By Josh Dawsey and Patrick Thomas

The biggest contributor to President Trump's inauguration was chicken processor Pilgrim's Pride, which gave $5 million. In April, its Brazilian parent company, JBS, received government approval for a U.S. stock listing that it had long sought.

The second largest donor was the cryptocurrency company Ripple, which gave about $4.9 million. In May it reached a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission to resolve a long-running lawsuit, sending its coin soaring.

Trump's record inaugural fundraising of nearly $250 million totaled almost as much money as the last four combined. That was built in part on big political spending by companies that had little track record of giving outsize sums, recently released campaign finance records show.

Some of those companies are benefiting from favorable government actions early in Trump's second term.

Four of the top 10 donors, all of whom gave north of $1 million, were nominated to prominent posts in the administration. One, Elon Musk associate Jared Isaacman, had his nomination to be National Aeronautics and Space Administration administrator pulled Saturday, after Musk announced that he was leaving the White House. Oil companies, several of which gave $1 million or more, were able to avoid tariffs after meeting with Trump early in the administration.

The White House referred a request for comment to the inaugural committee. A spokeswoman for the committee said by text message that the committee was a "HUGE" success and Trump is "delivering on campaign promise after campaign promise."

"President Trump greatly appreciates his supporters and donors, however unlike politicians of the past, he is not bought by anyone and does what's in the best interest of the country. Any suggestion otherwise is simply false," the spokeswoman, Danielle Alvarez, said.

A spokeswoman for Pilgrim's Pride said the contribution to the inauguration was "entirely unrelated to the multi-year process of listing JBS on the New York Stock Exchange -- a process that required full compliance with all SEC regulations."

The inaugural attracted so many contributors that Trump advisers were surprised at the raise, running out of perks to offer donors and struggling to process all of the checks, according to people involved in the inauguration. Those involved said many of the donors hadn't given to the campaign, and wanted to "get right" with the new administration, in the words of one Trump adviser.

Packages started at $50,000, but many of the companies wanted to give $1 million, which often secured a meeting with Trump. Some of the companies told Trump advisers that they were more compelled to give because he won the popular vote.

Trump's inaugural fund still has well over $50 million left, two people with knowledge of the matter said. That money is now going to fund Trump's eventual library and potentially other groups. Trump has continued to raise big sums, regularly attending seven-figure fundraiser dinners with American corporations.

Companies gave such large amounts because Trump had gone from a "fringe candidate" to a figure who had "completely realigned American politics," said Sam Geduldig, a prominent lobbyist.

The perception of what is considered an appropriate inaugural donation has shifted dramatically in recent decades, said Larry Noble, a longtime campaign finance lawyer. He recalled how officials faced serious ethical questions during George W. Bush's first inauguration of companies giving $100,000.

"These corporations, regulated industries, wealthy individuals are always looking for ways to gain favor with any administration coming in. And the numbers have grown astronomically," Noble said.

Some of that avalanche of money came from Corporate America's biggest givers, stalwart Fortune 500 companies that have reliably contributed to Republican and Democratic administrations in the past. But for others, it was a new thing.

Pilgrim's Pride faced multiple problems in Trump's first term, including a $110 million fine over criminal price fixing charges in 2020. Also that year JBS's owners pleaded guilty to foreign bribery charges related to actions in Brazil, and agreed to pay $128 million.

Soon after this year's inauguration, Trump signed an executive order that paused enforcement of the law at issue in the case, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Pilgrim's Pride and the rest of the chicken industry also scored a win in March when the Agriculture Department moved to allow plants to process more chickens.

And JBS, which is publicly traded in Brazil, received approval in April to list on the New York Stock Exchange. The company had sought the listing since 2016 but struggled to overcome criticism from Democrats and some Republicans, including now Secretary of State Marco Rubio. In 2024, a group of 14 bipartisan senators said in a letter that approving JBS's listing was risky because the company had a "history of blatant, systemic corruption."

An SEC spokesperson declined to comment on the decision.

A spokeswoman for Pilgrim's and JBS said that Pilgrim's has a long bipartisan history and looks forward to working with the administration to help American farmers and food production.

The company recently hired Hope Hicks, a longtime Trump adviser who worked in both Trump White Houses, to work on its communications and strategy. A person familiar with the matter said JBS executives hadn't met with Trump since he won in November.

Ripple's May settlement with the SEC, over whether the sale of its token violated investor protection rules, was a major victory for the company. The SEC had originally sought $2 billion in fines, but settled for $50 million. Ripple's token jumped more than 10% the day it was announced.

The company has repeatedly talked to Trump and administration officials about how the industry should be regulated, White House advisers say. In March, Trump publicly endorsed Ripple as one of three platforms on the new U.S. " Crypto Strategic Reserve." The tweet angered some other cryptocurrency companies, who complained to White House officials.

A SEC spokesperson declined to comment on the settlement. A Ripple spokeswoman didn't respond to a request for comment.

Ripple has continued to give generously to Trump, spending $1.5 million recently for a fundraiser at his club in Virginia where they met with Trump and the head of his cryptocurrency policy, David Sacks.

Warren Stephens, who wrote a $4 million check to the inaugural on Dec. 2, was named Trump's ambassador to the U.K. that same day. The State Department referred a request for comment to the White House. A representative for Stephens's company didn't respond to a request for comment.

Chevron gave $2 million to Trump's inaugural, along with several other oil companies each of which gave $1 million. The American Petroleum Institute gave $500,000.

The executives met with Trump at the White House early in his administration to talk about deregulation and his tariff policy and secured exemptions in that meeting.

At a retreat hosted by some of Trump's oil executive donors in Oklahoma earlier this year, four cabinet secretaries came, stunning even some guests. API has handed out a report card in recent weeks to members and others showing that Trump has done much of what they hoped, though privately the executives fretted about his desire to lower oil prices.

"We appreciate the fact that President Trump and his cabinet have prioritized an open dialogue and timely action," said Mike Sommers, who leads the American Petroleum Institute.

Chevron said the company "has a long tradition of celebrating democracy by supporting the inaugural committees of both parties."

Write to Josh Dawsey at Joshua.Dawsey@WSJ.com and Patrick Thomas at patrick.thomas@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 03, 2025 20:00 ET (00:00 GMT)

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