Trump’s Top Inaugural Donor Is Poultry Company Fined for Price Fixing and Antitrust Violations

Pilgrim’s Pride, the second-largest poultry processor in the U.S., gave a $5 million contribution to the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee—the single largest donation to the fund, according to a new Federal Election Commission filing. The donation, which secured access to exclusive inaugural events including an ”intimate dinner” with President Trump, comes as the company faces ongoing antitrust lawsuits for price-fixing, hundreds of millions in settlements, and a slate of new U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) rules targeting unfair grower contracts. 

Pilgrim’s Pride, a subsidiary of Brazilian meat giant JBS SA, has spent years embroiled in antitrust scrutiny. In 2021, the company pleaded guilty to conspiring to fix prices and rig bids on broiler chickens between 2012 and 2017, paying a $107.9 million criminal fine. According to the Department of Justice, the conspiracy inflated prices across the supply chain, ultimately passing along additional costs to consumers. The company paid $75 million in 2021 to settle with poultry buyers over claims they colluded with Tyson Foods, and another $100 million in 2023 to resolve claims from poultry farmers alleging it colluded with rivals to underpay them through unfair tournament-style payment systems. A related shareholder class action settlement, finalized in January 2025, cost Pilgrim’s Pride an additional $41.5 million.