Joe Biden Is Headed to Los Angeles for Weekend of Multi-Million Dollar Fundraisers

The president and first lady arrive on Friday to raise cash for Biden’s reelection as well as national and state-level Democrats

Joe Biden speaks at Tioga Marine Terminal on Oct. 13 in Philadelphia
Joe Biden speaks at Tioga Marine Terminal on Oct. 13 in Philadelphia (Credit: Mark Makela/Getty Images)

Check the metro rail schedule, Angelenos, because Joe Biden is visiting the Hollywood ATM this weekend.

The president, alongside First Lady Jill Biden, arrives in Los Angeles Friday and will spend the weekend attending a series of high-dollar fundraisers — up to $929,600-per-person — for Biden’s reelection campaign as well as Democratic National Committee and state Democratic parties across the country. And as is usually the case when POTUS stops by, expect heavy traffic and delays wherever the presidential motorcade goes.

“We are pleased to share that President Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden and Special Guest Speaker Emeritita Nancy Pelosi will be in Los Angeles,” according to an invite obtained by TheWrap. “Your support will help build and sustain the campaign infrastructure that President Biden and Democrats nationwide need to win in 2024.” 

The events area expected to draw a cross section of Los Angeles’ most prominent Democrats. On Friday, former US Ambassador James Costos and his partner, decorator to the stars Michael Smith, will host a westside gathering along with director  Steven Spielberg and wife Kate Capshaw. Co-hosts include Rick Caruso and wife Tina, and Megan & Peter Chernin, Lynda and Stewart Resnick, Shonda Rhimes, Rob Reiner and wife Michele, along with Ann & Jim Gianopolus.

According to the invite, $6,600 per person will be allocated to Biden for President, with the first $3,300 designated for the primary and the next $3,300 for the general election. The next $41,300 per  person will be allocated to the DNC. The next $510,000 per person will be split equally among  Democratic state parties. 

“This will be President Joe Biden’s first Biden Victory Fund event in Los Angeles since the launch of the reelection campaign, so you won’t want to miss it!,” according to the invite. 

On Saturday, the president and the first lady are expected to attend another high-dollar event hosted by Biden’s campaign co-chair Jeffrey Katzenberg and his wife Marylyn.

The president and the First Lady are scheduled to leave Los Angeles on Sunday.

The Biden have largely avoided fundraising in Hollywood because of the writers’ and the actors’ strikes. With the strikes now settled, they’re seeking to make up for lost time with a weekend’s worth of massive events. 

Even so, not everyone in the entertainment industry is on board with the large donation requests. “I’m not going,” one Hollywood deal maker, still reeling from the strikes, told The Wrap. “I can’t afford it.” 

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