Former President Donald Trump’s reelection effort is netting big campaign donations from some very prominent Florida real estate tycoons. Meanwhile, working class real estate professionals appear to be lining up for Vice President Kamala Harris, an analysis of campaign finance data by The Real Deal shows.
While the data does not encompass every political action committee supporting the Republican and Democratic candidates running in Tuesday’s presidential election, the information shows Trump racking up more six- and seven-figure contributions from builders and investors than Harris. On the other hand, Harris has raised tens of thousands of dollars through donations of less than $5 from individuals who identified real estate as their occupation, campaign finance reports show.
Trump donors
In July, West Palm Beach-based Florida Crystals Corporation donated $1 million to Make America Great Again, the main super-PAC backing Trump’s effort to reclaim the White House. Florida Crystals is led by brothers Alfonso “Alfy” Fanjul Jr., José “Pepe” Fanjul, Alexander Fanjul, and Andres Fanjul.
The Fanjuls have extensive land and commercial real estate holdings in South Florida, primarily in Palm Beach County. In January, Florida Crystals paid $15.7 million for 1,626 acres of agricultural land near South Bay. Three months later, the family’s FCI Residential landed a $55.7 million construction loan for a 320-unit apartment complex in Royal Palm Beach.
The MAGA committee also received a $1 million donation in June from Leon Benjamin Jr., CEO of Leon Medical Centers, a Doral-based chain of clinics. Last year, Benjamin sold a waterfront lot in Coral Gables for $10.4 million to luxury homebuilder Humberto Ramirez.
The six-figure donor club includes Patrick Carroll, a multifamily syndicator who lives in Miami Beach and has garnered headlines this past year for multiple run-ins with law enforcement, including a recent arrest in Wyoming and a pending warrant in Tampa. Carroll, who has a tattoo of Trump’s mugshot on his right arm, gave $188,400 to the MAGA committee.
Jonathan Tratt, a Bal Harbour resident and president of Phoenix-based Tratt Properties, donated $110,000; and Howard Lorber, the former CEO of Douglas Elliman who owns a waterfront home in Miami Beach’s Sunset Islands, gave $100,000. Lorber recently stepped down as the brokerage’s longtime chief following an internal investigation that unearthed a toxic workplace culture at Douglas Elliman.
Outside of South Florida, Panama City-based hotelier Lela Hilton, who is not related to Hilton Brands or the famous family that founded that company, kicked in $200,000 to the PAC.
Harris donors
The biggest name backing Harris is Fort Lauderdale-based financier and real estate investor Donald Sussman. In March, he gave $1 million to Fast Forward USA, a political action committee supporting the vice president. Last month, Sussman sold his Fort Lauderdale waterfront mansion for $70 million, breaking the previous sale record in the city.
Sussman is the only deep-pocketed Floridian involved in real estate who gave a seven-figure donation, campaign finance reports show. The next largest contribution came from Boca Raton realtor Karen Donner, who gave $20,000.
Other realtors and brokers lining up behind Harris include Stuart Halpert with West Palm Beach-based First Washington Realty, and Danet Linares, executive vice chairman of Miami-based Blanca Commercial Real Estate. Halpert and Linares gave $13,500 and $2,000, respectively, to Harris’ direct campaign and PACs, reports show.
From the South Florida development community, Boca Raton-based Pebb Enterprises principal Bruce Weiner donated $4,000 to Harris’ campaign and an affiliated PAC.
The post Donald Trump leads Kamala Harris in big campaign donations from Florida real estate pros and investors appeared first on The Real Deal.
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