00:00Here's your Forbes Daily Briefing for Monday, June 3rd.
00:05Today on Forbes, this key Trump money man is a little-known Vegas billionaire.
00:12In August 2020, as the novel coronavirus was blazing across an unvaccinated United States,
00:18Don Ahern's Las Vegas hotel hosted the event Evangelicals for Trump, despite previously
00:25being scolded by state authorities for staging a beauty pageant.
00:29Nevada fined Ahern $10,930 for violating the governor's executive orders banning mass gatherings.
00:37Undeterred, Ahern hosted a Trump campaign rally the next month at a warehouse he owns
00:42in the nearby city of Henderson.
00:44The city's officials promptly fined Ahern $3,000.
00:48At a press conference after the rally, the bespeckled, mild-mannered Ahern explained,
00:52quote, I believe that it is my patriotic duty to do what is right for our country, and what
00:57is right is supporting President Donald J. Trump.
01:01Few outside Nevada and the construction industry have heard of Don Ahern, who made his estimated
01:06$1 billion fortune renting out construction equipment like tell handlers and forklifts.
01:12Ahern, who is apparently, quote, shy, according to his longtime consultant George Harris,
01:18didn't comment on his net worth or sit for an interview for this story.
01:23But Ahern's embrace of MAGA politics and influence in a key swing state has raised
01:27his national profile.
01:29This Saturday, June 8th, Ahern is scheduled to host a high-dollar Trump fundraiser at
01:34his hotel.
01:36Politico reported earlier this year that Ahern had committed to making a big donation to
01:40Trump's 2024 campaign.
01:42He donated $1.25 million to two Trump PACs in 2021.
01:48Ahern certainly has the cash.
01:50In late 2022, he sold his company, Ahern Rentals, for $2 billion to publicly traded
01:57United Rentals, pocketing an estimated $600 million after taxes and paying down debts.
02:04Ahern also still owns Xtreme Manufacturing, which makes heavy-duty construction equipment
02:08like lifts and telehandlers.
02:10He also owns a 51% stake in the company Snorkel, which makes aerial work platforms.
02:17But Ahern's prized asset, politically speaking, is his hotel.
02:21Previously named the Lucky Dragon, Ahern bought the property out of bankruptcy for $36 million
02:27in 2019 and converted its casino into a convention center.
02:32Located off the Strip between a Strip Mall steakhouse and a high-rise condominium, the
02:36Ahern Luxury Boutique Hotel, as it's called now, has become a go-to venue for state and
02:41national conservatives.
02:44The Clark County Republican Party — that is, the GOP apparatus for Nevada's largest
02:48county comprising roughly 2.3 million people — regularly throws events at the Ahern.
02:55The hotel hosts monthly meetings for the Nevada Republican Club and the Las Vegas Conservative
02:59Town Hall Group.
03:01In April, former Trump adviser Steve Bannon, who was convicted last year on two counts
03:05of contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the January 6th House Select Committee,
03:10staged a five-hour event at the Ahern Hotel.
03:13Bannon said then, I want to thank Don Ahern.
03:17This is just a fabulous location to be able to do this.
03:21In September 2021, after Caesars Entertainment abruptly canceled a QAnon conference scheduled
03:26to take place at its convention center, Ahern's hotel came to the rescue.
03:31Dubbed For God and Country Patriot Double Down, the three-day October conference featured
03:37speakers such as QAnon promoters Jim and Ron Watkins, election-denying sheriff and Fox
03:42News personality David Clark, January 6th promoter Jason Sullivan, and far-right Arizona
03:48state senator and self-professed member of the Oath Keepers militia group Wendy Rogers,
03:53among others.
03:55The event's promotional video declares, quote, Trump won.
04:00While his star is rising due to his vocal defense of Trump, Ahern has been a political
04:04bigwig in Nevada for a while.
04:06Chuck Muth, a Las Vegas-based Republican consultant who previously advised Ahern, says, quote,
04:12Even before Trump hit the scene, Ahern was always a supporter of conservatives.
04:17He's definitely a much sought-after donor by about every politician in the state.
04:22While Ahern still owns Xtreme Manufacturing and has his 51% stake in Snorkel, he has no
04:28role in the day-to-day operations, which has left him plenty of time to be a political
04:32rainmaker, something he's been moving into over the past few years.
04:36After the 2020 election, Ahern deepened his political involvement.
04:40In May 2021, he joined the Nevada State Republican Party as finance chair.
04:45The group welcomed Ahern as a, quote, top Trump supporter and described him as a, quote,
04:50instrumental member of President Donald J. Trump's finance team.
04:54For full coverage, check out John Hyatt's piece on Forbes.com.
05:00This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes.
05:02Thanks for tuning in.
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