With a midterm campaign in which $4 billion was spent to help flip the Senate from Democrats to Republicans, the Brookings Institution has come out with a new ranking of America’s most politically influential billionaires.
A familiar pair of names is still No. 1: Charles and David Koch. They spent at least $290 million on the 2014 cycle, Brookings said.
They were followed by two more progressive donors, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and climate change-focused financial executive Tom Steyer at Nos. 2 and 3, respectively.
The Koch brothers had some notable allies make their debut high on the list: Ameritrade founder Joe Rickets premiered at No. 6, after his Ending Spending PAC was a significant player in the Senate races. Businessman Robert Mercer followed at No. 7, a new entry on the list, for his donations to the Koch-backed Freedom Action Partners Fund.
Check out the very cool interactive from Brookings here.
