Meet the Billionaire Who Just Dethroned Donald Trump as America's Richest Politician

President Trump is no longer America’s richest politician. Billionaire Democrat Jay Robert ‘J.B.’ Pritzker just spent a record $171.5 million of his own money to become the next governor of Illinois – and America’s wealthiest plutocrat.

The venture capitalist and Hyatt Hotel heir won 54% of the vote, defeating Republican incumbent Bruce Rauner – himself a private equity billionaire – by a 15-point margin. Rauner gambled nearly $60 million of his own fortune on the Illinois governor race; in total, the two billionaires personally spent almost $230 million.

Former eBay and Hewlett-Packard Chief Executive Meg Whitman held the previous high for self-financing, after spending $144 million on her failed bid for California governor in 2010.