Michael Bloomberg becomes 2nd largest Harris donor behind George Soros: Report

Former New York City mayor and billionaire businessman Michael Bloomberg became the second-largest individual donor to Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign after George Soros, following a reported $50 million donation to the main super PAC funding the vice president's campaign. 

Bloomberg donated nearly $20 million over the summer to support President Biden's re-election campaign, but he conspicuously held out any donations to Harris after she replaced Biden on the Democratic Party's ticket. However, amid pressure from fellow billionaires, Bloomberg did finally cut a check to support Harris, according to The New York Times, which reportedly spoke with four people who are familiar with the donation. 

The $50 million went to Future Forward USA Action, the main dark money super PAC that is supporting Harris. Prior to Harris taking over the ticket, Future Forward was the main political action committee supporting Biden.

LEGAL EXPERTS QUESTION HARRIS' BACKING FROM DONORS WITH GOVERNMENT TIES

Bloomberg's donation follows another $50 million donation to Future Forward from Bill Gates. Sources who spoke to the Times indicated that Bloomberg and his team had been fielding requests from high-profile Democratic donors, such as Gates, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and venture capitalist Ron Conway, urging the former mayor to consider cutting a check for Harris. Two people familiar with the matter said that Bloomberg also recently spoke with Harris over the phone.

Michael Smith, president of House Majority PAC, defended Bloomberg's decision to wait until the final days before the election to donate, calling the move "deliberate" and "sophisticated," according to the Times. "There should be no expectation that any individual donor is just going to give to you," Smith argued. "Mike's not giving money to anyone just to give money."  

Meanwhile, Quentin James, the founder and president of Collective PAC, told The Times that he "very clearly" disagrees with the strategy "because time, not late money, is always our best weapon."