By President Joe Biden is heading to New York City next week for a potentially lucrative campaign fundraising swing as he amasses 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 reviewed by CNBC. Tickets for the gathering will go for $25,000 per person, according to the memo. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is also expected to attend, the memo stated.
After the James gathering, Biden will then head to a campaign fundraising dinner at the Upper East Side home of George Logothetis, the executive chairman of the global conglomerate the Libra Group, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter.
The fundraisers are Biden’s first events to raise campaign cash in the Big Apple since he announced he would run for reelection next year. They signal early support for the incumbent among wealthy Democratic donors, even as some of the party’s voters say they would prefer an alternative to the president.
The Biden fundraisers are scheduled to take place one day after the president is set to meet with congressional leaders at the White House to discuss the debt ceiling.
A Biden campaign spokesman declined to comment. James and Logothetis did not return requests for comment.
James, who raised money for Biden during his 2020 presidential win over former President Donald Trump, announced he was retiring from Blackstone almost two years ago after serving as the private equity giant’s executive chairman. Biden announced this year that he would appoint James to his intelligence advisory board.
James owns a two-story duplex off the swanky Fifth Avenue across from Central Park that he purchased for $24.9 million, Forbes reported. The former Wall Street executive has a fortune at his disposal: The Financial Times reported that James sold $500 million worth of Blackstone stock weeks before leaving the firm.
Logothetis and his wife reportedly bought an Upper East Side townhouse for $12.5 million, and have since hosted campaign fundraisers there, including a gathering in support of former President Barack Obama. Logothetis and his family members have been regular donors to the Democratic Party, according to data from the nonpartisan OpenSecrets.
Wall Street executives played a key role for Biden during his 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 executive Reid Hoffman and Wall Street titan Donald Sussman, all moved immediately to get into Biden’s corner in his reelection bid.
Biden is cobbling together key party financiers as polls show his rival Trump is the early favorite to be the Republican nominee for president again.
An NBC News poll shows 46% of the Republican primary voters support Trump over other declared and potential rivals, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. DeSantis trails him with 31% of support.
The majority of those surveyed said they would prefer that neither Biden nor Trump run for president.
Trump and Biden combined to raise almost $2 billion during the 2020 election cycle, according to data from OpenSecrets.
Biden raised just over $1 billion that cycle, while Trump brought in $773 million.
