MONEY: Obama, Democrats, Romney and Republicans. It's good to be ca-ching!

[No Elephants]

Top Five Fundraisers for Obama and Democrats (not in the same class with the Romney and Republican donors, below)


1. Chicago home boy, hedge fund manager, gay rights activist and founder of Newsweb, a Chicago-based alternative-newspaper publisher, Fred Eychaner gave $3.57 million. He is also an Obama bundler, to the tune of $500,000. In 2008, Newsweb spent more than $1.7 million on Illinois elections and about $200,000 on the federal level. Obama appointed Eychaner to the board of trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.


2. Next at $3.5 million (none to Obama, but to Democratic super pacs and congressional campaigns) is James Simons, 74, of NY, investor and founder of Renaissance Technologies.

3. Close to Simons with a paltry $3.07 million is Jeffrey Katzenberg, 61, Hollywood film producer and chief executive of DreamWorks Animation. Katzenberg also helped bundle more than $500,000 for the president's second term, making him among the campaign's top volunteer fundraisers. Invitations to the WH, including a state dinner, put him in proximity earlier this year to Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, who signed off on an overseas deal benefiting Katzenberg's studio.

4. Slacking off at a measly $2.122 million is Irwin Jacobs, 78, the founder and former chairman of Qualcomm. Locals were upset by his proposal, backed by San Diego's mayor, to rename Qualcomm Stadium for 10 days to reflect the cellphone-maker's new computer chip. Also his proposal to alter traffic and parking in the San Diego's historic Balboa Park, a plan overwhelmingly approved by city officials.

5. Low man on the top five totem pole is gay rights and animal rights donor Jon Stryker, 54, a Michigan philanthropist (philanthropist being code for "I inherited a bundle" and have no need to earn a living.) Stryker is the heir to namesake Stryker Corp., the major medical-device and equipment manufacturer.

Political donations can open doors that are closed to most people. Big-dollar donors are often invited to state dinners at the White House and other events with the president. They also may be asked to weigh in on public policy, especially if it affects their own financial interests. And the ranks of ambassadors, advisory panels and other government jobs traditionally are filled with those who have been unusually generous during the campaign.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_BIGGEST_DONORS_DEMOCRATS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-10-31-03-21-36




Top Five Individual Donors to Rmoney and Republicans (putting the Dem donors to shame)


1. Biggest individual donor to Willard at $44.2 million is Vegas casino mogul, Shelley Adelson, 79, whom you no doubt remember from backing Newt in the primary against Willard.

2. Trailing way behind Adelson at a relatively paltry $22 million is Harold Simmons, 81 year old owner of Contran Corp., a conglomerate based in Dallas and worth an estimated $9 billion that specializes in metals and chemical production and waste management. Come on, Harry, get with the program, willya?

3. Close behind Harry at 18.3 million, we have Bob J. Perry, 80, head of a Houston real estate empire worth an estimated $650 million (under a single billion? pffft. No wonder he donated so little.)

4. The proverbial spring chicken of the group at only age 58 is Robert Rowling, 58, head of Dallas-based TRT Holdings. Bobby has given only $5.1 million, a really penny pinching amount in light of the value of his holdings, which are estimated at $4.8 billion. They include Omni Hotels, Gold's Gym and Tana Exploration, his family's oil company. His Omni company won the contract to operate Dallas's convention center. I'm sure his campaign donations never influenced that decision at all. *wink*

5. Bringing up the rear at a relative miserly $4 million is William Koch, 72, an industrialist whose South Florida-based energy and mining conglomerate is worth an estimated $4 billion. Billy Boy, please talk to Adelson about what donating really means, willya?

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_BIGGEST_DONORS_REPUBLICANS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-10-31-03-20-28


The above ten items can be unpacked a lot of different ways. For one thing, all ten people on the list are males.