‘Largest ever’: Elon Musk donates $443m to Trump's campaign ahead of US midterms

Billionaire Elon Musk has spent more than $442 million on Republican campaigns and political groups ahead of the November 3 US midterm elections, emerging as the largest individual political donor in US history.

Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings show that Musk made three direct contributions totalling $74.8 million to his America PAC between October 6 and 14, Forbes reported. An additional $1.98 million came through his company, United States of America Inc., taking his total contributions for the first half of October to nearly $77 million.

America PAC is a political action committee founded and heavily backed by Musk to support Republican and conservative candidates through voter turnout operations and digital campaigns. According to Forbes, America PAC reported spending approximately $42.7 million during the first two weeks of October, with $46.5 million in cash remaining as of October 14. The PAC has reported around $68.6 million in independent expenditures during the current midterm election cycle, primarily targeting competitive Senate races, according to FEC records compiled by the PaidForPolitics tracker.

The largest share of the PAC's spending has gone towards the Texas Senate race. It has spent $27.9 million opposing Democratic candidate James Talarico and another $4.8 million supporting his Republican opponent, Ken Paxton. Forbes reported.

America PAC has also spent approximately $9.3 million on the Ohio Senate race, followed by $7.7 million in Michigan, $2.7 million in Iowa and $2.1 million in Maine. The spending in these states has primarily focused on opposing Democratic candidates.

Earlier this month, The New York Times reported that Musk had contributed more than $366 million to midterm election races by the end of September, including donations to America PAC and other outside groups. That figure included a $158 million donation to the Republican Senate Leadership Fund last month. The super PAC subsequently transferred an identical amount to the Texas PAC, which supports Paxton's campaign. Forbes estimated Musk's net worth at $909.8 billion as of late Thursday night, retaining his position as the world's richest person.