Donor Class

Extracted Attributes

• Definition

  A small segment of affluent individuals and entities who contribute disproportionately large sums of money to political campaigns and parties.

• Primary Influence

  Political decisions, particularly within the Democratic Party, and candidate selection.

• Purpose of Donations

  To 'make a difference' in party alignment, rather than just gaining access.

• Geographic Concentration

  Los Angeles, New York City, suburban Miami-Dade and Broward counties (Florida), Lake County (Illinois), Montgomery County (Maryland), Bergen County (New Jersey).

• Related Political System

  Oligarchy (rule by a small group).

• Historical Origin of Concept

  Gilded Age (late 19th and early 20th century America).

• Demographics (contributors >$200)

  Less than 1% of U.S. population, approximately 85% with household incomes of $100,000+, 70% male, 96% white.

Timeline

• First known use of the term 'plutocracy' in English, a concept closely related to the 'Donor Class'. (Source: Wikipedia)

  1631-01-01

• The concept and practice of the 'Donor Class' dates back to the Gilded Age in America (late 19th and early 20th century). (Source: Web Search Results)

  1870-01-01

• Bob Herbert publishes an article titled 'The Donor Class' in The New York Times. (Source: Web Search Results)

  1998-07-19

• Spencer A. Overton publishes 'The Donor Class: Campaign Finance, Democracy, and Participation' at George Washington University Law School. (Source: Web Search Results)

  2004-01-01

• The Wilson Quarterly publishes an article titled 'The Rise of the Donor Class'. (Source: Web Search Results)

  2008-06-01

• The 'Donor Class' is acknowledged as a major factor affecting the Democratic Party's decision-making regarding potential replacements for President Joe Biden. (Source: e3050a50-5d88-4013-80c9-fd1e1f65e5f2)

  Ongoing

Plutocracy

A plutocracy (from Ancient Greek πλοῦτος (ploûtos) 'wealth' and κράτος (krátos) 'power') or plutarchy is a society that is ruled or controlled by people of great wealth or income. The first known use of the term in English dates from 1631. Unlike most political systems, plutocracy is not rooted in any established political philosophy.

Web Search Results

• Who Is the Donor Class? | GoodParty.org

  ## Origins and Historical Context of the Donor Class The term "donor class" emerged as political analysts and commentators sought to describe the increasingly noticeable phenomenon where a small segment of affluent individuals and entities contributed disproportionately large sums of money to political campaigns and parties. However, the concept and practice dates back to the Gilded Age of late-19th and early 20th-century America. [...] If you listen closely in the corridors of power, you’ll hear whispers of a term echoing into the halls of campaign fundraisers and political strategy meetings: the "donor class." These words, which are filled with implications of influence and exclusivity, refer to a remarkably small percentage of Americans who contribute the vast majority of political donations. [...] The fight against the disproportionate influence of the donor class is a fight for the soul of American democracy. Through informed advocacy, relentless activism, and the pursuit of legislative reform, we can redefine the landscape of political financing. Together, we can build a democracy that truly reflects the will and interests of the American people, ensuring a fair and just society for future generations.

• The Rise of the Donor Class - The Wilson Quarterly

  Summer 2008 # The Rise of the Donor Class – The Wilson Quarterly Meet the donor class, a small group of wealthy, highly educated urban and suburban residents with the means and inclination to influence the outcomes of congressional races far afield. [...] While political action committees have been shown to donate to gain access to members of Con­gress, the new class gives to “make a difference” in party align­ment, Gimpel and his col­leagues write. The donor class typically ignores primaries. “Distant nonresidents respond unambiguously only to ­two-­party competition,” they say. ­Repub­­lican-­leaning and ­Demo­cratic-­leaning enclaves are both well represented in the donor class. As the level of competitiveness increases, so do the ­checks. [...] The wealthy segregate them­selves even more than the poor, and the donor class is concen­trated in a few places, including Los Angeles; New York City; suburban Miami-Dade and Broward counties, Florida; Lake County, Illinois; Montgomery County, Maryland; and Bergen County, New Jersey, the authors say. The flow of funds doesn't go from rich to poor or urban to rural, but from the donor class to competitive races wherever they may ­be.

• The Donor Class: Campaign Finance, Democracy, and Participation

  homogenous donor class continues to make relatively large contributions that fund the bulk of American politics. Less than one percent of the U.S. population makes financial contributions over $200 to federal candidates, and these contributions represent the vast majority of funds that candidates receive from individuals. Of those who contribute over $200, approximately 85 percent have household incomes of $100,000 or more, 70 percent are male, and 96 percent are white. This donor class [...] DC Network Scholarly Commons George Washington University Law School Home > Faculty Scholarship > Faculty Publications > 843 Faculty Scholarship ## GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works # The Donor Class: Campaign Finance, Democracy, and Participation ## Authors Spencer A. Overton, George Washington University Law SchoolFollow ## Document Type Article ## Publication Date 2004 ## Status Accepted ## Abstract [...] ## SSRN Link ## Recommended Citation Spencer Overton, The Donor Class: Campaign Finance, Democracy, and Participation, 152 U. Pa. L. Rev. (2004). DOWNLOADS Since July 15, 2013 #### Included in Law Commons ## Share ## Search Advanced Search ## Browse ## GW Law Links Home | About | FAQ | My Account | Accessibility Statement Privacy Copyright

• Oligarchy - Wikipedia

  53. ^ Winters, Jeffrey A. (November–December 2011) [28 September 2011]. "Oligarchy and Democracy". The American Interest. 7 (2). Retrieved 17 August 2012. 54. ^ Herbert, Bob (19 July 1998). "The Donor Class". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 March 2016. 55. ^ Confessore, Nicholas; Cohen, Sarah; Yourish, Karen (10 October 2015). "The Families Funding the 2016 Presidential Election". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 March 2016. [...] 56. ^ "Is the U.S. witnessing the rise of oligarchy?". Oxfam. 17 January 2025. Retrieved 22 July 2025. 57. ^ Lichtblau, Eric; Confessore, Nicholas (10 October 2015). "From Fracking to Finance, a Torrent of Campaign Cash – Top Donors List". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 March 2016. 58. ^ McCutcheon, Chuck (26 December 2014). "Why the 'donor class' matters, especially in the GOP presidential scrum". "The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 10 March 2016.

• Democracy and the Donor Class

  support and technical assistance to grassroots and community-based groups serving minority and low-income people, as well as a variety of diversity, leadership, and program initiatives. [...] Ed Skloot, the president of the Surdna Foundation until 2007, tells the story in his Alliance magazine article, “The Gated Community,” of Gates’s six-year, $2 billion initiative to break up large public high schools into smaller ones: [...] And to the extent that in more recent years a few larger foundations have become stronger supporters of community organizing efforts, that’s also had its price, since it’s made those organizations increasingly as accountable to rich donors as to their own historically broad base. And while foundations talk about sustainability all the time—and the more liberal ones often treat their grantees like the right wing would treat single mothers on welfare, imposing strict time limits and cutoffs—the