In the lead-up to the 2024 election, then-presidential candidate Donald Trump reportedly held a confidential meeting at his Mar-a-Lago residence with top oil executives, during which he solicited a substantial $1 billion contribution to support his campaign for a return to the White House. According to a Politico report, the meeting’s attendees included senior figures from major oil firms such as Exxon Mobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Continental Resources, as well as representatives from natural gas producer EQT, gas exporter Cheniere Energy, and the American Petroleum Institute.

While the oil industry did not publicly commit the $1 billion Trump requested, their financial influence in the election was significant. The Guardian reported that oil interests contributed $445 million to the 2024 election efforts.

Corporations are legally barred from donating directly to federal candidates, but they often channel funds through Super PACs that influence elections. This is how substantial oil money entered the 2024 campaign. According to OpenSecrets, a watchdog organization tracking political spending, Koch Industries funneled over $49 million into the election, while Chevron contributed more than $10 million, and Occidental Petroleum, ConocoPhillips, Devon Energy, and the American Petroleum Institute each spent over $6 million. Notably, Exxon Mobil’s direct contributions were relatively modest, totaling $80,000.

Continental Resources also made significant contributions, spending over $6 million, with $3 million directed to the Make America Great Again Inc. PAC supporting Trump. The company’s CEO, Harold Hamm, personally added $2 million to this effort, with at least $1 million directed to the same PAC. Energy Transfer Partners CEO Kelcy Warren was another prominent donor, contributing over $12 million, including a $5 million donation to the Make America Great Again Inc. PAC. Energy Transfer Partners itself contributed an additional $1 million.

However, these figures might not fully represent the extent of oil industry spending due to approximately $2 billion in dark money that influenced the 2024 elections. Dark money consists of funds spent without disclosing donor identities, making it impossible to determine if companies like Exxon were significant contributors. This ambiguity leaves open the possibility that the oil industry fulfilled Trump’s $1 billion request from the Mar-a-Lago meeting.

We also do not know how much they gave to the Trump White House ballroom, but Harold Hamm and NextEra Energy are listed as donors to that $300 million vanity project.

After candidate Trump was reelected, the oil industry gave an additional $19 million to fund Trump’s second inauguration in 2025.

What did the oil industry get in return for this campaign cash? Political scientists will spend years untangling this mystery. But at a glance there are lots of policy benefits flowing to the oil industry. In July 2025, President Trump issued an executive order trashing renewable energy sources like wind and solar. Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” which he signed into law scaled back tax incentives for renewable energy and it ended tax credits for electric vehicles (EVs). The BBB also contained $40 billion in new subsidies for the oil and gas industry.

But the biggest plum for the oil industry may be President Trump’s decision to arrest the President and First Lady of Venezuela. Venezuela has some of the richest oil reserves in the world. President Trump told reporters that he alerted oil companies about the strike to take out the head of Venezuela before it happened and that “They want to go in.” Only time will tell whether American oil companies who were so generous in supporting Trump and his party will reap more spoils from Venezuela on top of their domestic wins.

Ciara Torres-Spelliscy is the author of “Corporatocracy,” the broadcaster of Democracy & Destiny, and a professor of law at Stetson University.