He\u2019s hardly the first billionaire to promise working-class voters he\u2019ll fight for them in public office.\u00a0Rick Jackson, the Republican candidate for Georgia governor, has even compared himself to the real estate mogul who reached the Oval Office.<\/p>\n
\n
But Jackson\u2019s path differs from\u00a0Donald Trump\u2019s, and the 72-year-old\u00a0healthcare magnate and investor\u00a0brings a vastly different persona to his first campaign. Unlike Trump, who was\u00a0born to wealth, Jackson spent his early years bouncing through foster homes before launching his first company as a young man.<\/p>\n
Now, he wants to leverage both his similarities and contrasts with the president, a challenge he\u2019s tackling with buckets of his own campaign cash and a personal story that anchors his appeal to voters.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have lived in poverty,\u201d Jackson says. \u201cWhen you have not eaten, you never forget that, and you don\u2019t forget the people that are struggling.\u201d<\/p>\n
Democratic nominee\u00a0Keisha Lance Bottoms, a former Atlanta mayor, disputes Jackson\u2019s altruistic pitch, setting up the Nov. 3 election as a test of whether an alternate, softer version of conservative billionaire politics can complement or even counter Trump\u2019s pugilistic populism in a key swing state.<\/p>\n
Jackson planned to join Trump at a rally Saturday in Perry, in what would be his second appearance with the president in the closing stretch of the campaign.<\/p>\n
\u2018From foster care to billionaire\u2019<\/h4>\n
\u201cMy father left me at nine months old. My mother was a sixth-grade educated waitress with a severe alcohol problem,\u201d Jackson said in the only debate of their general election campaign. \u201cI had seven stepfathers before I was 12. I lived in the projects, went to 13 different schools, and lived in five different foster homes.\u201d<\/p>\n
He left college to start a business at 21. That led to Jackson Healthcare, a behemoth company that provides contract nurses and other workers to hospitals and health systems, including public entities that have helped fuel Jackson\u2019s fortunes with taxpayer money.<\/p>\n
At events with supporters, Jackson gets more personal.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have, because of my background, severe abandonment issues,\u201d he told hundreds of voters in Cleveland, a conservative enclave in the north Georgia mountains. He turns that acknowledgment into a promise: \u201cLet me tell you one thing: I will never abandon you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rags-to-riches themes are not uncommon in politics, and it\u2019s yielded Jackson\u2019s campaign motto: \u201cFrom foster care to billionaire.\u201d But the scale is eye-popping, illuminated by the nearly $200 million Jackson has spent personally on the campaign. That puts him among the largest self-funding candidates in the history of American elections.<\/p>\n
But on that score, too, Jackson tries to soften the caricature of the billionaire executive.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not my money,\u201d he said in a northern suburb of Atlanta. Jackson calls his fortune \u201cGod\u2019s money\u201d and says that \u201cmy job is to have kingdom impact\u201d with it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reason I have spent so much money to do this,\u201d he said, is to \u201chelp 11 million Georgians, to keep them from struggling.\u201d<\/p>\n
A range of images over a long campaign<\/h4>\n
Jackson launched his bid as a relative unknown, though Capitol insiders knew him because of Jackson Healthcare, its lucrative state contracts and his lobbying interest in healthcare, business and tax policy.<\/p>\n
The Republican primary field\u00a0featured a trio of statewide elected officials, including Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who won\u00a0Trump\u2019s endorsement in August 2025, before Jackson got in.<\/p>\n
During the primary, Jackson embraced the president even though he wasn\u2019t Trump\u2019s choice. Jackson sometimes promised to \u201cbe like Trump, but with Southern tone.\u201d He pledged to \u201cdeliver for Georgia the same type of business solutions that President Trump is bringing to our country.\u201d<\/p>\n
Largely aligning himself with Trump on immigration, Jackson promised to make Georgia a national leader in deportations.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t care if you\u2019re Muslim or Mongolian, you don\u2019t have the right to force your culture on our country,\u201d he said in one ad. \u201cCriminal illegals\u201d who \u201ccommit sick, violent crimes\u201d would \u201cend up deported or departed,\u201d he promised.<\/p>\n
Soon after defeating Jones in a runoff, Jackson shelved the immigration ad, but not before using it as part of a spot featuring his grandchildren. \u201cGranddad, why do you look so mean in these ads?\u201d one asks after watching the \u201cdeported or departed\u201d clip on her phone. The children and teenagers then tell their grandfather how he can \u201clook cool\u201d with a pickup truck, a dog and a hipper wardrobe.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s make Georgia better together,\u201d the redressed Jackson concludes.<\/p>\n
He has since circulated an ad with several young adults who benefited from the millions he spent helping foster children who age out of the Georgia system when they turn 18. \u201cI am so proud of you,\u201d he tells them as he chokes up.<\/p>\n
On policy, Republican fare and centrist appeals<\/h4>\n
