Trump refunds billionaires after campaign donations exceed limit

Former US president and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has returned excess donations from the billionaire Winklevoss twins — founders of the cryptocurrency company Gemini — after their contributions to his presidential campaign exceeded the federal legal limit as per a report in Bloomberg.

Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, whose firm in February entered settlement agreements with US and New York state financial regulators after accusations of wrongdoing, each announced donations of $1 million in posts on social media site X on Thursday.

Their donations exceeded the maximum $844,600 that the Trump committee can legally accept per person, according to a report in Bloomberg on Friday. The portion above that limit was refunded to the donors, the report said, citing a campaign official.

A spokesperson for the Trump campaign did not immediately respond to Reuters news agency' request for a comment.

Outpacing Biden's campaign in fund collections

The donations came after Trump presented himself as a champion for crypto, including at a San Francisco fundraiser this month with tech executives during which he slammed Democrats' at tempts to regulate the crypto sector.

In May, Trump's campaign raised over $141 million, surpassing US president Joe Biden's campaign and the Democrats, who reported a combined total of $85 million.

Following his conviction on 34 felony counts in New York State on May 30, Trump’s campaign launched a vigorous fundraising drive, energising his supporters and amassing millions in small-dollar donations.

Recently, billionaire Timothy Mellon, the heir to the Mellon family fortune and the largest donor to pro-Trump PACs, contributed an additional $50 million to support Trump.