Article content

President Donald Trump helped raise an estimated $5 million for Republicans Tuesday as he dined privately in New York with some of the biggest names in U.S. finance and real estate.

About 150 people were expected to attend the event at New York’s Le Cirque restaurant, according to a Republican National Committee official who requested anonymity because the event was private. Tickets cost a minimum of $35,000, and $250,000 per couple bought access to a private roundtable with the president. A $100,000 donation guaranteed “VIP access” to Trump.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Billionaires flock to private dinner with Trump that raises $5M for Republicans Back to video

Casino mogul Steve Wynn and John Catsimatidis, the billionaire grocer and oil-refinery owner, were seen entering the closed-door event, as was Florida lobbyist and fundraiser Brian Ballard.

Republicans are gearing up their fundraising efforts as they prepare to defend House and Senate majorities in next year’s midterm elections. The New York dinner was held just as results began to trickle in from the Republican primary for a Senate seat in Alabama, where Trump’s favoured candidate, Luther Strange, lost to an anti-establishment conservative.

While the president has “made some mistakes,” Catsimatidis had said earlier, donors are happy with the change in tone Trump brought to the White House.

“Don’t forget, under Obama, the business people and the banks were the enemies of Washington,” Catsimatidis said. “The one thing Donald Trump has done is, the business people and banks are no longer the enemies, and the business people feel better and they are making investments.”

The president and Republican leaders plan to unveil a long-awaited tax plan Wednesday, according to people familiar with the matter. The proposal would cut individual and corporate tax rates, and repeal the alternative minimum tax and the estate tax, both of which would be a boon for the wealthy.