George Soros, Haim Saban give $12 million to Clinton campaign

American billionaire George Soros donated $6 million to a super-PAC financing US Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton last month, a report says.

Soros has now provided a total of $7 million in this election cycle to Priorities USA Action, a super-PAC which raised $41 million on behalf of Clinton in 2015, according to the committee's statement issued on Sunday.

The super-PAC raised $25.3 million during the last 6 months, and Soros's contribution accounted for almost a quarter of its funding haul.

Haim Saban, an Israeli-American media tycoon, and his wife Cheryl have contributed a total of $5 million to Clinton’s super-PAC.

Clinton has written a letter to Saban, pledging to speak out publicly against the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign aimed at Israel.

Wealthy individuals, who are restricted by law from giving large amounts directly to candidates’ campaigns, donate to political action committees, commonly known as super-PACs.

In the 2010 Citizens United case ruling, the US Supreme Court allowed unlimited independent spending by corporations in elections.

According to a study published by the New York Times, wealthy individuals and corporations have begun to replace powerless people as direct beneficiaries of the US political system and the Constitution.

Clinton is maintaining a slim lead over Senator Bernie Sanders in Iowa, according to a poll released on Saturday.

Clinton beat out rival Sanders in the Des Moines Register/Bloomberg poll. She has 45 percent support, with Sanders at 42 percent.

On Saturday, The New York Times endorsed Clinton for the 2016 Democratic nomination, a potential boost for the candidate two days before the Iowa caucuses.

Times editors wrote that they chose Clinton over her main rival, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, due to her experience and policy ideas.

The editorial board described Clinton as “one of the most broadly and deeply qualified presidential candidates in modern history.”