FP : So You Want to Buy an Ambassadorship The United States is the only Western government that routinely rewards mega-donors with top diplomatic posts.

 

So You Want to Buy an Ambassadorship

The United States is the only Western government that routinely rewards mega-donors with top diplomatic posts.

By Robbie Gramer, a diplomacy and national security reporter at Foreign Policy. 

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U.S. President Joe Biden speaks on the DISCLOSE Act.

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks on the DISCLOSE Act, which would require super PACs and other dark money groups to disclose major donors, during an event at the White House in Washington on Sept. 20, 2022. ALEX WONG/GETTY IMAGES

JANUARY 24, 2023, 2:23 PM

So you want to be a U.S. ambassador? Broadly speaking, there are two ways to do that.

The first is to make a career in policy or diplomacy and gain lots and lots of experience related to foreign affairs. The second is to have money. Lots and lots of money.

Running for president is really expensive, and presidential candidates in both parties require massive fundraising machines to bankroll campaigns that are becoming all the more so. A pattern has emerged under modern Republican and Democratic administrations alike where presidents will tap deep-pocket campaign donors or “bundlers” who directly donate or help raise hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars for the winning presidential candidate for plum ambassador posts.