As he softens his image, Jackson maintains traditional Republican positions, pledging to cut taxes, regulation and what he describes as waste. If he cannot halve the state income tax in four years, he promises not to seek a second term. He wants a balanced budget and full audits of state spending, without saying state law requires a balanced budget and audits of state agencies have long been standard practice.<\/p>\n
He says he will expand healthcare without expanding Medicaid under the 2010 Affordable Care Act. Instead, he argues he can fund broader coverage through partnerships with private insurers. That would require Washington to grant permission and commit a level of financial support that no state has gotten without expanding the traditional Medicaid program.<\/p>\n
Jackson says he can do all of that while increasing spending on teacher salaries and vocational education.<\/p>\n
At the same time, he has toned down his Trump adulation, reflecting Georgia\u2019s general election math and voters\u2019 frustrations with the Iran war and inflation.<\/p>\n
In July, Jackson stood with Trump in Marietta and expressed his hope to \u201cbe this guy\u2019s favorite governor.\u201d When Trump returned to Dalton on Oct. 16, Jackson did not mention Trump at all in his own speech. Later, when the president called him on stage, Jackson praised Trump \u2014 for advocating for foster children. When Trump announced that he would be back to Georgia on Saturday, Jackson\u2019s campaign initially planned its own event in metro Atlanta before changing it up so Jackson would again be with the president.<\/p>\n
Bottoms disputes Jackson\u2019s everyman appeal<\/h4>\n
Bottoms says Jackson is \u201ctrying to buy this election\u201d so he can be a Trump stooge. And Democrats have seized on the way that Jackson has talked about the economy.<\/p>\n
Discussing trade schools, Jackson said on the debate stage that \u201cmy plumber drives a Mercedes.\u201d Discussing inflation and crime during his town hall-style debate with Bottoms, he suggested Atlantans felt unsafe \u201cat the gas store\u201d during her tenure. When a citizen in the debate audience asked Jackson about minimum wage and affording basic necessities, Jackson told her, \u201cHopefully, you\u2019re not the one that is getting the $7.50 an hour.\u201d<\/p>\n
Minimum wage is $7.25. Bottoms has proposed doubling it. Jackson has not proposed any increase. \u201cMy focus is creating jobs,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve been creating jobs my entire life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jackson\u2019s balancing act is enough for Debbie Satterfield, a 72-year-old who came to a Jackson rally in White County wearing both a Trump shirt and a Jackson sticker.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I heard about his harsh upbringing, and to hear how far he had climbed, and starting from nothing,\u201d she said. \u201cIt reminds me of my life starting with nothing. You can see his soul.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
#Georgias #foster #care #billionaire #candidate #calls #fortune #Gods #money #spends #mil<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
He\u2019s hardly the first billiona… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7456,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[274,284,6149,2464,133,10506,7435,10507,10508,27,3645,10505],"class_list":["post-7455","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-finance-news","tag-billionaire","tag-calls","tag-candidate","tag-care","tag-fortune","tag-foster","tag-georgias","tag-gods","tag-mil","tag-money","tag-spends","tag-u-s-governor-elections"],"yoast_head":"\n
Georgia's 'foster care to billionaire' candidate calls his fortune 'God's money' and spends $200 mil - Finance News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=7455\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"zh_CN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Georgia's 'foster care to billionaire' candidate calls his fortune 'God's money' and spends $200 mil - Finance News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"He\u2019s hardly the first billiona…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=7455\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Finance News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-10-24T19:00:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/img-assets\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/AP26289788039689-e1792863904165.jpg?w=2048\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"\u4f5c\u8005\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"\u9884\u8ba1\u9605\u8bfb\u65f6\u95f4\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 \u5206\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=7455#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=7455\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ed40724a3e5d482ce66781a042c3c31e\"},\"headline\":\"Georgia’s ‘foster care to billionaire’ candidate calls his fortune ‘God’s money’ and spends $200 mil\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-10-24T19:00:14+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=7455\"},\"wordCount\":1275,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=7455#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/AP26289788039689-e1792863904165.