Financial Sector Helps Barack Obama Score Big Money for Re-election Fight
President Barack Obama has relied more on well-connected Wall Street figures to fund his re-election than he did four years ago when he campaigned as an outsider and an underdog.One-third of the money Obama's elite fund-raising corps has raised on behalf of his re-election has come from the financial sector, according to a new Center for Responsive Politics analysis.
Individuals who work in the finance, insurance and real estate sector are responsible for raising at least $11.8 million for Obama's campaign and the Democratic National Committee, according to the Center's research. All of Obama's bundlers have raised a minimum of $34.95 million, as OpenSecrets Blog previously reported.
During his entire 2008 presidential bid, bundlers who worked in the finance, insurance and real estate sector were responsible for a minimum of $16.1 million, according to the Center's research. That's about 21 percent of the $76.5 million estimated minimum amount that these top fund-raisers brought in for Obama's presidential campaign.
An exact dollar amounts for how much cash these individuals raised ahead of the 2008 election or during the past few months is not known because the Obama campaign provided only broad ranges of how much money each bundler collected.
A precise figure, however, is known for how much the Obama campaign and the DNC raised during the second quarter of the year: $86 million. Thus, at least $1 out of every $8 that the DNC and Obama campaign raised came thanks to a bundler connected to the finance, insurance and real estate industry.
The Center has identified 80 bundlers -- out of 244 whose names were released by the Obama campaign last week -- who are part of the financial sector. Forty-four specifically work for the securities and investment industry.
Nine of these 80 bundlers have already raised more than $500,000 -- the top dollar range given by the Obama campaign. Four of them -- former Goldman Sachs CEO Jon Corzine, Evercore Partners executive Charles Myers, Greenstreet Real Estate Partners CEO Steven Green and Azita Raji, a former investment banker for JPMorgan -- did not bundle money for Obama's 2008 campaign.
The other five finance-related top-tier Obama bundlers, who are bundling for him again this campaign, are:
- Mark and Nancy Gilbert, of Barclays, who worked together to raise money as a couple
- Blair Effron, of Centerview Partners
- Kirk Rudy, of Endeavor Real Estate
- Orin Kramer, of Boston Provident
- John Emerson, of Capital Group Companies
Meanwhile, employees of law firms and lobbying shops are responsible for at least $6.9 million so far this year, money which has gone to the Obama re-elect campaign and the DNC.
During Obama's presidential bid four years ago, individuals in this economic sector were responsible for a minimum of $16.1 million -- with the legal industry being the No. 1 industry among all of Obama's bundlers.
This year, 54 individuals in the legal industry have bundled a minimum of $6.1 million. Three individuals, meanwhile, who work for lobbying firms, have collectively bundled a minimum of $800,000.
None of Obama's bundlers are active lobbyists. The same is not true for at least one of Obama's potential Republican opponents: Mitt Romney had six registered lobbyists bundle money for him during the second quarter of the year. These individuals raised $517,450 for Romney's campaign, as OpenSecrets Blog previously reported.
Wall Street money will also likely play a significant role in Romney's campaign, or that of most any Republican who seeks to challenge Obama. The financial sector is traditionally a deep pool of money for politicians on both side of the aisle who seek it. During the 2008 election cycle alone, Republican and Democratic politicians raised a combined $500 million from the finance, insurance and real estate sector, the Center's research shows.
Since he began running for president in 2007, Obama has pledged to not accept money from registered, federal lobbyists. But that hasn't stopped him from taking money from former lobbyists -- or having former lobbyists serve as top fund-raisers for him.
Seven of his bundlers this year are former lobbyists, who, collectively, have raised a minimum of $1.35 million for Obama and the DNC.
