It's notoriously difficult to find media personalities who donate to political campaigns, either because they're bound by big-media constraints (like CBS News' rule forbidding political contributions) or because, as members of New York's creative underclass, they're too poor to shell out the big bucks needed to attend the high-profile fundraisers.
We can, however, look to the big names that dominate media coverage, leaders from the fields of business, politics, entertainment, and the arts: in short, the New Establishment, Vanity Fair's annual ranking of the world's power players, which was announced in the October issue.
The Vanity Fair 100: What the 2007 New Establishment Have Donated So Far For The '08 Race
1. Rupert Murdoch: $2,300 to Hillary Clinton
2. Steve Jobs: none
3. Sergey Brin and Larry Page: none
4. Stephen Schwarzman and Pete Peterson: Schwarzman: $4,600 to John McCain and $2,300 to Mitt Romney; Peterson: $4,600 to John McCain and $2,000 to Chris Dodd
5. Warren Buffett: $4,600 to Barack Obama and $4,600 to Hillary Clinton
6. Bill Clinton: none
7. Steven Spielberg: $2,300 to Hillary Clinton, $2,300 to Barack Obama, and $2,300 to John Edwards
8. Bernard Arnault: none
9. Michael Bloomberg: none
10. Bill and Melinda Gates: Bill Gates: $2,300 to Barack Obama; Melinda Gates: none
11. Carlos Slim Helu: none
12. H. Lee Scott: $2,300 to Mike Huckabee
13. Ralph Lauren: none
14. Oprah Winfrey: $2,300 to Barack Obama
15. Barry Diller and Diane von Furstenberg: Barry Diller: $4,600 to Barack Obama, $4,600 to Hillary Clinton, $4,600 to John McCain, and $2,300 to Joe Biden; Diane von Furstenberg: $4,600 to Hillary Clinton
16. David Geffen: $2,300 to Chris Dodd, $2,300 to John Edwards, and $2,300 to Barack Obama
17. Howard Stringer: $4,600 to Hillary Clinton and $4,600 to Chris Dodd
18. Richard Parsons: $1,500 to John McCain
19. Al Gore: none
20. Larry Ellison: none
21. Herb Allen: $4,600 to Barack Obama and $2,000 to John McCain
22. Jeff Bewkes: $4,600 to Chris Dodd
23. Jeff Bezos: none
24. Peter Chernin: $4,600 to Hillary Clinton, $2,100 to Chris Dodd, and $2,100 to Barack Obama
25. Leslie Moonves: none
26. Jerry Bruckheimer: $2,300 to John McCain
27. George Clooney: $2,300 to Barack Obama
28. Bono: none
29. Francois Pinault: none
30. Roman Abramovich: none
31. Ronald Perelman: $4,600 to Hillary Clinton and $2,100 to Joe Biden
32. Tom Hanks: $2,300 to Barack Obama
33. Jacob Rothschild: none
34. Robert De Niro: none
35. Howard Schultz: $2,300 to John Edwards and $2,300 to Barack Obama
36. Robert Iger: $2,000 to Chris Dodd
37. Giorgio Armani: none
38. Jeffrey Katzenberg: $2,300 to Hillary Clinton, $2,300 to Chris Dodd, $2,300 to Barack Obama, and $2,100 to John Edwards
39. Ronald Lauder and Leonard Lauder: Ronald Lauder: none; Leonard Lauder: $4,600 to Rudy Giuliani, $4,200 to Hillary Clinton, $2,000 to Joe Biden, and $1,700 to John McCain
40. George Lucas: none
41. Harvey Weinstein and Bob Weinstein: both Harvey Weinstein and Bob Weinsten gave $4,600 to Hillary Clinton
42. Diane Sawyer and Mike Nichols: none
43. Bruce Wasserstein: $4,600 to Hillary Clinton
44. Miuccia Prada: none
45. Steven Cohen: $4,600 to Chris Dodd
46. Tom Cruise: none
47. Jay-Z: none
48. Ron Meyer: $4,400 to Chris Dodd, $2,300 to Barack Obama, $2,300 to Hillary Clinton, and $1,000 to John Edwards
49. Frank Gehry: $2,300 to Barack Obama
50. Arnold Schwarzenegger: none
51. Henry Kravis: $4,600 to John McCain
52. Karl Lagerfeld: none
53. Oscar and Annette de la Renta: both Oscar de la Renta and Annette de la Renta gave $4,600 to Hillary Clinton
54. Martha Stewart: $4,600 to Hillary Clinton
55. Mickey Drexler: $4,600 to Hillary Clinton and $4,600 to Chris Dodd
56. Michael Moritz: $2,300 to Barack Obama
57. Brian Roberts: $4,600 to Hillary Clinton
58. Roger Ailes: none
59. Vivi Nevo: none
60. Mick Jagger: none
61. Jeff Skoll: none
62. Vinod Khosla: $2,300 to John McCain, $2,300 to Hillary Clinton, $2,300 to Barack Obama, and $2,100 to Joe Biden
