(Daily Mail) Former Disney executive Ike Perlmutter has signaled his intention to financial back Donald Trump in the GOP presidential primary, making him one of the richest donors behind the former president this time around.
A spokesman for Perlmutter, whose net worth is estimated at $3.9 billion, told CNBC that the businessman plans a ‘meaningful’ contribution to Trump’s presidential campaign.
The billionaire has not yet decided how much to donate, and his spokesman was unable to immediately offer further details when reached by DailyMail.com on Thursday night.
Perlmutter is Disney’s largest individual shareholder, and had led the company’s Marvel Entertainment unit until he was unceremoniously fired in April after repeatedly clashing with Disney CEO Bob Iger.
It comes as another blow to the presidential campaign of Ron DeSantis, whom Perlmutter previously backed with $250,000 supporting his successful 2018 run and 2022 re-election as Florida governor.
Former Disney executive Ike Perlmutter has signaled his intention to financial back Donald Trump in the GOP presidential primary
It comes as another blow to the presidential campaign of Ron DeSantis, whom Perlmutter previously backed with $250,000 in Florida state-level campaigns
His wife also gave $2 million to the same state-level PAC that backed DeSantis for governor, records show.
However, Perlmutter has close and longstanding ties to Trump, and donated $10.5 million toward a pro-Trump super PAC during the 2020 election, with his wife making an identical contribution to the same PAC.
Perlmutter also met with Trump in the White House in 2017 and reportedly acted as an outside advisor to the administration on issues related to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
But DeSantis may have hoped to win financial support from Perlmutter, who had voiced support for the governor’s culture war with Disney over the company’s opposition to Florida’s so-called ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law.
Perlmutter told the Wall Street Journal that he had called DeSantis to tell him ‘you’re right’ after he was sacked in April.
This spring, Perlmutter dined with Vivek Ramaswamy, another GOP presidential candidate, according to the New York Times.
His sizeable wealth makes him among the richest contributors in a GOP primary in which many megadonors have opted to stay on the sidelines.