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Billionaire\",\"calls\",\"candidate\",\"care\",\"fortune\",\"foster\",\"Georgias\",\"Gods\",\"mil\",\"Money\",\"spends\",\"U.S. Governor Elections\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Finance News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"zh-Hans\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=7455#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=7455\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=7455\",\"name\":\"Georgia's 'foster care to billionaire' candidate calls his fortune 'God's money' and spends $200 mil - Finance News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=7455#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=7455#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/AP26289788039689-e1792863904165.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-10-24T19:00:14+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ed40724a3e5d482ce66781a042c3c31e\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=7455#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"zh-Hans\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=7455\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"zh-Hans\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=7455#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/AP26289788039689-e1792863904165.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/10\\\/AP26289788039689-e1792863904165.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":600},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=7455#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"\u9996\u9875\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Georgia’s ‘foster care to billionaire’ candidate calls his fortune ‘God’s money’ and spends $200 mil\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/\",\"name\":\"Finance News\",\"description\":\"Just another Finance News site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"zh-Hans\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ed40724a3e5d482ce66781a042c3c31e\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Georgia's 'foster care to billionaire' candidate calls his fortune 'God's money' and spends $200 mil - Finance News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=7455","og_locale":"zh_CN","og_type":"article","og_title":"Georgia's 'foster care to billionaire' candidate calls his fortune 'God's money' and spends $200 mil - Finance News","og_description":"He\u2019s hardly the first billiona…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=7455","og_site_name":"Finance News","article_published_time":"2026-10-24T19:00:14+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/fortune.com\/img-assets\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/AP26289788039689-e1792863904165.jpg?w=2048","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"\u4f5c\u8005":"admin","\u9884\u8ba1\u9605\u8bfb\u65f6\u95f4":"6 \u5206"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=7455#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=7455"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/#\/schema\/person\/ed40724a3e5d482ce66781a042c3c31e"},"headline":"Georgia’s ‘foster care to billionaire’ candidate calls his fortune ‘God’s money’ and spends $200 mil","datePublished":"2026-10-24T19:00:14+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=7455"},"wordCount":1275,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=7455#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/AP26289788039689-e1792863904165.jpg","keywords":["Billionaire","calls","candidate","care","fortune","foster","Georgias","Gods","mil","Money","spends","U.S. Governor Elections"],"articleSection":["Finance News"],"inLanguage":"zh-Hans","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=7455#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=7455","url":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=7455","name":"Georgia's 'foster care to billionaire' candidate calls his fortune 'God's money' and spends $200 mil - Finance News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=7455#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=7455#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/AP26289788039689-e1792863904165.jpg","datePublished":"2026-10-24T19:00:14+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/#\/schema\/person\/ed40724a3e5d482ce66781a042c3c31e"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=7455#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"zh-Hans","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=7455"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"zh-Hans","@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=7455#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/AP26289788039689-e1792863904165.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/AP26289788039689-e1792863904165.jpg","width":1200,"height":600},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=7455#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"\u9996\u9875","item":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Georgia’s ‘foster care to billionaire’ candidate calls his fortune ‘God’s money’ and spends $200 mil"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/","name":"Finance News","description":"Just another Finance News site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"zh-Hans"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/#\/schema\/person\/ed40724a3e5d482ce66781a042c3c31e","name":"admin","url":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7455","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7455"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7455\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7455"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7455"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7455"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![](\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/img-assets\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/AP26289788039689-e1792863904165.jpg?w=2048\")
<\/p>\n