Three of sports’ biggest owners and political donors are teaming up with Mark Zuckerberg to throw incoming President Donald Trump a reception prior to the inaugural ball.
Miriam Adelson (Mavericks), Tilman Fertitta (Rockets) and Todd Ricketts (Cubs) are hosting a reception for Trump prior to the inaugural ball on Jan. 20. The event isn’t available to the public without an invitation .
All three owners made substantial political contributions during the recent election cycle. No one, however, spent more than Adelson, who donated $100 million to get Trump re-elected through her Preserve America political action committee, which backed Trump’s campaign, according to Federal Election Commission records. Adelson, the owner of casino empire Las Vegas Sands (and widow of company founder Sheldon Adelson) has been one of Trump’s biggest supporters and donors for years.
Fertitta, CEO of Landry’s restaurants, was another Trump supporter, who contributed $420,000 to PACs that backed his campaign, while also donating $13,200 to ones that supported Vice President Kamala Harris, who lost to Trump in November’s election. In December, Trump tapped Fertitta to be the incoming U.S. Ambassador to Italy. Both Trump and Fertitta have reality TV backgrounds—the Rockets owner starred in CNBC’s show “Billion Dollar Buyer.”
The Ricketts family, who own the Cubs through a trust, are heavily involved in U.S. politics, though the family’s four siblings are politically divided. Todd Ricketts is a longtime Trump supporter and former finance chair of the Republican National Committee. Pete Ricketts is another Republican who was governor of Nebraska from 2015 to 2023 before being appointed to the U.S. Senate. Tom Ricketts, the most visible owner of the siblings, gave $289,100 to the National Republican Senatorial Committee this past election cycle.
Their sister, Laura, is MLB’s first openly gay owner, and leans more liberal than her brothers. Laura has given more than $900,000 to the Harris Victory Fund, and between $4,000 and $5,000 to every state’s Democratic party. She also maxed out the $3,300 to Harris’s campaign. She also owns the NWSL’s Chicago Stars.
Meta CEO Zuckerberg has leaned into the sports world too, recently naming UFC CEO Dana White, another prominent Trump donor, to the board of Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram. This past election cycle, White gave $10,000 to every state GOP, $371,700 to the RNC, $60,000 to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, and $16,000 to Trump.
