The Ballroom List
REPORTED (Washington Post, Oct. 15, 2026, via the Spokesman-Review). A leaked list shows $333 million in private commitments for the White House ballroom: 57 donors at $100,000 or more and 67 gifts above $10,000 as of late September. More than three-quarters of the money came in commitments of $5 million or more. At least $77 million came from donors who asked to stay anonymous. About half came from companies or executives holding federal contracts during the president's second term. The money runs through the Trust for the National Mall, a nonprofit, and on into a White House account the president controls; the Trust's agreement with the government bars it from naming donors without written permission from the White House Executive Residence. The president is not on the list. Last year he said the project was "being paid for a hundred percent by me and some friends of mine." Washington Post →
REPORTED. The Post paired gifts with government decisions. The Old Goat lists them as the Post did, with its caution that its reporting "does not establish a link":
| Donor | Pledge | Government action near the gift (per the Post) |
|---|---|---|
| Charles Ergen (EchoStar) | $25M | FCC probe opened May 2025, dropped Sept. 2025 after he met the president and the FCC chair |
| Rocket subsidiary (Dan Gilbert) | $10M | FHFA approved Rocket's Mr. Cooper deal Aug. 26, 2025; gift three weeks later (Rocket says unrelated) |
| ServiceNow | $5M | GSA discount agreement Sept. 2025; gift Oct. 2025 |
| Salesforce and Marc Benioff | $3M | Army contract worth up to $5.6B awarded between company gifts |
| Paul Singer (foundation) | $5M | Court approval to pursue Citgo a month later; deal needs federal approval |
| Harold Hamm / Continental | ~$5M | Tentative 2026 deal with Venezuela's state oil company |
| Isabela Herrera | $2.5M | Her father's bribery case cut to a misdemeanor; he was pardoned Jan. 2026 |
| Joseph Popolo Jr. and wife | $1M | Two months after his confirmation as ambassador to the Netherlands |
The largest single commitments, $25 million each, came from Nvidia, Apple and the Adelson family; Microsoft, Palantir and Lockheed Martin are listed at $10 million each. AT&T, listed as a $5 million "pledged" entry, says it was named in error.
DOCUMENTED, the site's own check. The Old Goat looked for insider stock trades around these gift dates in the site's Form 4 data and found the data did not reach back far enough for most of them. Rocket (RKT), ServiceNow (NOW), Salesforce (CRM), Comcast (CMCSA) and T-Mobile (TMUS) were not tracked at all; as of today they are, with Dan Gilbert, Marc Benioff and ServiceNow's Bill McDermott added to the watchlist alongside Charles Ergen. No trade on this page is offered as suspicious. Suspects →
The Golf Course
REPORTED, except where marked. East Potomac Golf Links is a public course on National Park Service land in East Potomac Park. Its top green fee, for 18 holes on the weekend, is $48; children and military members pay about half (Forbes, Golf.com). The president says it will close Nov. 15 for 15 months. DOCUMENTED, from his Oct. 18 Truth Social post in the site's archive: the new course, planned "in conjunction with famed Golf Course Architect, Tom Fazio," will "be open to the Public while, at the same time, designed to the Highest Level of Golf and able to hold World Class Tournaments such as the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship, the Ryder Cup, and the Presidents Cup." When the plan surfaced on May 14, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum promised local golfers "championship-quality golf at affordable, highly discounted" rates (WTOP). The president's post does not repeat that promise. No future green fee has been announced. Forbes → Golf.com →
REPORTED. Hundreds of trees were cut over a weekend before the court could weigh in; the Park Service first marked 529 for removal and later estimated about 729. Judge Ana Reyes has barred further removal through at least Oct. 26. Justice Department lawyers told her there is no final plan, while the president was announcing one (NPR); Reyes said, "There is no universe in which all of this just coincidentally happened at the same time" (The Hill). DOCUMENTED, from his Oct. 19 post: "The judge on the case is a crazed lunatic," and "Work is scheduled to begin IMMEDIATELY!" NPR → The Hill →
The Old Goat's View
OPINION. The ballroom is not for MAGA and the golf course is not for the people who play it now. A $48 course where a retired federal worker can walk on Saturday is being turned into a tournament venue on public land, with the price left blank. A White House room is being paid for by companies that need things from the White House, and the arrangement was built so the public would not learn their names. Both projects take something that belongs to everyone and rebuild it for the people who can pay. The Old Goat's bet, and it is only a bet, is that when the new course opens the president will hold a lifetime membership. Nothing in the record yet says so. Watch for it.