Oracle (NYSE: ORCL) co-founder and Republican megadonor Larry Ellison is preparing to spend millions of dollars backing Sen. Tim Scott’s run for president.
The plans have been in motion since the 2022 midterms, when Ellison donated $30 million to a pro-Scott super PAC, Opportunity Matters Fund, according to people familiar with the Oracle executive chairman’s plans. People who declined to be named for this story did so in order to speak freely about private planning and deliberations.
Scott announced his campaign Monday.
A Republican strategist and fundraiser close to Ellison told the media that the businessman’s donations to the super PAC this time are likely to at least double what he gave in 2022.
The super PAC during the midterms backed Scott and spent millions more for other Republicans running for Senate seats, including just under $2 million for failed Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker, according to the nonpartisan OpenSecrets. The Opportunity Matters Fund PAC has been rebranded for Scott’s White House run with a new name: Trust In The Mission PAC, or TIM PAC.
Ellison attended Scott’s campaign announcement Monday in South Carolina. Ellison, who has a net worth of about $115 billion, sat in a VIP section at the rally.
Ellison contributed just over $7 million to various political causes in 2020, including $5 million to the Opportunity Matters Fund and $1 million toward a super PAC that supported Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins, as she succesfully ran for reelection, according to OpenSecrets.
ORCL shares fell 89 cents to $100.88.
