Overview: Donald Sussman is one of the leading donors to the Democratic Party. His hedge fund, Paloma Partners, is responsible for more contributions to Democratic candidates and liberal groups than any other firm in the past two presidential and midterm elections. He should be considered one of the party’s most significant donors.
Location: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Total Donated (2016-2020): $81,314,600
Top Recipients: Senate Majority PAC, House Majority PAC, Win Justice PAC, Women Vote!
Key Issues: Campaign Finance Reform, Racial Justice, Reproductive Rights
Largest Donation to Date: $3,500,000 to Senate Majority PAC in 2018
Profile: Sussman is the founder and chief investment officer of Paloma Partners Management Co., a hedge fund created in 1998 and based in Greenwich, Connecticut. Prior to that, his professional experiences included positions with Titan Industrial Corporation. Sussman has two daughters from his first marriage, and in 2011, he wed Maine Congresswoman Chellie Pingree, a donor-politician relationship that attracted conservative criticism in the local media—the two have since divorced. Most of Sussman’s donations are political, though he did pledge to match $1 million in donations to Massachusetts General Hospital this year amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, and he also donated land worth a half-million dollars to an affordable housing project in Portland.
Sussman first exerted his political influence as a resident of Maine. His relationship with Rep. Pingree thrust his years of political giving into the press spotlight: Hhe spent unprecedented amounts on ballot measures in the state, supporting a same-sex marriage measure and opposing a handful of tax-reform bills. Shortly after marrying Pingree, Sussman took ownership of the state’s largest media company, MaineToday Media, which owns publications like the Portland Press Herald. Between 2008 and 2014, he donated more than $5 million to Maine Democrats and their PACs, the AP reported. At one point, $1 of every $7 raised by Democratic committee funds in the state came from Sussman.
Over the last few election cycles, Sussman has given millions to PACs supporting the Democrats, focusing mostly on the House Majority PAC and Priorities USA, and he’s made six-figure donations to the local party funds of about a dozen states around the country. A longtime supporter of the Clintons, Sussman gave $21 million to Priorities in 2016 when the PAC was supporting Hillary Clinton’s bid for president. In the 2018 midterms, he gave millions to both the House Majority PAC and Senate Majority PAC as Democrats tried to retake Congress, and he gave $5 million to the SMP in 2020.
Ideological Vibe: Sussman is a reliable liberal who supports candidates and PACs in the mainstream of the Democratic Party.
Hits and Misses: Sussman was one of Hillary Clinton’s top donors in 2016. He has also given consistently to the Senate Majority PAC, money that the Democrats have yet to convert into a Senate majority. Still, he should get credit as a leading donor in Joe Biden’s successful campaign.
Looking Forward: There is nothing to suggest that Sussman has any intention of stopping his outsized support for Democratic candidates and committees until he sees campaign finance reform implemented.
Relationships: Co-chair—Carnegie Hall’s Investment Committee, Skidmore College Investment Committee
Board of Trustees Member —Carnegie Hall, University of the Virgin Islands, Portland Museum of Art
Former board member—The Center for American Progress, The Democracy Alliance, The Foundation for Maine’s Community Colleges, MIT Sloan School’s Finance Group Advisory Board, Weizmann Institute for Science
Contact Information: Paloma Partners Phone Number—1-203-861-3236