Beer Money
The money race is unfortunately just as important, or even more important than any other factor in the 2012 election.
The filings to the Federal Election Commission, the first detailed look at a crucial source of support for Dog Mittens Romney, showed his ability to win substantial backing from a small number of his party’s most influential and wealthy patrons, each contributing to the super PAC far more than the $2,500 check each could legally write to his campaign.
All told, the group, Restore Our Future, raised about $18 million from just 200 donors in the second half of 2011.
Millions of dollars came from financial industry executives, including Mr. Romney’s former colleagues at Bain Capital, who contributed a total of $750,000; senior executives at Goldman Sachs, who contributed $385,000; and some of the most prominent and politically active Republicans in the hedge fund world, three of whom gave $1 million each: Robert Mercer of Renaissance Technologies; Paul Singer of Elliott Management, and Julian Robertson of Tiger Management.
Harlan Crow, the Texas construction magnate, gave $300,000 personally and through his company. William Koch, whose brothers Charles and David are among the country’s most prominent backers of conservative causes, gave $1 million personally or through Oxbow Carbon, the energy company he founded. Members of the Walton family, founders of the Walmart chain, gave over $200,000, while Bob Perry — a wealthy home builder who has long been the top patron of Mr. Romney’s erstwhile rival, Gov. Rick Perry of Texas — chipped in $500,000 in early December.
But as Mr. Romney sailed to an overwhelming victory in Florida’s primary on Tuesday night, fund-raising documents filed by President Obama showed the kind of financial juggernaut he will face if he becomes his party’s nominee: Mr. Obama reported raising a total of $140 million in 2011, far eclipsing the $57 million Mr. Romney raised for his campaign for the year.
(click here to continue reading Campaign Finance Reports Show ‘Super PAC’ Donors – NYTimes.com.)
From the NYT article, the top ten Romney investors. If there was any way I could avoid them, I would, but odds are long that I’d ever encounter any of these people or companies.
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Edward Conard
Investor and former top executive at Bain Capital, the private equity firm Mr. Romney helped start. |
$1.0 million |
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Robert Mercer
Co-chief executive at Renaissance Technologies Corp., a hedge fund company. |
$1.0 million |
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John Paulson
Billionaire founder of the hedge fund Paulson & Company. Well known for earning billions of dollars betting against the subprime mortgage market. |
$1.0 million |
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Bob Perry
Houston homebuilder who was a major financier of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth in 2004. |
$1.0 million |
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Julian Robertson
Founder of Tiger Management, a hedge fund. |
$1.0 million |
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Paul Singer
Manager of Elliot Associates hedge fund. |
$1.0 million |
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Eli Publishing Inc.
Shares a Provo, Utah, address with F8 LLC. |
$1.0 million |
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F8 LLC
Shares a Provo, Utah, address with Eli Publishing Inc. |
$1.0 million |
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Melaleuca
An Idaho-based health and wellness products company; donations were made under the names of four associated companies. |
$1.0 million |
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Rooney Holdings Inc.
Private investment firm based in Tulsa, Okla. Its chief executive is Francis Rooney, a former U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican. |
$1.0 million |
The full list is here, where you can also see that Obama’s donors are from a much more diverse background. In fact, currently there are only two Obama donors who gave $1,000,000 or more: Jeffrey Katzenberg,Chief executive of Dreamworks Animation, who contributed $2 million; and Service Employees International Union, a labor union with 2.1 million members, contributing $1 million.