Money and Democracy

Published — April 26, 2012

Meet the super donor ‘all-stars’

Introduction

145tweetsCommentE-mail

Hover over each card to get key stats on the super PAC super donors. Read more about these donors here.

Sheldon Adelson

Sheldon Adelson

Net worth $20.5 billion
Age 79
Ideology Republican
Residence Las Vegas
Source of wealth Casinos
Current industry Casinos

Did you know?

Adelson is a college dropout, but has received honorary degrees from five schools, including Harvard Business School and Columbia Business School.

View the full profile

Harold Simmons

Harold Simmons

Net worth $9.3 billion
Age 81
Ideology Republican
Residence Dallas
Source of wealth Investing
Current industry Chemicals and metals

Did you know?

Known as the “king of Superfund sites,” in several publications, Harold Simmons owns a ranch in Arkansas that is home to 35 bears and 100 elk. It is also stocked with 250 deer and 300 wild turkeys for hunting, according to the Wall Street Journal.

View the full profile

Bob Perry

Bob Perry

Net worth $650 million
Age 79
Ideology Republican
Residence Houston
Source of wealth Homebuilding
Current industry Homebuilding

Did you know?

Perry Homes has been involved in more than 100 lawsuits in the state of Texas since the early 1980s.

View the full profile

Fred Eychaner

Fred Eychaner

Net worth $500 million
Age 65
Ideology Democrat
Residence Chicago
Source of wealth Media and publishing
Current industry Media and publishing

Did you know?

Eychaner graduated from Northwestern University’s prestigious Medill School of Journalism and worked as a sports reporter and city hall reporter before starting his printing business.

View the full profile

J. Joe Ricketts

J. Joe Ricketts

Net worth $1 billion (as of 2009)
Age 70
Ideology Republican
Residence Little Jackson Hole, Wyo.
Source of wealth Online brokerage
Current industry Baseball, bison ranching, media

Did you know?

Ricketts owns the world’s largest online bison retail store. High Plains Bison supplies meat to Chicago’s Wrigley Field, which he and his family own, along with the Cubs.

View the full profile

William S. Rose

William S. Rose

Net worth Unknown
Age 61
Ideology Republican
Residence Knoxville, Tenn.
Source of wealth Attorney
Current industry Attorney

Did you know?

Rose’s $634,000 home, located in a Knoxville suburb, is the principal office of Specialty Group, the shadowy company through which he contributed millions to FreedomWorks for America.

View the full profile

United Auto Workers

United Auto Workers

Net worth N/A
Age 77
Ideology Democrat
Residence Detroit
Source of wealth Membership dues and other sources
Current industry Labor union

Did you know?

UAW not only represents auto workers but also workers in the aerospace, health care and gaming industries.

View the full profile

NEA (National Education Association)

NEA (National Education Association)

Net worth N/A
Age 155
Ideology Democrat
Residence Washington, D.C.
Source of wealth Membership dues and other sources
Current industry Teachers’ union

Did you know?

The NEA is the nation’s largest union, with more than 14,000 affiliate organizations across the country.

View the full profile

Michael Bloomberg

Michael Bloomberg

Net worth $22 billion
Age 70
Ideology Independent
Residence New York City
Source of wealth Financial information
Current industry Politics

Did you know?

Bloomberg refuses compensation for his service as mayor, instead accepting a nominal salary of $1 per year.

View the full profile

RGA

RGA

Net worth N/A
Age 49
Ideology Republican
Residence Washington, D.C.
Source of wealth Political contributions
Current industry Politics

Did you know?

The RGA’s method of financing gubernatorial campaigns was called “an elaborate money-laundering scheme, which is legal” by a representative from the good government group Common Cause.

View the full profile

James Simons

James Simons

Net worth $11 billion
Age 74
Ideology Democrat
Residence East Setauket, N.Y.
Source of wealth Investing
Current industry Investing

Did you know?

Simons is an active philanthropist. In addition to chairing the nonprofit Math for America and supporting autism research, he funds a nature preserve and an organization that trains and supports rural health care workers in Nepal.

View the full profile

AFSCME

AFSCME

Net worth N/A
Age 80
Ideology Democrat
Residence Washington, D.C.
Source of wealth Membership dues and other sources
Current industry Labor union

Did you know?

AFSCME’s president, Lee Saunders, is the labor union’s first African-American leader and a product of a union upbringing. Saunders’ father worked as a bus driver in Cleveland.

View the full profile

AFL-CIO

AFL-CIO

Net worth N/A
Age 57
Ideology Democrat
Residence Washington, D.C.
Source of wealth Membership dues and other sources
Current industry Labor union

Did you know?

AFL, one of the first federations of labor unions, was founded 126 years ago. From the creation of CIO in 1935 to the AFL-CIO merger in 1955, the two union federations were rivals.

View the full profile

Robert Rowling

Robert Rowling

Net worth $4.8 billion
Age 59
Ideology Republican
Residence Highland Park, Texas
Source of wealth Oil and gas
Current industry Various

Did you know?

In a 2008 profile, the Dallas Morning News called Rowling’s empire “a grab bag” that includes hotels, fitness centers, oil and gas assets, financial and energy stock, real estate and “even a chain of Mexican dollar stores.”

View the full profile

American Federation of Teachers

American Federation of Teachers

Net worth N/A
Age 96
Ideology Democrat
Residence Washington, D.C.
Source of wealth Membership dues and other sources
Current industry Labor union

Did you know?

AFT is the nation’s second largest teachers union after the National Education Association, another super donor.

