CNN really is the Clinton News Network — While digging around on OpenSecrets I pulled up the Hillary Clinton career donor list. Look who is #8 on that list. If anyone REALLY thinks they'll get real, true and fair news there — well, I hate to burst your bubble! In case you didn't know, Time Warner consists of three divisions; Home Box Office Inc. (HBO), Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., and Warner Bros.
Here's the screenshot. Good Ol' Time Warner right there! So it stands to reason, with the sizeable investments they have made in Hillary Clinton, they naturally want her to win. But, the list gets even better… keep reading below.
Since the primaries ended, it's become more than obvious to me that CNN stood in strong support of Donald Trump early on because they wanted him to get the nomination thinking he was the one Hillary could actually beat.
Once I began digging into the funding and sponsorships of Hillary, I kept digging deeper
into the contributions she has received during this 2016 election cycle.
Here is a list of her donors, the dollar amounts she has received followed by information on who those donors are and how much they have contributed to the elites of Washington DC:
Saban Capital Group – $10,036,238
Saban Capital Group, Inc. is a private investment firm based in Los Angeles, California focused on media, entertainment, and communications investments. Formed in 2001 by Haim Saban, Saban Capital Group owns Saban Brands, part of Univision Communications, and part of Celestial Tiger Entertainment. During the Clinton administration, the entertainment executive served on the President's Export Council, advising the White House on trade issues. Clinton described Saban as a “very good friend and supporter.” Saban contributed between $5 million to $10 million to the William J. Clinton Foundation where his wife Cheryl Saban has been a board member since 2013. Saban has also made donations to members of the Republican Party including a 2003 contribution to George W. Bush's 2004 re-election campaign. Saban supports Hillary Clinton for President of the United States in the 2016 election. Between June 2015 and June 2016, he and his wife donated $7 million to Priorities USA, a pro-Clinton Super PAC.
Interesting fact: Haim Saban’s wife Cheryl was featured in a pictorial in Playboy in the 70’s. The feature was called Disco Queen’s and her name at the time was Cheryl “Flower” Flor. I’m kind of thinking they don’t have a lot to say when topics of Melania Trump are brought up.
Renaissance Technologies – $9,518,800
Renaissance Technologies LLC is an East Setauket, New York-based American investment management firm founded in 1982 by James Simons, an award-winning mathematician and former Cold War code breaker, which specializes in systematic trading using only quantitative models derived from mathematical and statistical analyses. Renaissance is one of the first highly successful hedge funds using quantitative trading — known as “quant hedge funds” — that rely on powerful computers and sophisticated mathematics to guide investment strategies.
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Renaissance is the top financial firm contributing to federal campaigns in the 2016 election cycle, donating $33,108,000 by July. By comparison, over that same period sixth ranked Soros Fund Management has contributed $13,238,551. Renaissance's founder, Simons has been personally active in the 2016 cycle and is ranked #5, largely to Democrats. Since 1990 Renaissance has contributed $59,081,152 to federal campaigns and since 2001 has spent $3,730,000 on lobbying.
Pritzker Group – $7,873,257
In 1996, J.B. Pritzker founded Pritzker Group Venture Capital (formerly New World Ventures), the largest venture investor based in the Midwest. The firm invests nationally in rapidly growing technology companies at all stages of their growth, with a principal focus on enterprise software, e-commerce and managed services. The firm has invested in more than 100 companies, including Fleetmatics (NYSE:FLTX), SinglePlatform (acquired by Constant Contact), Chegg (NYSE:CHGG), Awesomeness TV (acquired by DreamWorks), Playdom (acquired by Disney), Lefthand Networks (acquired by Hewlett-Packard), and TicketsNow (acquired by Ticketmaster).
In the 2008 Presidential election, Pritzker served as national co-chairman of the Hillary Clinton for President campaign and as a delegate to the 2008 Democratic National Convention. He supported President Barack Obama in the 2008 general election and helped bring the Clinton and Obama campaigns in Illinois together. Pritzker founded Democratic Leadership for the 21st Century, a national organization dedicated to attracting voters under the age of 40 to the Democratic Party. He also served on the legislative staff of U.S. Senator Terry Sanford (D-NC), U.S. Senator Alan J. Dixon (D-IL) and U.S. Congressman Tom Lantos (D-CA), for whom he handled issues such as international trade, election reform and handgun control. In 1998, he ran for U.S. Congress, principally focusing on the issues of education and gun control, and lost in a heavily contested five-way primary in Illinois's 9th US Congressional district.