These seven individuals are:
- Michael Kempner, of MWW Group, who has raised at least $500,000
- Tim Broas, of Winston & Strawn, who has raised between $200,000 and $500,000
- Michael Cioffi, of Blank Rome LLP, who has raised between $200,000 and $500,000
- Tom Wheeler, of Core Capital Partners, who has raised between $200,000 and $500,000
- Scott Harris, of Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis, who has raised between $100,000 and $200,000
- Mel Levine, of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, who has raised between $100,000 and $200,000
- Frank Clark of Exelon Corp., who raised between $50,000 and $100,000
No Republican presidential candidate has made such a pledge to forgo money from lobbyists.
Here is a table of the other top industries of Obama's bundlers, including how much money these individuals have raised and how many individual bundlers are responsible for the sums:
| Industry | # of Bundlers | Min. Amt Bundled |
|---|---|---|
| Lawyers/Law Firms | 54 | $6,100,000 |
| Securities & Investment | 44 | $7,200,000 |
| Business Services | 22 | $3,900,000 |
| Real Estate | 15 | $2,300,000 |
| Misc. Finance | 15 | $1,750,000 |
| TV/Movies/Music | 10 | $2,100,000 |
| Retired | 8 | $1,600,000 |
| Unknown | 7 | $650,000 |
| Printing & Publishing | 6 | $1,300,000 |
| Democratic/Liberal | 6 | $1,100,000 |
| Education | 6 | $800,000 |
| Non-Profit Institutions | 5 | $900,000 |
| Computers/Internet | 5 | $450,000 |
| Commercial Banks | 3 | $200,000 |
| Food & Beverage | 3 | $300,000 |
| Insurance | 3 | $350,000 |
| General Business | 3 | $250,000 |
| Lobbyists | 3 | $800,000 |
At the same time, Obama is enjoying vigorous support from small-dollar donors. During the second quarter of 2011, about 47 percent of his campaign's fund-raising haul came from individuals who gave $200 or less -- the threshold for itemized reporting by the Federal Election Commission -- as OpenSecrets Blog previously reported.
Obama appears to be attracting a healthy amount of new supporters -- both of the well-connected and small-dollar variety.
So far, more than 200,000 individuals who did not donate to Obama in 2008 have donated to his re-election efforts, according to the Obama campaign.
Meanwhile, nearly 60 percent of the 244 individual bundlers for his re-election efforts did not bundle for his campaign four years ago, by the Center's tally.
New bundlers for Obama and returning bundlers each collectively raised a minimum of $17.5 million during the second quarter, according to the Center's research.
Some of this new money may also be coming because of ideological reasons, particularly Obama's usually supportive positions on gay rights issues.A dozen bundlers who are openly gay or lesbian raised a minimum of $2.35 million for Obama and the DNC during the second quarter.
At least $2.2 million was raised by the 10 bundlers who are new to the Obama re-election cause.
These 12 bundlers who've been active in gay rights causes are:
- Myers, of Evercore Partners, who has bundled at least $500,000
- Eugene Sepulveda, of Austin, Texas, who bundled at least $500,000
- Andrew Tobias, a writer and treasurer of the DNC, who bundled at least $500,000
- Dana Perlman and Barry Karas, of Los Angeles, who bundled at least $200,000
- Wally Brewster and Bob Satawake, of Chicago, who bundled at least $100,000
- Terry Bean, of Portland, Ore., who bundled at least $100,000
- Kathy Levinson, former president and CEO of E-trade, who bundled at least $100,000
- Laura Ricketts, of Ecotravel LLC in Chicago, who bundled at least $100,000
- Jeff Soref, of New York, who bundled at least $100,000
- Fred Eychaner, of Chicago, who bundled at least $50,000
- Paul Horning, of Atlanta, who bundled at least $50,000
- Kevin Jennings, the former Department of Education official, who bundled at least 50,000
Federal law does not compel candidates to disclose information about their bundlers unless the bundler is also a lobbyist. Campaigns, therefore, can chose to release or omit as much information as they chose about their bundlers.
Beyond each bundler's name, city and state, the Obama campaign did not include any other identifying information about its bundlers. The employer information discussed in this report for Obama's bundlers is based on research by the Center's staff.
You can dig into more information about all of Obama's 2012 bundlers on this new page on OpenSecrets.org.
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