James Murdoch, the son of media mogul and Fox News founder Rupert Murdoch, made the maximum possible donation to Democrat Pete Buttigeig‘s 2020 presidential campaign.
The executive donated $2,800 to the mayor’s campaign, and it is presumably his first political donation under his new title as CEO of Lupa Systems.
Murdoch is arguably the highest-profile contributor to Buttigieg’s campaign.
While the “Murdoch” name is closely associated with Fox News and its conservative commentators, James has for years been far more liberal than his father, Rupert, and brother, Lachlan.
According to filings, James donated $2,800 to Buttigieg’s campaign under his new title as CEO of Lupa Systems, an investment firm he founded prior to the close of Disney’s $71 billion acquisition of most of 21st Century Fox, where he had been CEO.
After Disney’s purchase of the Fox broadcast network, film and TV studio and other assets, Rupert and Lachlan took what was left over — primarily Fox News and Fox Sports — and created Fox Corporation, but James didn’t join either that company or Disney.
James has a history of donating mostly to the Democratic party and its individual candidates, though sometimes he veers right, such as when he gave $200 to Mitch McConnell’s campaign in 2014.
Other high-profile donors to Buttigieg include actors Mandy Moore and Ryan Reynolds, along with Susan Rice, who was President Obama’s national security adviser before joining Netflix as a board member.
Buttigieg, the 37-year-old mayor of South Bend, Indiana, is new on the national scene.
As of Monday, his campaign had $6.4 million on hand, just ahead of New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and behind Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders leads the Democratic hopefuls with $28 million.
Buttigieg is competing in a dense Democratic primary field that includes former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Cory Booker, Rep. Eric Swalwell, Sec. Julian Castro, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Gov. Jay Inslee, and Sen. Kamala Harris, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, and Rep. Tim Ryan.