LOBBYING EXPENDITURES OF TOP US COMPANIES

Source: Oxfam America

To determine the lobbying expenditures of the target companies, Oxfam America used the Center for Responsive Politics’ website Opensecrets.org. This resource calculates the total lobby expenditure for a company and its affiliates using lobbying data released by the Senate Office of Public Records as of April 20, 2015. For each company, Oxfam America added together their total lobbying expenditure for the seven years from 2008 to 2014.

The overall scope of lobbying activity to shape public policy is immense. Each Member of Congress in Washington, DC is trailed by an average of 21 lobbyists and subject to $6,000,000 in spending to influence their votes every year. The top 50 companies spent roughly $2.6 billion on lobbying from 2008 – 2014. That means for every $1 they invested in shaping federal policy through lobbying, they received $130 in tax breaks and more than $4,000 in federal loans, loan guarantees and bailouts.

1. General Electric: $ 161M
2. Exxon Mobil: $ 121M
3. Boeing: $ 117M
4. AT&T: $ 113M
5. Verizon Communications: $ 110M
6. Comcast: $ 108M
7. Pfizer: $ 94M
8. United Technologies: $ 91M
9. Chevron: $ 85M
10. Conoco Phillips: $ 79M
11. Alphabet (Google): $ 73M
12. Amgen: $ 70M
13. CVS Health: $ 70M
14. General Motors: $ 67M
15. Dow Chemical: $ 65M
16. Microsoft: $57M
17. Prudential Financial: $56M
18. Berkshire Hathaway: $ 53M
19. Wall-Mart Stores: $48M
20. JP Morgan Chase: $ 47M
21. Merck: $ 47M
22. Coca Cola: $ 44M
23. Ford Motor: $ 44M
24. Honeywell International: $ 44M
25. Qualcomm: $ 44M
26. Johnson & Johnson: $ 43M
27. Oracle: 43M
28. Hewlett Packard: $ 41M
29. Metlife: $ 41M
30. Citigroup: $ 40M
31. IBM: $ 39M
32. Twenty-First Century Fox: $ 38M
33. Wells Fargo: $ 38M
34. American International Group (AIG): $ 31M
35. Pepsi Co: $ 31M
36. Procter & Gamble: $ 31M
37. Walt Disney: $ 30M
38. Intel: $ 29M
39. Caterpillar: $ 26M
40. Goldman Sachs: $ 26M
41. Bank of America: $ 24M
42. United Health Group: $ 24M
43. Morgan Stanley: $ 23M
44. American Express: $ 19M
45. Apple: $ 17M
46. Cisco Systems: $ 15M
47. Capital One Financial: $ 12M
48. Phillips 66: $ 9M
49. US Bancorp: $ 8M
50. Home Depot: $ 7M