An Oklahoma oil magnate has been named by the Trump administration as one of the donors helping to fund a new ballroom in the White House’s East Wing, USA Today reports.
President Donald Trump‘s controversial East Wing ballroom is estimated to cost hundreds of millions of dollars, and the White House recently released a list of 37 major tech companies and wealthy individuals it says are donating to cover the cost.
On the list is Oklahoman Harold Hamm, who founded and chairs Continental Resources, one of the nation’s largest independent oil companies. The company is headquartered in Oklahoma City and produces from the largest premier oil field, the Bakken, which is located in North Dakota and Montana.
The Oklahoman has reached out to Hamm and Continental Resources for comment.
Other donors on the White House’s list include Google, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft and Apple, along with several big-name investors in the tech space, including Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss.
The president has also said he would pitch in on costs, but the White House has not disclosed how much of his own money he would spend on construction. The White House has not responded to inquiries from USA TODAY about the amounts each of the 37 donors would be contributing.
The latest: Trump waltzes into ballroom controversy with ‘two geniuses’ and an East Wing demolition
White House ballroom plans
The East Wing of the White House, which typically houses the office of the First Lady, has been completely torn down to make room for President Donald Trump’s $300 million ballroom addition.
The complete demolition of the East Wing this week was an unexpected development after Trump said in July that the new ballroom would not interfere with the existing structure. Trump told reporters on Wednesday, Oct. 22, that the decision to completely tear down the East Wing came after conversations with “some of the best architects in the world.”
Images and videos of the demolition of the East Wing spread on social media recently, drawing criticism from preservationists and Democrats.
“lt’s not his house. It’s your house. And he’s destroying it,” former First Lady and Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton wrote on X.
Who is paying for the White House ballroom?
The White House has released a list of 37 donors expected to provide the private funding to cover the construction of a multi-million dollar East Wing ballroom.
The list includes tech firms and billionaires with varying relationships with Trump and his administration.
Included on the list are Palantir Technologies and Lockheed Martin, both of which have billions in contracts with the Trump administration, as well as several Trump allies.
Gallery: See the historic East Wing, from its Thomas Jefferson origins to the modern White House
Members of the Trump administration, including Small Business Administrator Kelly Loeffler and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick are on the donors list. Lutnick is listed under the “Lutnick Family.”
The Adelson family is also a donor. Trump awarded Miriam Adelson, an Israeli-American billionaire and GOP megadonor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2018.
Who is Harold Hamm?
Harold Hamm, 79, is the youngest of 12 children raised in Purcell, The Oklahoman previously reported. His family owned a farm in the central Oklahoma town, but he moved away at 16 to Enid to work at a truck stop and finish high school.
Two years after graduating, Hamm launched his business ventures, founding Hamm-Phillips Service Co. with a single service truck. At times, he admits he and his wife had to cut back on their spending to make ends meet, but he would end up working harder to earn the difference back.
“If you have to work night and day to make up money, that’s part of being an entrepreneur,” Hamm said. “I knew just how much I needed to make it.”
Related: How Harold Hamm ‘broke the code’ on oil shale production.
FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump greets Harold Hamm after he was introduced by Hamm at the Shale Insight 2019 Conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S., October 23, 2019. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo
Continental Resources opened its doors in 1967 and has since grown to employ over 1,400 people. Over the nearly 60-year journey, Hamm has become a top energy adviser to Trump, contributing $4.3 million to political action committees in support of the 2024 campaign.
Hamm has built longstanding relationships with local legislators, including Rep. Tom Cole, R-Oklahoma. Cole previously shared with The Oklahoman that Hamm’s impact on Oklahoma and the country is “nationally and internationally significant.”
“When Harold Hamm convenes something, people come from all over the country and around the world,” Cole said. “I’ve never seen a single individual bring in the kind of people that Harold has brought in. And it’s an enormous benefit for our state.”
List of White House ballroom donors
Here’s the full list of 37 donors released by the White House.
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J. Pepe and Emilia Fanjul
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Adelson Family Foundation
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Betty Wold Johnson Foundation
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Charles and Marissa Cascarilla
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The Laura & Isaac Perlmutter Foundation
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Kelly Loeffler and Jeff Sprecher
Contributing: Kathryn Palmer, USA Today; Josh Kelly, The Oklahoman; JJ Bullock, Peoria Journal Star
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma oil magnate donates to controversial White House renovations
