Barack Obama
When Barack Obama snagged the support of billionaire bundler George Soros just hours after he announced his bid for President, the ladies and gents of the donor-sphere (particularly the Hillary partisans) had to work hard to stifle a collective gasp. Then came the news that Orin Kramer, a well-established supporter of the Clintons, had defected to Mr. Obama’s camp. Now the Senator has begun throwing full-on fund-raisers, and the list of names he’s lined up for his host committees is impressive. There are prominent African-American business leaders and entertainment execs. There are old-time Democrats and young machers-in-training—some of whom were actually graduates of the first Clinton White House. There is even a reformed Bush-campaign “Pioneer”: Chelsea Piers president Tom Bernstein.
Naturally, opponents are waiting for them to stumble on their own hype.
Tom Bernstein—president and co-founder of Chelsea Piers and one of the principal owners of the Texas Rangers with George W. Bush
Michael Froman—a Citigroup executive who befriended Mr. Obama at Harvard Law School and, later, spent seven years in the Clinton administration, including several as Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin’s chief of staff
Anne Fudge—chairman and C.E.O. of Young and Rubicam Brands and the first African-American woman to head a global advertising agency
Earl Graves—publisher of Black Enterprise magazine who spent a cozy night at Camp David during the late Clinton years
Andre Harrell—former Motown Records president and music impresario who helped to launch the careers of Mary J. Blige, Jodeci and boy-band crooners 98 Degrees
Orin Kramer—hedge-fund manager who Bill Clinton appointed to the Commission to Study Capital Budgeting
Jeh Johnson—partner at Paul Weiss who served as general counsel of the Air Force during the Clinton White House years and special counsel to John Kerry’s 2004 Presidential campaign
Tracy Maitland—young asset-management executive who happens to manage Russell Simmons’ fortune
Brian Mathis—managing director of Provident Group and Friend of Obama from the Harvard days who also worked in the Treasury Department during the Clinton administration
Ray McGuire—prominent Citigroup investment banker and fellow Harvard Law School alum
Eric Mindich—Wall Street whiz-kid who became a partner at Goldman Sachs at 27 and has since served as an advisor to John Kerry
Antonio (L.A.) Reid—chairman of Island Def Jam Music Group and one of the country’s most influential African-American record executives
James Rubin—private equity manager (and son of Clinton Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin) who served as a New York finance director during Bill Clinton’s 1996 re-election campaign
George Soros—billionaire financier who conservatives believe runs the world
Jonathan Soros—son of George
Josh Steiner—managing principal of Steve Rattner’s Quadrangle Group and onetime chief of staff to Clinton Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentsen
James Torrey—mega-fund manager who was one of Howard Dean’s prominent New York supporters in 2004
Jamie Whitehead—New York finance director for John Kerry’s 2004 campaign
Robert Wolf—chief operating officer of UBS Investment Bank
Chris Dodd
Senator Christopher Dodd is not part of his party’s Big Three Presidential contenders, but pol-watchers would be foolish to underestimate his fund-raising muscle. He’s a likeable guy and he’s well-known, at least in this part of the country. He’s also chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, putting him in a plum position to make big asks of big Wall Street players, many of whom have already proved all too happy to oblige. As of the last campaign-finance filing, he had $5 million in his war chest, placing him second only to Hillary in the money race. Said his old pal Richard Plepler: “He has a lot of friends here, and I am not having a hard time gathering money.”
Ken Brody—investment banker and former Goldman Sachs partner who was nominated by Bill Clinton to be president and chairman of the Export-Import Bank of the United States
John Eastman—entertainment lawyer and brother of Linda McCartney
Dick Ebersol—NBC Sports czar and member of the Democratic Martha’s Vineyard vacation crew
Tom Flexner (co-chair)—vice chairman of Bear Stearns
Jane Hartley (co-chair)—C.E.O. of the G7 Group, associate director in the Carter White House and Friend of Dodd since the 1970’s
Richard Plepler—executive vice president of HBO who got his start as an aide to Senator Dodd in the early 1980’s