We examine political contributions by wealthy individuals in the U.S. and their impact on the political process. We document a nearly five-time increase in the share of political contributions that can be attributed to the wealthy and argue that this increase has a causal impact on political outcomes. Politicians receiving more money from the wealthy are more likely to vote in line with the interests of the wealthy, who also give such politicians higher approval ratings. Our findings show that democratic political systems may favor the interests of the rich even when all people have equal access to the electoral process.