1. Bill Clinton’s First 1993
Inauguration
Bill Clinton’s inaugural committee
raised more than $42 million for
his inauguration in 1993 –
although the event only cost $33
million (the remainder was used to
help pay for his second
inauguration). The names of the
donors weren’t released until
three years after the fact. As it
turned out, two Indonesian
businessmen at the center of
ongoing investigations into
possible illegal foreign donations
to the Democratic National
Committee were on the inaugural
donor list (both men were later
convicted of campaign finance
violations). Photo: Smithsonian.

2. Bill Clinton’s Second 1997
Inauguration
Because of the backlash
over the no-holds-barred
fundraising for Clinton’s
first inauguration, he
pledged full disclosure of
the names of all donors by
March 31, 1997 (we
weren’t able to find the
actual data). Clinton also
limited donors to giving
just $100. Having an
estimated $9 million left
over from 1993 helped the
cause. Photo: Smithsonian

3. McCain-Feingold Act 2002
The Bi-Partisan Campaign
Reform Act of 2002 (known as
McCain-Feingold after its
authors, Sens. John McCain, an
Arizona Republican, and Russ
Feingold, a Democrat from
Wisconsin), required the
disclosure of inaugural donors
in much the same way as
campaign contributions are
reported – except not until 90
days after the event.
Rulemaking wasn't finalized
until Oct. 2004, but was in
place for second Bush
inauguration in January 2005.

4. George W. Bush's 2004
Second Inauguration
Although new Federal
Election Commission Rules
required the inaugural
committee to release info
about donors after the
inauguration, Bush's PIC
released lists of donors and
amounts given by Jan. 14.
The list of donors included
dozens of corporations –
but the committee capped
donations at $250,000.
Forty-three donors gave
the maximum. Photo: U.S.
Capitol via flickr

5. Barack Obama's First 2009
Inauguration
President Barack Obama's
first Presidential Inaugural
Committee accepted
donations from individuals
only (though no lobbyists),
and capped donations at
$50,000. Still, various
industries made their
presence felt -- donors
from the finance sector,
for instance, gave more
than $9 million of the
eventual $42 million
raised.

6. 2004-2012
The Rove Connection
Several top donors to Bush's second
inauguration may be familiar to anyone
who followed donors to American
Crossroads, the super PAC started by
Bush's top political advisor Karl Rove:
- Sheldon and Miriam Adelson gave a
combined $500k to the Bush PIC and $23
million to American Crossroads in 2012.
- TRT Holdings, which owns Gold's Gym
and Omni Hotels, gave $100k in 2005 and
$2.5 million in 2012.
- The Stephens Group, which owns Viking
and the Las Vegas Review Journal, gave
$250k in 2005 and $1.2 million in 2012.

7. 2004-2012
Same Corporate Faces
Obama's first inauguration was
limited to donations by
individuals -- this year there will
be 24 organizations (mainly
corporations and unions) giving.
That's far less than Bush's second
inaugural, where 126
organizations (mainly
corporations and trade
associations -- no unions) gave
cash. A handful of corporate
names have given to both: FedEx,
Microsoft, AT&T, Bank of
America and Southern Company.