Here's How Much Billionaire Cash Has Been Funneled Into Midterms

American billionaires have funneled more than $881 million into federal races in the 2022 midterm elections, according to a new report Thursday that prompted warnings about billionaires' influence in politics.

The report was compiled by the nonprofit organization Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF), which has a stated mission of educating and mobilizing the public "to get policymakers to support comprehensive, progressive tax reform that results in greater federal revenue to reduce inequality and to meet America's growing needs." It found that the contributions were especially concentrated among an "elite fraternity" of billionaires, with the top 20 donor households providing 73 percent, or $643 million, of the total donations.

Frank Clemente, the executive director of ATF, warned in a statement that a "torrent" of money from billionaires is "drowning our democracy."

"Money talks when it comes to influencing candidates and winning elections, and the loudest voices by far are billionaires pushing for lower taxes so they can accumulate even greater wealth and have even more power and influence," Clemente said. "If we are going to have an economy that works for everyone, billionaires need to start paying their fair share. And if we are going to have a democracy that works for everyone, we need to greatly curb the influence of billionaire money in our politics."

The report was released less than one week before Election Day, providing fresh insight on the financial role billionaires have played in American political races soon coming to an end. Both Democrats and Republicans are looking to secure or maintain control of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, which can be crucial in allowing the parties to achieve their priorities in the coming years.

It was as of September 30 that American billionaires had injected the $881 million into federal midterm races. That sum does not reflect the full midterm cycle, but was already a 44 percent increase over the full 2018 midterm cycle, ATF said.

Continued increases in future elections can pose "significant" risks to democracy since they can help determine who gets elected and tip the balance of power in the Senate, Clemente told Newsweek.

ATF predicted that by the time the current midterm cycle is over, billionaires may have contributed close to $1 billion following "the flurry of fundraising that closes out a campaign season." The report also highlighted donations from specific billionaires. Democratic-leaning billionaire George Soros, for example, has funneled more than four times as much into 2022 races, more than $128 million, in comparison to Peter Thiel, an ally of former President Donald Trump who has given more than $30 million.

While the report shows that both Democrats and Republicans received contributions from billionaires, the GOP received more of the money, 59 percent, in comparison to Democrats, at 39 percent.

Clemente said that contributions have been more evenly divided in the past. An earlier ATF report showed that Republicans still received the higher percentage of billionaire contributions in 2020, but the gap was smaller at 55 percent.

Clemente said that he wasn't sure what the larger disparity in the current cycle between contributions for Republicans and Democrats means, but noted that Democrats have pushed for higher taxes on the wealthiest Americans.

"There's a qualitative difference, I think, between billionaire giving on the Democratic side versus the Republican side, which is that the two parties have very different agendas. One wants to tax and regulate the billionaires and the other doesn't," he said.