Kathy Hochul is putting together a huge war chest as she runs this year to win a full four-year term as governor.
In August, Hochul, the former lieutenant governor who was sworn in as the state's first female governor sworn in as the state's first female governor. Andrew Cuomo reported earlier this week that he had $21.6 million in fundraising since taking over as governor.
Hochul, a moderate Democrat from western New York, entered the election year with a formidable $21 million in her campaign coffers.
According to her financial disclosure report, one of her biggest donors was comedian and television star Jerry Seinfeld.
Seinfeld, a registered Democrat, contributed $50,000 to Hochul. Seinfeld tied for the 44th largest donation on the governor's list of contributions. A spokesman for Seinfeld wouldn't say anything about his political donation.
The state limit for individual donations in the 2022 gubernatorial race is $69,700 with $22,600 for the primary and an additional $47,100 for the general election. According to the report, 32 donors gave Hochul the maximum donation during the July-December filing period.
New York Mets owner and hedge fund manager Steve Cohen, Miami Dolphins owner and real estate developer Stephen Ross, billionaire hedge fund manager John Paulson, New York Islanders owners Jon Ledecky and Scott Malkin, former Empire State Development CEO Howard Zemsky, fashion designer Diane Von Furstenberg and her husband and former Twentieth Century Fox CEO Barry Diller are some of the major donors.
Larry Silverstein, Chairman of Silverstein Properties, and BLDG Management founder Lloyd Goldman, gave the maximum amount to Hochul, according to Larry Silverstein, who helped redevelop the World Trade Center site.
The former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman are two Silicon Valley figures who have donated to her campaign.