Hendricks gave $25M to MAGA Inc., her largest recorded political donation ever

The March donation from the Beloit billionaire was the biggest the young super PAC has ever received. Many ultrawealthy people got access to the president after making major donations to MAGA Inc.

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By Annie Pulley, THE BADGER PROJECT

Over the past few decades, the billionaire Wisconsin businesswoman Diane Hendricks has given tens of millions to Republican candidates and organizations in state and out to help the party win elections.

But in March, the 79-year-old Beloit billionaire outdid even herself, making her largest recorded political donation to date. Hendricks cut a check for $25 million to MAGA Inc., a political action committee supporting President Donald Trump and his interests that started taking donations in 2024. The Federal Elections Commission documents Hendricks’ campaign finance history back to 1992.

In 2024, Hendricks gave the predecessor PAC to MAGA Inc. a $10 million donation, her second-largest recorded contribution, according to the FEC.

Hendricks’ $25 million donation came just weeks after the Trump administration sent her to Italy as a member of the U.S. government’s 10-person Olympic delegation, which attended the closing ceremonies in February. Other members of the delegation included Ryan Suter, who played hockey for the University of Wisconsin and won medals at the 2010 and 2014 Olympics.

Hendricks’ largest recorded political donations

Donating to the super PAC can buy you access to the president, according to reporting from The New York Times. Eric Schiermeyer, a cryptocurrency entrepreneur, donated $1 million to the super PAC and then had a private dinner to discuss cryptocurrency with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago golf resort in Florida. A mother seeking a pardon for her son also donated, according to The New York Times. 

In May, Miriam Adelson, the widow of Las Vegas casino mogul Sheldon Anderson, made a $25 million donation to MAGA Inc., tying Hendricks for the largest individual donation ever to the newish PAC, according to mandatory reporting to the FEC.

Forbes magazine says Hendricks is the richest self-made woman in the U.S., estimating her net worth at more than $20 billion. With her late husband, she founded ABC Supply Inc., which is headquartered in Beloit and sells roofing and other building materials.

MAGA Inc. has $382 million in its coffers, according to FEC data. Money has poured into the super PAC even though Trump can no longer run for office. It got 96% of its funds from donors giving $1 million or more, the Brennan Center for Justice reported.

Foris DAX, a cryptocurrency company, has given a total of $35 million to the super PAC across multiple donations between 2025 and 2026, according to the FEC. Securing American Greatness, Inc., a political entity that doesn’t have to disclose its donors, gave MAGA Inc. about $14 million last summer. Billionaire Jeff Yass, a Trump ally with ownership in TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, gave MAGA Inc. $15 million last year. Trump had previously advocated for banning TikTok in the U.S. but later reversed his stance.

Top donors to MAGA Inc.

Though there are limits on how much people can give directly to a federal candidate, individuals and corporate donors can give unlimited amounts to super PACs. These campaign finance organizations are barred by law from coordinating directly with a candidate or campaign but can spend unlimited amounts supporting and attacking candidates, often through advertisements. The existence of super PACs was made possible by the 2010 Supreme Court case, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which ruled that groups independent of campaigns aren’t limited in how much they can raise and spend.  

Hendricks regularly donates the legal maximum directly to Republican candidates, but individual donors are limited by federal law in how much they can give, which is $7,000 per candidate in this election cycle.

The Badger Project is an independent news nonprofit in Wisconsin.