’s Crypto Advisor

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Miscellaneous Billionaires

47. Robert Mercer- Hedge Fund, AI billionaire

48. Roger Norman- Real Estate billionaire

49. Diane Hendricks- Founder of ABC Supply

50. Kenny Troutt- Founder of Excel Communications

51. Andrew Beal- Founder of Beal Bank

52. Willis Johnson- Founder of Copart (vehicle salvage and auction company)

53. Daniel Snyder- Former owner of the Washington Commanders

54. JW Childs- Founder of JW Childs Associates

55. Lee R Anderson- Founder of API Inc.

56. Jesse Powell- Founder of Kraken (cryptocurrency exchange)

57. William Foley- Lawyer billionaire

58. John Catsimatidis- Gristedes and D'Agostino Supermarkets billionaire

59. Keith Wold- Johnson and Johnson inheritor

60. George Bishop- Oil billionaire

61. Bryan Sheffield- Oil billionaire

62. Thomas Peterffy- Founder of Interactive Brokers

63. Bijan Tehrani- Founder of Stake (gambling company)

64. Denny Sanford- Founder of First Premier Bank

65. Christopher Goldsbury- Pace Foods billionaire

66. Jeff Ishbia- Billionaire in Ishbia family

67. Thomas Siebel- Founder of Siebel Systems

68. Robert Bigelow- Founder of Bigelow Aerospace

69. Alex Cline- Son of Coal billionaire Christopher Cline

70. Cynthia Fisher- wife of billionaire Jim Koch

71. Jared Kushner,- Trump’s son-in-law and future billionaire per Forbes

72. Jeffrey Sprecher- Intercontinental Exchange billionaire

73. Geoffrey Palmer- Real Estate billionaire

74. John Ricketts- Founder of TD Ameritrade

75. Phil Ruffin- Circus Hotel and Casino billionaire

76. John Paulson- Hedge Fund billionaire

77. Harold Hamm- Oil billionaire

78. Jimmy John Liautaud- Founder of Jimmy John’s

79. Bernard Marcus- Founder of Home Depot

80. Marc Andreessen- Founder of Andreessen Horowitz

81. John Schnatter- Founder of Papa John’s

82. Arthur Demoulas- MarketBasket CEO, member of billionaire family

83. Robert Duggan, former CEO of Pharmacyclics

84. Daniel Friedkin, owner of the Premier League club Everton

85. Phillip Frost, former CEO and chairman of OPKO Health, Inc.

86. Herbert Wertheim, founder and president of Brain Power Incorporated

87. Gary Schottenstein, member of the Schottenstein family

88. Nancy Hiles, wife of billionaire and criminal Marcus Hiles

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Oil Moguls

89. Carol Adams- Oil And Gas Investor

90. Syed Anwar- Oil Mogul

91. Harold Courson- Oil Mogul

92. Alex Cranberg- Oil Mogul

93. Margaret Molleston- Oil Mogul

94. Adam Beren- Oil Mogul

95. Charles Saulsbury- Oil Mogul

96. Vicki Hollub- Oil Mogul

97. Doug Scharbauer- Oil Consultant

98. Hushang Ansary- former Oil Mogul

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Assorted Hangers-On

99. Dana White, who has secured a UFC Fight at White House 2026

100. Tim Barnard, who is profiting off a pipeline deal threatening pollution in Michigan

101. Barbara Gaby, Chairman of the Heritage Foundation, the group that created Project 2025

102. Elizabeth Trump Grau, sister of Donald Trump

103. Ann Pallan, wife of Robert Trump

104. Deborah Magowan- Wife of Former SF Giants Owner Peter Magowan

105. John Breslow- Former Hockey Minority Owner

106. Veronica Atkins- wife of Robert Atkins, founder of the Atkins diet

107. Carl Barney, Former For-Profit College Owner

108. David Marcus- Former President of PayPal

109. Peggy Johnson- Director of Fox Corporation

110. Trevor Milton, pardoned by Trump after being found guilty of securities and wire fraud

111. Chelsey Milton- Wife of Trevor Milton

112. Mark Determan, Federal Prosecutor at U. S. Department of Justice

113. Mike Hodges (learn more about him here)

114. Brian Colleran, founder of an Ohio nursing home tied to a Medicaid false claims case

115. Daniel Parker, business partner of Brian Colleran

     You can find the full list of donors here.

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So what’s the takeaway? It’s hard to see this list and not think about all of the people Trump put in government roles.

It’s hard to see this list and not think about how all these donors have already benefited massively from Trump’s policies favorable to the crypto and fossil fuel industries.

It’s hard to see this list and not think about all of Trump’s policies favorable to billionaires.

And it’s hard to see this list and not think about Mr. Milton’s pardon.

This loophole may have had a reason to exist, but it wasn’t this.

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This entire situation also proves that America needs campaign finance reform in order to stop billionaires and insiders from buying influence.

It’s clear that the current laws designed to separate money and democracy are weak. The practice of unlimited donation transfers between state and national parties undermines the purpose of having donation limits in the first place.

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Sources

1. McMahon

2. Loeffler

3. Bessent

4. MacNeil

5. Phelan

6. Helberg

7. Lobel

8. Musk

9. Adelson

10. Figueroa

11. Campbell

12. McFerran

13. Andreessen

14. List of ambassadors appointed in the second presidency of Donald Trump

15. Trustees | Kennedy Center

16. THE WORLD'S REAL-TIME BILLIONAIRES

17. President Donald J. Trump Announces Great American Economic Revival Industry Groups

18. Oil Donors

19. Trevor Milton

20. Winklevoss twins

21. Marcus Hiles

22. Dan Negrea

23. Billionaires Backing Trump

24. OpenAI

25. Google

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Annotations

1. FEC Data

2. FEC Data

3. FEC Data

4. FEC Data

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