Soros Fund Management – $7,044,600
Soros Fund Management, LLC is an American hedge fund management firm. It is currently structured as a family office but formerly a hedge fund. The firm was founded in 1969 by George Soros and in 2010 was reported to be one of the most profitable firms in the hedge fund industry, averaging a 20% annual rate of return over four decades. In the 2016 election cycle, Soros Fund Management donated over $7 million to Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign through super PACs.
George Soros is a Hungarian-American business magnate, investor, philanthropist, political activist and author who is of Hungarian-Jewish ancestry and holds dual citizenship (Hungary and the United States). He is known as “The Man Who Broke the Bank of England” because of his short sale of US$10 billion worth of pounds, making him a profit of $1 billion during the 1992 Black Wednesday UK currency crisis.
On November 11, 2003, in an interview with The Washington Post, Soros said that removing President George W. Bush from office was the “central focus of my life” and “a matter of life and death”. He said he would sacrifice his entire fortune to defeat Bush “if someone guaranteed it”. Soros gave $3 million to the Center for American Progress, $2.5 million to MoveOn.org, and $20 million to America Coming Together. In October 2013, Soros donated $25,000 to Ready for Hillary, becoming a co-chairman of the super PAC's national finance committee. In June 2015, he donated $1 million to the Super PAC Priorities USA Action, which supports Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential race. Since then he has donated an additional $6 million to the PAC to support Clinton.
Paloma Partners – $6,108,400 and Paloma Partners Advisors – $2,000,000
Donald Sussman is an American financier and philanthropist, the Chairman of the Board of Trust Asset Management, the founder of the Paloma Funds and New China Capital Management LLC. Sussman has also served on the Board of Trustees of the Center for American Progress. Sussman is married (currently separated, again) to Chellie Pingree, a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maine's 1st congressional district.
Sussman has acted as a serial investor and backer of new hedge funds such as Naseem Taleb's Empirica Capital and David Shaw's D.E. Shaw & Co. In 2013, Paloma Partners agreed to back Rhodium Capital. Rhodium Capital, based in London, is a long-short European credit fund founded by Ifftikhar Ali and Jeffrey Tirman. Sussman continues to run Paloma Partners and is also the Chairman of Trust Asset Management. Sussman's associates in the Virgin Islands have been involved in a bribery scandal. Sussman manages Paloma Partners which received $200 million in US taxpayer funds as part of the AIG bailout. He has donated $4 million to Priorities USA Action, a Super PAC supporting Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
Newsweb Corp – $5,013,500
Fred Eychaner is the Chairman of Newsweb Corporation a printer of ethnic and alternative newspapers in the United States, based in Chicago, Illinois. The company also owns several radio stations in the Chicago area and a television station in Sterling, Colorado. Newsweb Corporation owns WCPT which is an Air America and CNN Radio affiliate, and also includes locally hosted Progressive Talk programming. In 2015, Eychaner was inducted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame. Eychaner has given the Clinton Foundation more than $25 million. He has been a top Democratic donor for several cycles and in the 2012 election cycle was the top donor to Democratic Super PACs, giving more than $14 million. In September 2010, President Barack Obama appointed Eychaner a General Trustee to the Board of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
DE Shaw Research – $3,053,601
A privately held biochemistry research company based in New York City. Under the scientific direction of David E. Shaw, the group's chief scientist, D. E. Shaw Research develops technologies for molecular dynamics simulations that are applied to basic scientific research in structural biology and biochemistry, and to the process of computer-aided drug design. David Elliot Shaw founded D. E. Shaw & Co., a hedge fund company which was once described by Fortune magazine as “the most intriguing and mysterious force on Wall Street“. Shaw made his fortune exploiting inefficiencies in financial markets with the help of state-of-the-art high speed computer networks. Shaw has donated US$2.25 million to Priorities USA Action, a Super PAC supporting Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. In August 2004, D. E. Shaw & Co., along with MIC Capital, proposed to inject $50M into the bankrupt WCI Steel. In December 2004, D.E. Shaw & Co. bought 6.6% of USG Corp, a wallboard manufacturer seeking bankruptcy protection as a result of rising asbestos liabilities.
Center for Middle East Peace – $3,008,100
An American non-profit advocacy group that works with leaders and policymakers in the United States and the Middle East to help reach a just and comprehensive peace that will bring an end to the Arab–Israeli conflict. The Center supports negotiations through its exhaustive database of maps and geographical data, often used by decision makers in the region, as well as regular polling of public opinion. The Center was established in 1989 by U.S. Congressman Wayne Owens (D-Utah) and then-Slim Fast Foods Chairman S. Daniel Abraham. Owens served on the House Foreign Affairs and Select Intelligence Committees. In 2009, it was announced that U.S. Congressman Robert Wexler (D-Florida) would become president of the Center after resigning from the House of Representatives.
