U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with Marvel Entertainment CEO Ike Perlmutter before signing an executive order at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Washington, DC, April 27, 2017.
Brendan Smirowski | AFP | Getty Images
Ike Perlmutter, former chairman of Marvel Entertainment disneyFormer President Donald Trump is planning a huge donation to support his 2024 presidential campaign, according to his spokesman.
Perlmutter has yet to decide how much he plans to donate to the Trump campaign, but a spokesman for the businessman said Thursday that financial support would be “meaningful.”
Perlmutter and Trump have been close for more than two decades. Perlmutter previously donated $10.5 million to pro-Trump super PACs during the 2020 election cycle, according to FEC records. Perlmutter’s wife also donated $10.5 million to the same PAC, records show.
Perlmutter also served as an outside adviser to then-President Trump on issues related to the Department of Veterans Affairs, according to to ProPublica.
With a net worth of just over $3 billion, the former Marvel boss is by far one of the wealthiest backers of Trump’s 2020 campaign. After the pro-Trump riots on Capitol Hill on January 6, 2021 and the poor results of the 2022 midterm elections, many of the big donors who once supported the former president are seeking alternatives.
A Trump ally’s “Make America Great Again” super PAC could receive Perlmutter’s money. The super PAC launched this year with just over $54 million on hand and has spent more than $19 million on TV and digital ads to date.
Trump is currently leading in the Republican primary polls, eh First His second rival is Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida.
Perlmutter’s decision to once again support Trump over his Republican rival could deal another blow to DeSantis. Some of the governor’s donors have grown concerned about the trajectory of his campaign. According to campaign finance records, Perlmutter has donated more than $250,000 to state-level political action committees that endorsed his runs for governor in 2018 and 2022. For the record, his wife donated more than $2 million to the same PAC that supported DeSantis.
New York Times report Perlmutter recently had dinner with Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
After Perlmutter was ousted by Disney earlier this year, Tell He referred to the Journal as DeSantis and agreed that the company should not get involved in politics. “Ron, you’re right. Disney has no right to be involved in politics,” Perlmutter reportedly told DeSantis on the phone. Disney and DeSantis have since criticized a Republican-backed bill last year. Disney and DeSantis have been at war, with critics calling the bill a “don’t say gay.”
Perlmutter told The Wall Street Journal that Disney fired him as chairman of Marvel Entertainment because he was too aggressive in pushing the company to cut costs and align itself with newly returning CEO Bob Iger. Executives have a problem.
A Disney representative told The Wall Street Journal that the company’s general counsel called Perlmutter to inform him that he was being terminated because of the company’s broader cost-cutting measures. Perlmutter told the publication that he did not recall such a call taking place.
Iger told CNBC on Thursday that he rejected DeSantis’ campaign remarks against the company, calling the Republican presidential nominee’s attacks “ridiculous and inaccurate.” Iger also said there will be less content spending and creation for the Star Wars and Marvel franchises.
