Joe Biden attends the 2024 marketing campaign fundraiser hosted by Tony James
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks on creating new manufacturing jobs at the Washington Hilton on April 25, 2023 in Washington, DC.
Jim Watson | AFP | Getty Images
President Joe Biden is traveling to New York City next week to make a potentially lucrative campaign fundraiser as he amass an early cash pile for his reelection bid, CNBC has learned.
Former Blackstone executive Tony James will first host Biden for a campaign fundraiser at his New York apartment on May 10, according to a memo to donors first verified by CNBC. Tickets to the gathering cost $25,000 per person, according to the memo. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is also expected, the memo said.
After the James gathering, Biden will then head to a campaign benefit dinner at the home of George Logothetis, the chief executive officer of global conglomerate Libra Group, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter.
The fundraisers are Biden’s first events to raise campaign money in the Big Apple since he announced he would be running for re-election next year. They signal early support for the incumbent among wealthy Democratic donors, though some voters for the party say they would prefer an alternative to the president.
The Biden fundraisers are set to come a day after the president meets with congressional leaders at the White House to discuss the debt ceiling.
A spokesman for the Biden campaign declined to comment. James and Logothetis did not respond to requests for comment.
James, who raised money for Biden during his 2020 presidential victory against President Donald Trump, announced he was retiring from Blackstone nearly two years ago after serving as the private equity giant’s executive chairman. Biden announced earlier this year that James would be appointed to his Intelligence Advisory Board.
James owns a two-story duplex on swanky Fifth Avenue across from Central Park, which he bought for $24.9 million, Forbes reported. Former Wall Street exec has net worth: The Financial Times reported that weeks before leaving the firm, James sold $500 million worth of Blackstone stock.
Logothetis and his wife reportedly bought a $12.5 million townhouse on the Upper East Side and have since hosted campaign fundraisers there, including a rally in support of former President Barack Obama. Logthetis and his family members were regular donors to the Democratic Party, according to the bipartisan OpenSecrets.
Wall Street executives played a key role in Biden’s 2020 victory over Trump. They spent over $74 million in support of his candidacy.
Some of the party’s wealthiest donors, including media mogul Haim Saban, tech exec Reid Hoffman and Wall Street titan Donald Sussman, all immediately moved to get in Biden’s corner on his re-election bid.
Biden brings together key party financiers as polls show his rival in Trump is the early favorite to once again become the Republican nominee for president.
A poll by NBC News shows that 46% of Republican primary voters support Trump over other stated and potential rivals, including former Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. DeSantis follows him with 31% support.
The majority of respondents said they would prefer neither Biden nor Trump to run for president.
According to data from OpenSecrets, Trump and Biden have collectively raised nearly $2 billion in the 2020 election cycle.
Biden raised just over $1 billion this cycle, while Trump raked in $773 million.
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