The big donors – CNN.com – CNN.com.

TheBig donors

More than $4 billion: That’s how much experts anticipate have been spent trying to win your vote. It’s the most expensive election in U.S. history. With the Supreme Court ruling on Citizens United in 2010, the floodgates opened, allowing outside groups to spend record amounts: more than $970 million for this election cycle alone. Who exactly spent this kind of money may surprise you. Election spending doesn’t just come from hedge-fund managers and people with big family fortunes anymore. It’s an eclectic group: a 21-year-old college student is spending his inheritance on his own conservative super PAC, a man with a species of monkey named for him, an expert in heirloom plants, a speech recognition expert who spends his free time playing with model trains in his basement. Check out these fascinating people and the nonprofits that placed a big bet on this election.

Individual donors

Donors spent record amounts on Super PACs, which are legally allowed to raise and spend unlimited amounts as long as they don’t donate directly to the candidate or coordinate with their campaigns. Corporations, individuals, unions, and associations can all contribute. Donors are disclosed to the FEC.

Fred Eychaner$12,000,000Newsweb Corporation

James H. Simons$7,575,000Renaissance Technologies

Amy Goldman$3,400,000Solil Management

Steve Mostyn$3,203,850Mostyn Law Firm

Jeffrey Katzenberg$3,150,000DreamWorks Animation SKG

Irwin M. Jacobs$2,300,000Qualcomm Inc

Jon Stryker$2,250,000Arcus Foundation

Anne Cox Chambers$2,100,000Cox Enterprises

Anne Earhart$1,600,000Investor

S. Donald Sussman$1,350,000Paloma Partners

Sheldon & Miriam Adelson$53,066,147Las Vegas Sands/Adelson Drug Clinic

Harold & Annette Simmons$23,840,000Contran Corp

Robert J. Perry$23,840,000Perry Homes

Peter A. Thiel$4,735,000Clarium Capital Management

Jerrold A. Perenchio$4,100,000Chartwell Partners

Robert L. Mercer$4,039,354Renaissance Technologies

John Childs$3,375,000JW Childs Assoc.

John Ramsey$2,845,933Student

Foster Friess$2,521,744Friess Assoc.

William Dore$2,300,000Dore Energy

Jeffrey Katzenberg$2,334,092DreamWorks Animation SKG

Lisa and Doug Goldman$1,579,368Certain Software, Inc.

Jay Snyder$1,462,137HBJ Investments

Wayne Jordan$1,431,353Jordan Real Estate Investments

Michael Sacks$1,266,361Grosvenor Capital Management

Stewart Bainum$1,248,965Choice Hotels International

Fred Eychaner$1,220,550Newsweb Corporation

Jane Stetson$1,197,426Democratic National Committee

David and Rhonda Cohen$1,152,431Comcast Corp.

Bill Graves$1,677,850American Trucking Assoc.

David Beightol$1,280,961Dutko Wordlwide

Dirk W. Van Dongen$1,189,834National Assoc. of Wholesale Distributors

Patrick J. Durkin$1,111,790Barclay’s Capital

Planned Parenthood Action Fund$8,505,345

League of Conservation Voters$6,781,119

Patriot Majority USA$5,848,360

VoteVets.org$1,143,154

NARAL Pro-Choice America$1,122,920

National Wildlife Federation Association$277,931

Environment America$158,965

Human Rights Campaign$48,523

Working America$18,750

Sierra Club$11,286

Crossroads GPS$38,459,009

Americans for Prosperity$33,157,383

U.S. Chamber of Commerce$25,900,056

American Future Fund$8,937,171

Americans for Job Security$8,878,339

Americans for Tax Reform$7,582,145

American Action Network$4,761,684

Republican Jewish Coalition$4,593,548

NRA Institute for Legislation Action$3,891,144

American Energy Alliance$845,116