The total amount donated by Apollo Global Management CEO Marc Rowan to the AIPAC-linked United Democracy Project has reached $1.5 million.
Federal Election Commission records show that Rowan first gave $1 million in early March, followed by another $500,000 on July 23.
The committee’s election spending
On the day Rowan made his July 23 donation, the United Democracy Project spent approximately $50,000 on campaign mailers targeting Abdul El-Sayed, a pro-Palestinian Democratic Senate candidate in Michigan.
In Missouri, the committee allocated $100,000 for phone calls opposing former Democratic Representative Cori Bush as part of the campaign for Wesley Bell, an incumbent pro-Israel House member who was challenging Bush in the election.
However, no direct funding link has been established between Rowan’s donations and these political activities by the United Democracy Project.
His role on the Gaza Board
Rowan, whose net worth is said to exceed $8 billion, is among the executive members of the Peace Board established to advance Trump’s Gaza plan. The board received approval from the United Nations.
At a Peace Board meeting held in February, Rowan assessed Gaza’s potential for economic development after the territory suffered extensive damage from Israeli bombardment. “The potential here is enormous. The issue is not money or guarantees; the issue is peace,” he said.
Rowan valued Gaza’s coastline at $50 billion, the housing to be rebuilt at $30 billion and infrastructure projects at $30 billion, putting his total estimate at $110 billion.
Speaking as more than 80 percent of Gaza had been destroyed, Rowan said placing these assets under the management of the Peace Board would ensure that resources were managed for the benefit of Gaza’s people and without conflict.
Call for transparency
Raed Jarrar, advocacy director at Democracy for the Arab World Now, said Rowan’s membership on the board that will decide Gaza’s future, despite being a major donor to an AIPAC-linked political action committee, requires transparency.
Jarrar said Palestinians had not chosen Rowan and that American voters had not selected him for the role either. He said Americans and Palestinians had the right to know whose interests were being represented.
Rowan had previously harshly criticized pro-Palestinian student protesters and described the activists’ calls as “antisemitic.” AIPAC strongly supports Trump’s Gaza plan and Israel’s position in its negotiations with Hamas.
