Been looking at how much money actually flows into US elections from the ultra-wealthy, and it's pretty wild. According to recent reports, billionaires dropped at least $695 million into the 2024 race - basically 18% of the entire funding pool. We're talking over $3.8 billion total raised by October, so yeah, the super-rich are basically bankrolling this thing.

What's interesting though is that not everyone's throwing their money around. Out of 800 American billionaires, only about 144 are actually "spending money" on the race. That means the majority are sitting it out.

Let's break down the major players. Elon Musk obviously went all-in for Trump, dropping at least $75 million through America PAC. Dude was literally at campaign rallies. If you're wondering what he gets out of it - SpaceX government contracts and Tesla favorable policies are probably on his wishlist. Jeff Bezos is playing it smart though, praising Trump after the assassination attempt but never fully endorsing anyone. Amazon still donated $1.5 million to Harris, so clearly hedging bets.

Larry Ellison, Oracle co-founder, has been a Republican donor forever and apparently close with Trump, but hasn't made an official endorsement. Then there's Mark Zuckerberg - his whole relationship with Trump has been weird given the Facebook ban years ago, but lately they seem cozier. Zuckerberg's been pretty careful about staying neutral publicly though.

Now here's where it gets interesting. Some of these billionaires are basically saying "not my circus." Warren Buffett straight up announced he won't endorse anyone - Berkshire Hathaway made it official that he's staying out. Larry Page, the former Google CEO, is also keeping quiet. He's maintained a completely neutral stance despite what other tech execs are doing. Same with Sergey Brin from Google - no public endorsement, though he's donated to Democrats in the past.

Steve Ballmer from Microsoft is doing something different - he built this nonpartisan website called USAFacts to make government data accessible. When asked who he'd vote for, he basically said "I'll vote, but it's private." Jensen Huang from Nvidia had the best answer though - told CNBC he'll support whatever tax rate they set. Michael Dell is similar, focusing on tech policy rather than picking sides.

The pattern here is fascinating. You'd think all these billionaires would be fighting over political influence, but a lot of them are either staying neutral or keeping their cards close. Makes you wonder what they actually care about more - winning the election or protecting their business interests regardless of who wins.