View the full profile

Robert Mercer

Robert Mercer

Net worth Net worth unknown. Made $125 million in 2011.
Age 65
Ideology Republican
Residence East Setauket, N.Y.
Source of wealth Investing
Current industry Investing

Did you know?

In July 2010, Mercer made a $1 million donation to the New York State Conservative Party to fund an ad campaign opposing construction of the controversial Ground Zero mosque.

View the full profile

Steve and Amber Mostyn

Steve and Amber Mostyn

Net worth Unknown
Age Steve, 41; Amber, unknown
Ideology Democrat
Residence Houston
Source of wealth Insurance litigation
Current industry Insurance litigation

Did you know?

At Steve and Amber Mostyns’ 2006 lakeside wedding ceremony, ushers wore bright orange Hawaiian shirts. At the reception, guests visited a buffet-style mashed potato bar.

View the full profile

George Soros

George Soros

Net worth $19 billion
Age 82
Ideology Democrat
Residence Katonah, N.Y.
Source of wealth Investing
Current industry Investing

Did you know?

Soros is known as “the man who broke the bank of England” for betting against the British pound sterling and netting approximately $1 billion when the currency crashed in September 1992.

View the full profile

William Koch

William Koch

Net worth $4 billion
Age 72
Ideology Republican
Residence Palm Beach, Fla.
Source of wealth Energy
Current industry Energy

Did you know?

In 2010, Koch spent $3.1 million on a fake Colorado ghost town that had served as a local tourist attraction and the set for old Westerns, including “True Grit” staring John Wayne. He had the buildings moved to his personal ranch.

View the full profile

Peter Thiel

Peter Thiel

Net worth $1.5 billion
Age 44
Ideology Republican-leaning Libertarian
Residence San Francisco
Source of wealth PayPal co-founder
Current industry Investing

Did you know?

Thiel is the creator of the “20 Under 20” program, which gives would-be college students $100,000 each to start their own businesses instead of going to college. He has also donated $1.25 million to the Seasteading Institute, which wants to create undersea colonies that would function as experiments in Libertarian government.

View the full profile

SEIU

SEIU

Net worth N/A
Age 90
Ideology Democrats
Residence Washington, D.C.
Source of wealth Membership dues and other sources
Current industry Labor union

Did you know?

SEIU claims to be “the fastest growing union in North America” with a membership of 2.1 million workers primarily in the service sector, including healthcare, food service, security and janitorial jobs.

View the full profile

Joe Craft

Joe Craft

Net worth $1.4 billion
Age 62
Ideology Republican
Residence Tulsa, Okla.
Source of wealth Coal
Current industry Coal

Did you know?

Craft’s company, Alliance Resource Partners, operates 11 mining complexes in five states. Alliance produced more than 30 million tons of coal in 2011.

View the full profile

John Childs

John Childs

Net worth $1.2 billion in 2006
Age 70
Ideology Republican
Residence Vero Beach, Fla.
Source of wealth Investing
Current industry Investing

Did you know?

As president of Wetlands Americas Trust, Childs fundraises for Ducks Unlimited, a Florida-based wetland and waterfowl conservation charity.

View the full profile

United Association

United Association

Net worth N/A
Age 123
Ideology Democrat
Residence Annapolis, Md.
Source of wealth Membership dues and other sources
Current industry Labor union

Did you know?

The United Association’s full name is the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry.

View the full profile

A. Jerrold “Jerry” Perenchio

A. Jerrold “Jerry” Perenchio

Net worth $2.4 billion
Age 81
Ideology Republican
Residence Bel Air, Calif.
Source of wealth Entertainment
Current industry Investing

Did you know?

The former owner of Univision once represented Marlon Brando and Elizabeth Taylor. He lives in the mansion used for establishing shots in the “Beverly Hillbillies.”

View the full profile

William Doré

William Doré

Net worth $700 million*
Age 70
Ideology Republican
Residence Lake Charles, La.
Source of wealth Offshore diving and construction
Current industry Energy

Did you know?

Doré wanted to become a teacher and coach, but after making good money selling insurance in college, he decided he wanted a higher standard of living. He began offshore diving, a notoriously dangerous and lucrative line of work.

* William J. Doré made $700 million in 2006 in the sale of Global Industries.

View the full profile

Harlan Crow

Harlan Crow

Net worth Estimated hundreds of millions
Age 62
Ideology Republican
Residence Dallas
Source of wealth Real Estate
Current industry Real Estate

Did you know?

In the sprawling private garden of his home — one of the most expensive in Dallas — Crow collects statues of dictators, including Lenin, Mao, Stalin and other lesser known despots and assassins.

View the full profile

Cooperative of American Physicians

Cooperative of American Physicians

Net worth N/A
Age 37
Ideology Bipartisan
Residence Los Angeles
Source of wealth Insurance
Current industry Insurance

Did you know?

Six states — including California, the Cooperative of American Physicians’s primary area of service — account for 51.4 percent of medical malpractice payouts.

View the full profile

Foster Friess

Foster Friess

Net worth $500 million
Age 72
Ideology Republican
Residence Jackson, Wyo.
Source of wealth Investing
Current industry Investing

Did you know?

Friess drew criticism for his comment on contraceptives to MSNBC: “You know, back in my days, they’d use Bayer aspirin for contraceptives. The gals put it between their knees, and it wasn’t that costly.”

View the full profile

Graphic by Ajani Winston

Click here to view sources

Read more in Money and Democracy

Share this article

Join the conversation

Show Comments

Subscribe
Notify of
guest
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments