Whoever wins today’s election, the United States is still an oligarchy, and in an oligarchy, money is the great decider. All the policy platforms, speeches, and interviews in the world may not tell you as much about the future of the next administration as the bedrock of cash their campaign was built on. So it’s worth looking at where the respective candidates have gotten their money from during this cycle.

The GOP and the still-dominant corporate wing of the Democratic Party are today still, as ever, primarily the servants of the country’s business class and superrich. But within that tiny, all-powerful slice of the American public are competing factions that take the differences between the two parties very seriously, enough to potentially blow millions of dollars on the wrong horse. And below that is a thinner layer of small-dollar donations given to the candidates by Americans from all walks of life who, for one reason or another, are inspired enough by a candidate or their respective party to give away a portion of their hard-earned income, affording us a possible view into the nature of a candidate’s appeal.

The 2020 contest is poised to shatter campaign spending records, with $14 billion projected to have been put on the table by the time the dust settles — more than double the last presidential race. It looks like the infection of the political sphere by big money will be as widespread and pernicious as ever for the foreseeable future — and it pays to understand where it’s coming from.