S. Daniel Abraham is a long-time donor to the Democratic Party and the Clinton Foundation. He gave $1.5 million to the party and ranked as the number one contributor of soft money to the national parties in 2000.
Plumbers/Pipefitters Union – $3,007,275
The Plumbers and Pipefitters Union represents more than 300,000 building tradesmen in North America. The union has adopted several traditional labor issues, including workplace safety and tax relief for working families, but its decision to join in some controversial efforts seem to reflect the pragmatic interests of its membership. The union lobbied in support of designating Nevada's Yucca Mountain as a nuclear waste repository, and it is pushing hard for Congress to approve oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. For a full list of participating unions, click here.
Laborers Union – $3,006,610
An American and Canadian labor union formed in 1903, which seeks to advance the rights and interests of its members. As of 2009, they had about 632,000 members, about 80,000 of whom are in Canada. The current general president is Terence M. O'Sullivan who was appointed general president in 2000, elected by delegates in 2001, and re-elected in 2006. The union is divided into nine regions across North America; these regions are further divided into a total of just over 500 local unions. In 2001, members of the LIUNA participated in the clean up at Ground Zero in New York following the September 11 terrorist attacks. At the 2011 convention, LIUNA passed several resolutions to help invest in political activism through the organization’s Political Action Committee (PAC).
Herb & Marion Sandler/Sandler Foundation – $3,002,700
A charitable foundation formed in 1991 with support from Herbert Sandler and Marion Sandler. In 2006, the Sandlers made a contribution of $1.3 billion to the foundation, which was the second largest American charitable contribution of 2006. Sandler Foundation is a spend-down foundation as the Sandlers have signed The Giving Pledge. The Sandlers founded ProPublica (a non-profit corporation based in New York City. It describes itself as an independent non-profit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest). Sandler Foundation's mission to “invest in strategic organizations and exceptional leaders that seek to improve the rights, opportunities and well-being of others, especially the most vulnerable and disadvantaged.” A 2008 New York Times article notes that the foundation has provided substantial support to several nonprofit organizations, including ProPublica, the Center for American Progress, the Center for Responsible Lending, Human Rights Watch, the American Civil Liberties Union, as well as other nonprofit organizations that conduct research in parasitic diseases, asthma (the American Asthma Foundation), and basic science (UCSF Program for Breakthrough Biomedical Research).
Carpenters & Joiners Union – $2,505,400
One of the largest trade unions in the United States, and through chapters, and locals, there is international cooperation that poises the brotherhood for a global role. For example the North American Chapter has over 520,000 members throughout the continent. The union lobbies on a number of workplace and trade issues, including pension reform and tariffs on soft wood lumber from Canada.
Fair Share Action – $2,255,000
An American super PAC that seeks to elect Democratic candidates to political office. Fair Share Action is affiliated with two other organizations: Fair Share Alliance, and Fair Share Alliance Education Fund.
Fair Share Action was launched in Colorado in August 2012. The super PAC is heavily funded by Tim Gill, a computer software entrepreneur and LGBT rights activist. Fair Share Action also received $550,000 in seed funding from Environment America. Billionaire Tom Steyer, the National Education Association, and America Votes have also funded Fair Share Action. The group's initial activities included get out the vote efforts in Colorado, Florida, and New Hampshire for President Barack Obama's 2012 re-election campaign. In 2014, Fair Share Action reported spending $4,363,917 on federal electoral efforts, including more than $1.5 million on efforts to re-elect former Democratic U.S. Senator Mark Udall, who was ultimately defeated.
Barbara Lee Family Foundation – $2,099,604
Barbara F. Lee is an expert on women in politics. She founded and leads the Barbara Lee Family Foundation and the Barbara Lee Political Office, both located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She writes monthly about women in politics in the Huffington Post. Barbara also serves as Advisory Council Chair for Emerge Massachusetts, an intensive political training program for Democratic women and a program Barbara brought to the Commonwealth. She is also a member of the Women’s Leadership Board at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. Barbara has helped elect every sitting Democratic woman governor and U.S. Senator by providing strategic advice, candidate training, direct support, and voter mobilization. Barbara frequently hosts events to raise the profile of women elected officials and candidates, such as Women’s Senate, a biennial fundraiser that provides support for progressive women Senators. In 2008, she served as the Co-Chair of the Martha Coakley for Senate Campaign and in 2004, Barbara convened Revolutionary Women, which was held in conjunction with the Democratic National Convention in Boston. Barbara and Hillary Clinton have a lot in common.
