Marvel Entertainment chairman Ike Perlmutter has long been close to the Trump camp, and he’s already turned on the fundraising tap for 2020. According to CNBC, Perlmutter and his wife have each given $360,600 to the Trump Victory Joint Fundraising Committee, ranking them among the campaign’s top donors.
During the 2018 cycle, Perlmutter, who is worth an estimated $5.2 billion, and his wife donated over $2 million to conservative candidates and organizations. He is also considered part of what ProPublica called the “Mar-a-Lago Crowd,” a tight circle of unofficial advisors to the President.
Photo: Brendan Smialowski / AFP / Getty Images
Perlmutter is particularly involved in veterans issues, and has been referred to as a “shadow ruler” of the Department of Veterans Affairs. In a Politico story about Perlmutter and West Palm Beach doctor Bruce Moskowitz allegedly interceding in negotiations over a major VA contract, an official from the department noted that, “We just had to make the Mar-a-Lago guys comfortable with the deal. They have someone’s ear. Power and influence are power and influence.”
While Marvel Entertainment and Marvel Studios are both subsidiaries of Disney, each is an independent entity responsible for different portions of the empire and with its own executives. Marvel Studios is the operation most associated with the recent blockbuster film franchises; Marvel Entertainment controls licensing deals, comic books, video games, and certain film projects.
It’s still very early on in the fundraising game for the 2020 race. Last week, Donald Trump Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle raised an estimated $2.5 million for the Trump Victory fund during a swing through California, The Hill reports.
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