Elon Musk has contributed approximately $474 million to political groups and candidates during the 2026 midterm election cycle, according to an estimate compiled from federal and state campaign finance records. The amount makes him the biggest individual donor in a single cycle outside candidates who have funded their own campaigns.

The total covers disclosed contributions made since Jan. 1, 2025. Around $216 million went to America PAC, Musk’s super PAC, which is funding a nationwide field operation. The group spent roughly $47 million last year on a Wisconsin state judicial race, but the candidate backed by Musk was defeated.

Musk also gave $168 million to the Senate Leadership Fund, the main super PAC supporting Senate Republicans. Most of that money was used to support Ken Paxton, the Republican nominee in Texas. A further $30 million went to the Congressional Leadership Fund, which supports House Republicans.

The estimate includes about $44 million donated to other Republican groups or federal candidates, as well as approximately $16 million directed toward state-level political efforts in Michigan, Texas and Wisconsin. Some contributions were made through Musk’s political nonprofit, United States of America Inc.

The figure is likely incomplete. Musk has also made dark-money donations during the 2026 cycle, and the federal records used for the estimate extend only through Oct. 14. They therefore do not include any contributions he may have made during the final three weeks before the election.

Only Michael R. Bloomberg, the billionaire former mayor of New York City, has spent more during an election cycle. Bloomberg exceeded Musk’s total in 2020, when he ran for president.

Musk faces significant political stakes in the election. Democratic lawmakers have indicated that, if they regain control of Congress, they intend to examine several aspects of his activities, including his leadership of the Department of Government Efficiency, his companies’ federal contracts and his involvement in the Russia-Ukraine war.

Sources: The New York Times Politics.