American Federation of Teachers – $2,073,717
An American labor union that primarily represents teachers. The union was founded in Chicago in 1916, with Margaret Haley credited as its founder and first leader. In July 2015, AFT endorsed Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential race. Clinton and AFT president Randi Weingarten are longtime friends. AFT's official endorsement of Clinton caused controversy among some AFT members who felt that the endorsement came too soon and did not reflect the wishes of rank-and-file AFT members, some of whom support Bernie Sanders. Members' dues underwrite much of AFT's political activities. In 2015, four California teachers sued AFT and its California unit, the California Federation of Teachers, over the use of member dues for political activities. The plaintiffs argued that unions were violating their constitutional right to free speech by forcing them to either support union-favored causes and candidates or lose access to important job benefits such as disability and life insurance.
DreamWorks SKG – $2,015,700
An American film production label of Amblin Partners. It was also a former film distributor for its own and third-party films. It has produced or distributed more than ten films with box-office grosses of more than $100 million each. Until August 2016, DreamWorks' films are marketed and distributed by Touchstone Pictures. DreamWorks began in 1994 as an attempt by media moguls Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen (together, SKG) to create a new Hollywood studio of which they owned 72%. On April 28, 2016, NBCUniversal announced its intent to acquire DreamWorks Animation for $3.8 billion. Priorities USA Action’s large contributions in 2015 came from big names in Hollywood – Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg, co-founders of Dreamworks Animation SKG Inc (DWA), each contributed $1 million according to the Federal Election Commission.
Operating Engineers Union – $2,010,000
A trade union within the United States-based AFL-CIO representing primarily construction workers who work as heavy equipment operators, mechanics, surveyors, and stationary engineers (also called operating engineers or power engineers) who maintain heating and other systems in buildings and industrial complexes, in the United States and Canada. It is a strong supporter of Democrats, as evidenced through its PAC donations. Although in August, 2016, Republican Sen. Rob Portman won the support of another Ohio labor union, fueling GOP optimism about hanging onto the swing-state seat and Senate control in November. The union endorsement also added to Democrats’ concerns about their candidate, former Gov. Ted Strickland.
Bohemian Foundation – $2,002,700
Patricia A. Stryker is the granddaughter of Homer Stryker, surgeon and founder of Stryker Corporation, a medical technology company. The low-profile heiress has been more active in civic life in recent years, with an interest in liberal causes. She donated $3 million to defeat a 2002 ballot initiative regarding bilingual education in Colorado. Stryker has funded the Bohemian Foundation which, in addition to national and international programs, funds music and other initiatives in Larimer County, Colorado, the Fort Collins, Colorado area.
Following fraud allegations in November 2007 involving Stryker Corp. overbilling for Medicare in South Dakota, Republicans called on Democratic organizations to return donations they had received from Stryker and her brother, Jon Stryker. Stryker has donated $1.5 million to Priorities USA Action, a Super PAC supporting Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Stryker, Jared Polis, Tim Gill, and Rutt Bridges are known in Colorado political circles as “The Four Horsemen” (aka “Gang of Four” or “The Four Millionaires“) who donate to liberal causes related to identity politics (I call it segregation politics). Significant political contributions from the four to favored Democratic candidates has played a role in electing a Democratic majority in Colorado's house and senate. Stryker has been frequently represented at political meetings by Al Yates, former president of Colorado State University.
BLS Investments – $2,002,700
Bernard Leon Schwartz is a lifelong Democrat. According to NBC News, from 1992 to 1996 he was the largest single contributor to the Democratic Party. In 1996 he celebrated his 71st birthday with Bill and Hillary Clinton at the White House. In 1998 Schwartz became embroiled in a campaign donations scandal and an alleged transfer of missile technology to China that occurred in 1996. He was exonerated of any wrongdoing in the campaign finance matter after a Justice Department investigation. Loral settled the missile transfer matter with the Justice Department in 2002, paying a $14 million fine and admitting no wrongdoing. Schwartz has donated $1 million to Priorities USA Action, a Super PAC supporting Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
So there you have it, a list of the top donors to Hillary Clinton and many of them are large contributors to the Clinton Foundation as well.
It’s easy to see just how lengthy the list of favors she will have to return someday might be getting.
Gayla – follow me @Gayla
