Billionaires have been flooding the midterms with cash, but one of the GOP’s most reliable megadonors just went silent

But a New York Times report published Tuesday shows one of the most prominent GOP donors has quietly backed off. But their report shows Lauder, 82, appears to have stopped his political donations, which goes against the grain of billionaires flooding the GOP zone ahead of midterms. Billionaires donating to Republican campaignsBillionaires have poured hundreds of millions into the 2026 midterms, and most of it is backing Republicans. In New York, Lauder has been one of the Republican Party’s most reliable donors for decades. Gerard Kassar, who chairs the New York State Conservative Party, told the New York Times no one can replace Lauder as a funder.