About 400 Donors Raise Almost $40 Million Bill For Obama Inaugural

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - Donation from 400 individuals and groups who have given the maximum $50,000 raised $27 million so far to foot the $40 million expected bill for the inaugural rite on Jan. 20 of the 44th U.S., President Barack Obama.

Among the donors are billionaire George Soros, actors Halle Berry, Jamie Fox and Samuel Jackson, Hollywood directors Ron Howard, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg and singer Barbra Streisand.

The inaugural committee has turned down contributions from labor unions, companies, political action committees, foreigners and Washington lobbyists.

It is not just the bill that is staggering for the Jan. 20 event, but also other the number of buses and people expected to descend upon the District of Columbia.

Among the large number of items and people that Peter Gage, top planner for the Inaugural Parade, must manage are trimming the list of 1,382 parade applicants, pinpointing locations for portable toilets along the 2-mile parade route, handling a crowd of about 300,000 and planning jumbo screen locations.

The details of the parade such as official start time and place, the route the Obamas will walk and which bands will be the first to march have not been disclosed to the public for security reasons.