While the Trump administration has yet to release a full list of donors contributing to the planned construction of a White House ballroom, a picture of potential donors and companies funding the project is beginning to emerge.
President Donald Trump again reiterated in the Oval Office on Wednesday afternoon that the ballroom is being “paid for 100% by me and some friends of mine,” referencing donors. “The government is paying absolutely nothing.”
Trump also appeared to increase the cost estimate by $50-$100 million, telling reporters during his remarks on Wednesday the price tag for the new venue was “about $300 million” — more than the $200-$250 million estimates previously given.
President Donald Trump holds a rendering of his proposed ballroom as he meets with Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Mark Rutte in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, October 22, 2025.
Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
Earlier this month, the Trump administration released a list of people and companies who were expected to attend a dinner at the White House about the construction project.
While no full list of donors has been released, the names of some companies scheduled to attend the dinner released by the White House largely come from the tech and crypto industries, including Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta and Microsoft, along with Coinbase, Ripple and Tether. Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, two tech and cryptocurrency investors, were also on the list.
Some companies have already reaped lucrative contracts during Trump’s second term, including Microsoft and Google which landed contracts for their AI and cloud tools, while Amazon Web Services received potentially up to $1 billion in cloud-credit incentives.
The crypto industry at large has seen major benefits under Trump through policies and executive orders, with Trump’s own family amassing billions through crypto ventures during his second term.
Work continues on the demolition of a part of the East Wing of the White House, Oct. 21, 2025, in Washington, before construction of a new ballroom.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
Other companies, like Palantir and Lockheed Martin, have billions in contracts with the Trump administration, including the Defense Department.
“We’re also working with the military on it because they want to make sure everything is perfect,” Trump said Wednesday evening of the ballroom construction project. “And the military is very much involved in this. They want to make sure everything is absolutely beautiful.”
While the White House has not been transparent about how exactly the project will be paid through donations, the money appears to be going to the project in different ways.
For example, according to court documents, Google’s parent Alphabet noted in a recent legal settlement reached with Trump after he was banned from YouTube following Jan. 6, 2021, that it would be contributing $22 million to help build the White House ballroom.
A model of the White House and the new ballroom is seen on a table as President Donald Trump meets with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office of the White House, Oct. 22, 2025, in Washington.
Alex Brandon/AP
The settlement noted that the $22 million will be contributed on Trump’s behalf “to the Trust for the National Mall, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt entity dedicated to restoring, preserving, and elevating the National Mall, to support the construction of the White House State Ballroom.”
Paolo Tiramani, CEO of a construction company and a donor on the White House list, donated $10 million in stock to the Trust for the National Mall, his company confirmed in a statement.
Donations for the ballroom are made to the Trust for the National Mall, a nonprofit that supports the National Park Service and is dedicated to the restoration of the National Mall and the White House and Presidents Park.
The financial director of Trump’s 2024 campaign, Meredith O’Rourke, is leading the donor effort for the ballroom, sources told ABC News.
The Trust’s role in the project is to manage donations while the National Park Service and the White House are leading the design and construction.
The renovation project is more extensive than Trump had previously let on.
A preservation group has asked the White House to pause the ballroom project, but the White House expects the entire East Wing to be demolished as soon as this weekend as part of the renovation.
