Conservative
Repent, America!
Billionaire casino magnate Sheldon Adelson and his wife have given $10 million to a super PAC that supports former House speaker Newt Gingrich.
And Harold Simmons, who played a central role in the development of leveraged buyouts and corporate takeovers, has given $8.5 million to two super PACs, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
FEC filings reveal the Dallas billionaire gave $5 million to Karl Rove-backed American Crossroads, while a corporation he owns chipped in another $2 million.
PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel gave $900,000 to Endorse Liberty, a super PAC that backs Ron Paul.
Even cash-strapped Rick Santorum, long something of an underdog, has his own super-rich backer: Foster Friess, who has donated at least $331,000 to the pro-Santorum Red, White and Blue Fund.
Friess' donations accounted for more than a third of the donations collected by the super PAC as of Dec. 31.
"Foster has been a long personal friend for 20 years," Santorum told CNN this week. "We have spent a lot of time together ... he's someone, again, who is a friend and will continue to be a good friend."
And if you don't happen to have close personal friends with a ten-digit bank account?
"Now I know why my campaign didn't work," Tim Pawlenty quipped on Wednesday. "I didn't have a billionaire."
The donation patterns of billionaires underscore a bit of common sense: They are really, really rich.
That would be like a millionaire giving a $500 donation. Or a $50 gift for someone worth $100,000.
More than half of itemized super PAC money this cycle has come from just 37 people, according to a an analysis of disclosure reports conducted by PIRG and Demos, two research firms.
And gifts of $1 million or more -- from just 15 donors -- make up 38% of itemized, individual super PAC donations.
In sharp contrast to traditional campaign fundraising, which limits donations to candidates to $2,500 per person, most donations to super PACs are at least $10,000.
According to the PIRG analysis, 93% of all itemized contributions to super PACs were $10,000 or more. They came from just 726 individuals.
http://money.cnn.com/2012/02/10/news/economy/super_pac_billionaires/?google_editors_picks=true
And Harold Simmons, who played a central role in the development of leveraged buyouts and corporate takeovers, has given $8.5 million to two super PACs, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
FEC filings reveal the Dallas billionaire gave $5 million to Karl Rove-backed American Crossroads, while a corporation he owns chipped in another $2 million.
PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel gave $900,000 to Endorse Liberty, a super PAC that backs Ron Paul.
Even cash-strapped Rick Santorum, long something of an underdog, has his own super-rich backer: Foster Friess, who has donated at least $331,000 to the pro-Santorum Red, White and Blue Fund.
Friess' donations accounted for more than a third of the donations collected by the super PAC as of Dec. 31.
"Foster has been a long personal friend for 20 years," Santorum told CNN this week. "We have spent a lot of time together ... he's someone, again, who is a friend and will continue to be a good friend."
And if you don't happen to have close personal friends with a ten-digit bank account?
"Now I know why my campaign didn't work," Tim Pawlenty quipped on Wednesday. "I didn't have a billionaire."
The donation patterns of billionaires underscore a bit of common sense: They are really, really rich.
That would be like a millionaire giving a $500 donation. Or a $50 gift for someone worth $100,000.
More than half of itemized super PAC money this cycle has come from just 37 people, according to a an analysis of disclosure reports conducted by PIRG and Demos, two research firms.
And gifts of $1 million or more -- from just 15 donors -- make up 38% of itemized, individual super PAC donations.
In sharp contrast to traditional campaign fundraising, which limits donations to candidates to $2,500 per person, most donations to super PACs are at least $10,000.
According to the PIRG analysis, 93% of all itemized contributions to super PACs were $10,000 or more. They came from just 726 individuals.
http://money.cnn.com/2012/02/10/news/economy/super_pac_billionaires/?google_editors_picks=true