Story highlights
Clinton is fundraising with a-list celebrities and top Democratic backers
After August, Clinton and Kaine are expected to spend less time raising money
What do Cher, Leonardo DiCaprio, Magic Johnson and Jimmy Buffett all have in common? They’re with her.
Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine, buoyed by rising poll numbers and a sputtering Donald Trump campaign, are using August to raise tens of millions of dollars in cash before the fall sprint.
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Clinton and Kaine have raised more than $26 million at 28 events they have headlined this month, according a CNN estimate based on ticket prices and attendance numbers provided by the Clinton campaign.
The fundraising heavy section of Clinton’s schedule hasn’t even started yet, either, with close to 20 events in Massachusetts, California and New York on Clinton’s schedule for later this month, including some featuring an array of celebrities.
According to sources with knowledge of the Clinton campaign’s fundraising strategy, the expectation is that after August, Clinton and Kaine are going to have less time to spend fundraising, with more time being spent on debate preparation, campaigning and rallies.
Until then, the candidates will be on the road. Clinton, Kaine and Bill Clinton are expected to attend more than 80 fundraisers this month, according to the sources.
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Clinton will embark on a three-day, eight-fundraiser trip to California next week, headlining a mix of star studded events with tech icons, athletes and movie stars.
On Monday, August 22, Clinton will headline a top dollar fundraiser at the Beverly Hills home of Cheryl and Haim Saban, the billionaire owner of Univision and one of Clinton’s wealthiest backers.
Clinton and her aides will then head down the street to another fundraiser at the Beverly Hills home of Hall of Fame basketball player and businessman Magic Johnson. That event, which according to Clinton donors in California is expected to raise millions of dollars, will also be hosted by Willow Bay and Bob Iger, the CEO of The Walt Disney Company, and Marilyn and Jeffrey Katzenberg, the CEO of DreamWorks Animation.
The next day, Clinton will headline two events in Laguna Beach, including a $33,400-per-person event hosted by Stephen Cloobeck, the CEO of Diamond Resorts.
Later in the day, according to invites obtained by CNN, Clinton will headline a fundraiser at the home of Leonardo DiCaprio, the Oscar-winning actor known for his roles in Titanic, The Revenant and The Wolf of Wall Street.
Scooter Braun, the agent that discovered Justin Beiber, and Tobey Maguire, the actor known for his roles in the Spider-Man series, will also host the star-studded event.
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At night on Tuesday, Clinton will venture to Northern California for an event in Piedmont hosted by Quinn Delaney and Wayne Jordan, philanthropists and real estate developers in the Bay Area. Top ticket price for that event is $100,000 for a couple.
On August 24 – Clinton’s final day of fundraising in California — the former of secretary of state will headline an event hosted by Amy Rao, the founder and CEO of a Palo Alto technology services firm, and another fundraiser hosted by Apple CEO Tim Cook and Lisa Jackson – the former EPA administrator and now Apple’s vice president of environment, policy, and social initiatives.
Clinton has made California her campaign’s personal ATM throughout this campaign. With her eight fundraisers in the state this month, Clinton will have headlined 68 events there.
After campaigning in Pennsylvania and Ohio this week and celebrating Bill Clinton’s 70th birthday on Friday, Clinton will head to Martha’s Vineyard and Cape Cod, Massachusetts, on Saturday for a series of events with top donors.
Cher will headline a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton in Provincetown on Sunday, August 21, according to an invitation, where the iconic pop star is expected to speak to the crowd and, donors hope, perform.
The day before, according to an invitation obtained by CNN, Clinton will headline an event in Nantucket at the home of longtime supporter and former US Ambassador to Portugal Elizabeth Bagley.
At the end of the month, Clinton will raise money at nine events across the Hamptons, including events hosted by Loews Hotels CEO Jonathan Tisch; real estate developer Bill Rudin; venture capitalist and longtime Clinton supporter Alan Patricof and hedge fund manager Adam Sender.
Tim Kaine’s help
Kaine, too, has provided a boost to the Clinton campaign’s fundraising.
The Virginia senator has raised close to $7 million at events, according to CNN estimates based on ticket prices and attendance numbers provided by the Clinton campaign.
What’s more, the vice presidential candidate will swing through the West Coast this week to headline events in Sun Valley, Idaho; Portland, Oregon; Seattle, Washington; and San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portola Valley, and Atherton, California.
The Clinton campaign pulled in $90 million last month for her campaign and the Democratic Party – its best fundraising month of the race – according to the Clinton campaign.
But Clinton only headlined 11 fundraising events that month – bringing in an estimated $18 million – and Kaine was not yet her vice presidential nominee.
So donors, many of whom have seen the number of fundraising invites they have received go up this month, expect Clinton August haul to be substantially larger than July, her best month to date.
CNN’s Betsy Klein contributed to this report.