Which wealthy contributors are giving the most to Al Gore and George W. Bush? As money continues to pour into this year’s presidential and congressional races at a record pace, the staff at Mother Jones magazine has been busy preparing the next Mother Jones 400, our biannual list of the top campaign donors in federal elections. Our complete report on the biggest givers — and what they’re getting in return — will appear after the election.
With the campaign entering its final days, we offer this preview of the 50 contributors currently at the top of the list, compiled by the nonprofit Center for Responsive Politics. So far, these 50 individuals and their immediate families have given nearly $24 million to federal candidates and political parties in the 1999-2000 election cycle. That’s almost twice what the top 50 donors gave during the entire previous cycle.
Many of the biggest contributors this year, like Peter Buttenwieser and Carl Lindner, also topped the list in previous years. To see where these veteran donors and others on the Mother Jones 50 ranked in the past, click on their names in the list below.
The MoJo 50 (Key)
| Rank | Donor | Total Contributions | Party | Organization | Last Election |
| 1 | Peter Buttenwieser & Terry Marek | $1,119,700 |  |
Buttenwieser & Associates | 2 |
| 2 | S. Daniel & Ewa Abraham | $1,108,500 | |
Slim-Fast Foods/Thompson Medical | 6 |
| 3 | Carl H. & Edyth Lindner | $786,000 |  |
American Financial Group | 4 |
| 4 | Bernard L. & Irene Schwartz | $762,000 | |
Loral Space & Communications | 3 |
| 5 | Richard T. & Joyce Farmer | $722,500 |  |
Cintas Corp | 32 |
| 6 | Peter G. & Georgia Angelos | $666,000 | |
Angelos Law Offices/Baltimore Orioles | 54 |
| 7 | Sam & Marilyn Fox | $625,700 | |
Harbour Group Ltd | 36 |
| 8 | Finn & Barbara Caspersen | $602,250 | |
Knickerbocker Mgmt/Westby Management | N/A |
| 9 | Ian M. & Annette P. Cumming | $588,300 | |
Leucadia National Corp/Cumming Fdtn | 18 |
| 10 | Fred Eychaner | $561,000 | |
Newsweb Corp | 15 |
| 11 | Thomas E. & Paula McInerney | $544,500 | |
Welsh, Carson et al | 26 |
| 12 | Alex G. & Faye Spanos | $540,500 | |
AG Spanos Companies | N/A |
| 13 | John W. & Marlene Childs | $535,000 | |
JW Childs Associates | 5 |
| 14 | Lawrence & Susan Kadish | $532,900 | |
First Fiscal Fund | 22 |
| 15 | Michael J. & Elizabeth Perik | $531,000 | |
Learning Co | N/A |
| 16 | Thomas F. & Barbara Stephenson | $528,200 | |
Sequoia Capital | N/A |
| 17 | Meyer A. & Patricia N. Berman | $450,250 | |
MA Berman Co | 41 |
| 18 | David S. & Sylvia L. Steiner | $440,400 | |
Steiner Equities Group | 10 |
| 19 | A. Jerrold & Margaret Perenchio | $438,500 | |
Chartwell Partners | 190 |
| 20 | Samuel J. & Ronnie F. Heyman | $435,970 | |
GAF Corp | N/A |
| 21 | Charles W. & Cantley M. Ergen | $427,250 | |
EchoStar Communications | N/A |
| 22 | Vance K. & Darin Beth Opperman | $425,250 | |
Key Investment Inc | N/A |
| 23 | Jon S. & Joanne D. Corzine | $423,575 | |
US Senate Candidate/Land Developer | 13 |
| 24 | Dr. John M. & Josephine Templeton | $421,250 | |
John Templeton Foundation | 220 |
| 25 | Max M. & Marjorie Fisher | $404,500 | |
Fisher Group | 313 |
| 26 | Marc L. Andreessen | $398,000 | |
Loudcloud Inc | N/A |
| 27 | Charles R. & Helen O. Schwab | $390,500 | |
Charles Schwab & Co | N/A |
| 28 | Walter H. & Lydia Shorenstein | $386,148 | |
Shorenstein Co | 12 |
| 29 | David H. & Julia F. Koch | $378,500 | |
Koch Industries | 21 |
| 30 | Bren & Melvin Simon | $375,350 | |
Simon Property Group/MBS Inc | 205 |
| 31 | James V. Kimsey | $371,350 | |
America Online | N/A |
| 32 | Philip Levine | $371,000 | |
Onboard Media | N/A |
| 33 | Marc & Jane Nathanson | $367,500 | |
Charter Communications, Inc. | 321 |
| 34 | John A. & Virginia M. Kaneb | $366,600 | |
Gulf Oil | 363 |
| 35 | John & Marcia Price | $361,550 | |
JP Realty | N/A |
| 36 | Kenneth L. & Linda P. Lay | $361,050 | |
Enron Corp | 188 |
| 37 | Larry & Kathy Addington | $360,500 | |
AEI Resources | N/A |
| 38 | Robert & Ginger Green | $358,500 | |
Investor | 129 |
| 39 | David J. Shimmon | $352,000 | |
Kinetics Group | N/A |
| 40 | Louis & Ruth Weisbach | $349,605 | |
HALO Branded Solutions | 14 |
| 41 | Cary C. Patterson | $335,000 | |
Nix, Patterson & Roach | 137 |
| 42 | John W. & Rosemary Galbraith | $330,250 | |
Templeton Emerging Market Fund | 53 |
| 43 | C. Michael & Elizabeth Kojaian | $329,850 | |
Kojaian Companies | 306 |
| 44 | Norman J. & Mary Pattiz | $328,500 | |
Westwood One | N/A |
| 45 | Charles J. Wyly, Jr. | $327,113 | |
Investor | N/A |
| 46 | Ron & Janet Burkle | $327,000 | |
Yucaipa Companies | 80 |
| 47 | Jack L. & Viki Thompson | $323,500 | |
Retired/JD Edwards | N/A |
| 48 | Darlyn & Charles N. Davenport | $322,000 | |
SeaWest Windpower | N/A |
| 49 | Robert J. Hiler | $319,500 | |
Retired/Hiler Industries | 23 |
| 50 | John F. & Joan Hotchkis | $316,550 | |
Ramajal LLC | N/A |
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