Santa Cruz's Reed Hastings gave $8.5 million over the past 11 years mostly to educational campaigns, but also to Democratic candidates.
The founder of Netflix in Los Gatos was the 7th biggest "Rainmaker" in the state's elections over the past decade according to a study done by California Watch and the Bay Citizen.
The study found that a group of 100 donors has contributed $1.25 billion to influence voters, mostly for Democrats and Democratic causes. The top 100 donors supplied about a third of the $3.6 billion spent on campaigns since 2001.
Not surprisingly, corporate and special interest donors skewed Democratic, in a state governed largely by Democrats, while wealthy individuals favored Republicans.
The California Teachers Association was on top of the group donors with $118 million donations given to 907 candidates, 569 ballot measures and 87 parties.
PG&E and Chevron were third and sixth on the list with donations of $67 million and $50 million. Tobacco companies, pharmaceuticals and Indian tribes were also high on the list.
For a real look behind the curtain of California politics, read the whole story here.
