For the past 25 years, Houston’s wealthiest individuals have contributed about $350 million to political campaigns and committees in Texas and across the country. This figure comes from a Houston Chronicle analysis of campaign finance data covering donations from 2001 through April 2025.
The late Bob Perry, a homebuilder known for supporting conservative causes, led all donors with more than $63 million given to campaigns and political action committees before his death in 2013. This amount was nearly $30 million more than the next largest donor, John Nau, former CEO of Silver Eagle Distributors.
Other notable figures include billionaire Tilman Fertitta, who donated $7.9 million. Fertitta is currently serving as U.S. Ambassador to Italy and is CEO of Fertitta Entertainment, which owns the Houston Rockets basketball team, Landry’s restaurants, and Golden Nugget Hotel and Casinos.
Real estate executives also feature prominently among top donors. Alan Hassenflu of Fidelity Realty Partners gave nearly $5.5 million, focusing on state-level committees such as Texans for Lawsuit Reform (TLR). Doug Pitcock contributed $12.85 million mainly to state candidates and Republican PACs.
Dick Weekley spent over $29 million on various causes after founding Weekley Homes with his brother David in the 1970s. He has been a major supporter of TLR, an anti-tort-reform advocacy group based in Houston that has played a significant role in changing Texas’ civil justice code. TLR received more than $37 million from this group of donors—almost 40 percent of all local political contributions to state committees.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s campaigns have collected $24 million from Houston-area contributors. Federal Republican groups such as American Crossroads and Restore Our Future received $19 million and $13 million respectively from these donors. Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick secured about $7 million from Houston’s donor community.
Donors used different strategies when giving: some like energy trader John Addison focused on federal PACs; others like Hassenflu concentrated on state-level efforts; while Fertitta, Pitcock, and businessman Stuart Stedman distributed their donations across gubernatorial races nationwide. In total, Houston-area donors sent approximately $95 million to over 200 state committees and about $154 million to nearly 500 federal committees.
The analysis also found clear partisan patterns among donors: most supported Republican-aligned groups or candidates while Democratic support was concentrated among trial lawyers Amber Mostyn and her late husband Steve Mostyn. Some individuals—including Fertitta and former hedge fund manager John Arnold—donated to both parties’ organizations.
“That Houston-founded anti-tort-reform advocacy group has rewritten Texas’ civil justice code and collected more than $37 million from the donor group, nearly 40 percent of all local political giving to state committees.”
