San Francisco-based Ripple Labs donated $5 million to President Donald Trump's White House ballroom project, according to documents reviewed by The Washington Post. Ripple's gift was already public, but the amount had not been disclosed before.
Why it matters: Ripple's executive chairman, Chris Larsen, is one of the biggest donors in San Francisco politics, and he gives to Democrats. The donation shows a gap between him and Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, who has taken a more Trump-friendly approach, The San Francisco Standard reported.
The numbers
- $5 million from Ripple to the ballroom, part of $330 million in contributions to the project.
- About $4.9 million from Ripple to Trump's 2025 inauguration, according to The Standard and The San Francisco Focal.
- Other ballroom donors include Nvidia, Apple and Meta, The Standard reported.
Two leaders, two directions
Larsen has given $1.5 million to Mayor Daniel Lurie's charter reform measures and $500,000 to a PAC backing District 10 supervisor candidate Theo Ellington, The Standard reported. He also gave more than $10 million to a PAC supporting Kamala Harris in 2024.
Garlinghouse visited the White House in August with other crypto executives.
A spokesperson for Larsen sent questions, including whether he knew about the donation, to Ripple's media department. Ripple did not respond to requests for comment, according to both outlets.
The regulatory backdrop
The Post noted some ballroom donors have benefited from Trump administration decisions. The SEC sued Ripple in 2020, during Trump's first term, accusing it of selling unregistered securities. The SEC ended that case last year, The Standard reported.
With the Clarity Act, a crypto regulation bill, failing to advance in the Senate, crypto rules remain largely in the hands of Trump's SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, according to The Standard.