With little over a year to go until the 2016 election, just 158 families have spent nearly half of all money fueling the campaigns, according to data collected by the New York Times. They are overwhelmingly white, rich, older and male, in a nation that is being remade by the young, by women, and by black and brown voters. Across a sprawling country, they reside in an archipelago of wealth, exclusive neighborhoods dotting a handful of cities and towns.
Not since before Watergate have so few people and businesses provided so much early money in a campaign, most of it through channels legalized by the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision five years ago. But regardless of industry, the families investing the most in presidential politics overwhelmingly lean right, contributing tens of millions of dollars to support Republican candidates who have pledged to pare regulations; cut taxes on income, capital gains and inheritances; and shrink entitlement programs.
Some of the largest donations came from donors whose backgrounds and occupations were difficult to determine from public records. A man named Chen Shu Te gave $500,000 to Right to Rise USA, a super PAC backing Mr. Bush, which told the Federal Election Commission that Mr. Chen lives in Hong Kong. But public records reveal almost nothing about him, or even if he is an American citizen. (Green card holders may contribute, but other foreign nationals may not.) Hundreds of thousands of dollars in other contributions came from limited liability corporations whose ownership is unclear. Among them is TH Holdings L.L.C., which shares a New York City office suite with Neuberger Berman, an investment management firm headed by a cousin of Mr. Bush’s. More than a dozen of the firm’s other employees or executives have given to Mr. Bush’s campaign or the super PAC, but under their own names.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/11/us/politics/wealthy-families-presidential-candidates.html
Mostly Backing Republicans
Republicans: 138
Democrats: 20
Mainly in Finance
Finance: 64
Energy and natural resources: 17
Real estate and construction: 15
Media and entertainment: 12
Health: 12
Technology: 10
Transportation: 9
Retail and manufacturing: 6
Food, beverage, agriculture: 5
Insurance: 3
Other: 5
Tend to Be Self-Made
Self-made wealth: 119
Inherited wealth: 37
Not since before Watergate have so few people and businesses provided so much early money in a campaign, most of it through channels legalized by the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision five years ago. But regardless of industry, the families investing the most in presidential politics overwhelmingly lean right, contributing tens of millions of dollars to support Republican candidates who have pledged to pare regulations; cut taxes on income, capital gains and inheritances; and shrink entitlement programs.
Some of the largest donations came from donors whose backgrounds and occupations were difficult to determine from public records. A man named Chen Shu Te gave $500,000 to Right to Rise USA, a super PAC backing Mr. Bush, which told the Federal Election Commission that Mr. Chen lives in Hong Kong. But public records reveal almost nothing about him, or even if he is an American citizen. (Green card holders may contribute, but other foreign nationals may not.) Hundreds of thousands of dollars in other contributions came from limited liability corporations whose ownership is unclear. Among them is TH Holdings L.L.C., which shares a New York City office suite with Neuberger Berman, an investment management firm headed by a cousin of Mr. Bush’s. More than a dozen of the firm’s other employees or executives have given to Mr. Bush’s campaign or the super PAC, but under their own names.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/11/us/politics/wealthy-families-presidential-candidates.html
Mostly Backing Republicans
Republicans: 138
Democrats: 20
Mainly in Finance
Finance: 64
Energy and natural resources: 17
Real estate and construction: 15
Media and entertainment: 12
Health: 12
Technology: 10
Transportation: 9
Retail and manufacturing: 6
Food, beverage, agriculture: 5
Insurance: 3
Other: 5
Tend to Be Self-Made
Self-made wealth: 119
Inherited wealth: 37
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