63. Diego Della Valle: none
64. Stacey Snider: $4,600 to Hillary Clinton, and $2,300 to John Edwards
65. Brian Grazer and Ron Howard: Brian Grazer: $4,600 to Hillary Clinton, $4,600 to Barack Obama, and $2,300 to John Edwards; Ron Howard: $2,100 to Barack Obama
66. John Lasseter: none
67. George Soros: $2,100 to Barack Obama
68. Philippe Dauman: $4,600 to Barack Obama and $2,300 to Hillary Clinton
69. John Malone: $2,300 to John McCain
70. Sumner Redstone: $4,600 to Hillary Clinton
71. Paul Allen: $4,600 to Hillary Clinton
72. Eddie Lampert: none
73. Leon Black: $4,600 to Chris Dodd, $4,600 to Joe Biden, and $4,600 to John McCain
74. Jann Wenner: $1,000 to John Edwards and $1,000 to Barack Obama
75. Eric Fellner and Tim Bevan: none
76. Jerry Weintraub: $2,300 to Hillary Clinton
77. Donatella Versace: none
78. Thomas L. Friedman: none
79. Tim Russert: none
80. Charlie Rose: none
81. Joel Silver: none
82. Frank Rich: none
83. Jonathan Ive: none
84. Larry Gagosian: $4,600 to Chris Dodd
85. Charles Saatchi: none
86. Jean Pigozzi: none
87. Stephen Colbert:: none
88. Bill O'Reilly: none
89. Jon Stewart: none
90. Steve Bing: $4,600 to Hillary Clinton
91. Eli Broad: $4,600 to Hillary Clinton, $2,300 to Tom Vilsack, $2,300 to Bill Richardson, and $1,000 to Chris Dodd
92. Michael Milken: none
93. Arthur Sulzberger Jr.: none
94. Ron Burkle: $4,600 to Hillary Clinton
95. Scott Rudin: none
96. Jimmy Buffett: $4,100 to Chris Dodd
97. Steven Rattner: $4,600 to Hillary Clinton
98. Arianna Huffington: none
99. Doug Morris: $2,500 to Barack Obama
100. Jimmy Iovine: $2,300 to Barack Obama
The biggest, and most obvious, Establishment figure donating in Q3 was, of course, Oprah, (#14), who hosted an A-list fundraiser for Barack Obama at her Montecito estate and donated $2,300 to his campaign, the max allowed for the primary season (those giving $4,600 also gave to the general election funds, should their candidate make it that far). The other main New Establishment figure coming out of hiding and donating for the first time this quarter is Viacom chairman Sumner Redstone (#70), who gave big to Hillary Clinton and maxed out at $4,600. His fellow Viacom executive Philippe Dauman (#68) also donated in the third quarter, giving $4,600 to Barack Obama and $2,300 to Hillary Clinton. One-half of the #15 Power Couple, IAC chief Barry Diller, added to his previous $4,600 Obama donation by giving $4,600 to Hillary Clinton, $2,300 to Joe Biden, and $4,600 to John McCain, while the other half, his fashion designer wife, Diane von Furstenberg, also gave big for Hillary, maxing out at $4,600 in the third quarter. Cosmetics mogul Leonard Lauder (#39), who gave $1,700 to John McCain, celebrity architect Frank Gehry (#49), who gave $2,300 to Barack Obama, and supermarket billionaire Ron Burkle (#94), who donated $400 to Hillary Clinton in the third quarter to max out at $4,600 (he had donated $4,200 previously), rounded out the list of New Establishment members who gave to candidates in the third quarter (many had already maxed out in Q1 or Q2).
So far this year, Clinton has dominated among the New Establishment, taking in $119,200 from the group; other New Establishment favorites include Barack Obama ($62,700), Chris Dodd ($47,800), and John McCain ($35,100). Total contributions from the Vanity Fair 100, which includes those from the third quarter as well as previous quarters, is listed below.
New Establishment totals (through Q3): $309,600
1. Hillary Clinton, $119,200
2. Barack Obama, $62,700
3. Chris Dodd, $47,800
4. John McCain, $35,100
5. John Edwards, $15,600
6. Joe Biden, $13,100
7. Bill Richardson, $4,600
7. Rudy Giuliani, $4,600
9. Tom Vilsack, $2,300
9. Mitt Romney, $2,300
9. Mike Huckabee, $2,300
See who is bankrolling the 2008 Presidential election. Search by name or street address to see the cash donations and political leanings of your boss, neighbors, relatives, friends, and favorite celebrities with Huffington Post's FundRace.