“The richest man in the world”.. How did Elon Musk become “the largest donor to the Republican Party”?

(CNN) - Elon Musk, who holds the title of the richest man in the world, has pumped no less than $276 million since the summer to support the US Republican Party in the midterm congressional elections scheduled for November 3, returning this and becoming the party’s largest donor.

A spokesman for Musk's political action committee, America PAC, confirmed this number on Monday, three days before the deadline to disclose campaign finance data.

According to the spokesman, the majority of Musk's recent donations - amounting to $158 million - went to the Senate Leadership Fund, the largest independent Republican political action committee concerned with Senate elections.

The group is currently spending huge sums to maintain a Senate seat in Texas, a state that is extremely important to Musk's business empire.

The New York Times was the first to publish this figure, which covers Musk's donations from July onwards.

SpaceX CEO Musk donated nearly $300 million during the 2024 campaign to help President Donald Trump win the presidential election.

This financial support made him a major target for Democrats, especially with his return to Washington with Trump to lead the “Department of Government Efficiency,” which aimed to reduce costs.

Musk had stated in May 2025 that he would significantly reduce his political spending in the future, and his relationship with Trump also witnessed tension later due to the tax law and domestic policy, which was considered a milestone in Trump’s agenda.

However, their relationship appears to have improved since then, with Trump honoring Musk last week with the National Medal of Science.

Musk's apparent interest in Texas comes at a time when the state's attorney general, Republican Ken Paxton, is running in a tight race for the Senate against Democratic state representative James Tallarico.

Notably, Texas has not elected a Democrat to statewide office since 1994.

The Senate Leadership Fund has pumped well over $100 million into the Texas race.

The group stated that this huge spending in the Republican (red) state comes from a fund “dedicated” for this purpose, and does not lead to withdrawing resources from another competitive Senate election.

Thursday is the deadline for campaigns and some political action committees — including America PAC — to submit their financial reports to the Election Commission for the past three months.