Tuesday, 18 September 2012 17:33

Who Was at Romney's "47 Percent" Fundraiser?

Written by  Dave Gilson
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As Mother Jones reported yesterday, speaking at a private fundraiser in Florida this May, Mitt Romney expressed his disdain for "the 47 percent" of Americans who are "dependent upon government," "believe that they are victims," and "will vote for the president no matter what." The event was held at the Boca Raton home of private equity manager Marc Leder, who has donated $225,000 to the pro-Romney super-PAC Restore Our Future and $63,330 to the Romney Victory PAC. Employees of his firm, Sun Capital Partners, have given more than $970,000 to the Romney campaign and its related PACs in this election cycle (including donations from spouses).

So who else was on hand for Romney's "off the cuff" remarks at Leder's spread on May 17? According to the TC Palm, 150 people attended the $50,000-per-plate event. The guest list hasn't been made public, but some possible attendees can be picked out of campaign finance records.

A search for Florida-based donors brings up more than 30 people who gave $50,000 to the Romney Victory PAC between May 1 and May 17:

Name Occupation Company City
Dixie Arthur Accountant ASAP Capital Partners Tampa
Thomas D. Arthur Retired Tampa
Robert M. Beall Chairman Beall's Inc Bradenton
Douglas F. Berman Fund Manager HIG Capital Weston
Timothy M. Bryan Chairman & CEO Galaxe Solutions Key Biscayne
Mitchel A. Burns Chairman Emeritus Ryder System Miami
Christopher Cline Executive Foresight Management Palm Beach Gardens
Richard A. Corbett Real Estate Developer Concorde Companies Tampa
Jeffrey Feingold CEO McNa Dental Plans Delray Beach
James P. Gills Ophthalmologist St Luke's Cataract & Laser Institute Tarpon Springs
F. Phillip Handy CEO Strategic Industries Winter Park
Michael Hechberger COO Infinity Sales Group Boca Raton
Gabe Hoffman Managing Member Of General Partner Cardens Capital Miami Beach
Manuel Kadre Attorney Manuel Kadre Pa Coral Gables
Jonathan I. Kislak Venture Capital Antares Capital Miami Shores
Rafael Kravec Retired Bal Harbour
Sidney W. Lassen Business Executive Sizeler Realty Palm Beach
Lisa J. Leder Homemaker [Marc Leder's ex-wife] Boca Raton
E. Barry Mansur Investments Mansur Realty Captiva
Henry Mccance Venture Capital Greylock Partners Lake Wales
Dr. Roger Medel Physician Mednax Inc Davie
Manuel Medina CEO & President Medina Capital Partners Miami
Thomas Neff Chairman Spencer Stuart North Palm Beach
William D. Perez Senior Consultant Greenhill & Co Naples
Randal L. Ringhaver Chairman & President Ring Power Corp Saint Augustine
Raul Rodriguez CEO Clinical Medical Services Miami Lakes
Brian D. Schwartz Private Equity HIG Capital Fort Lauderdale
John H. Sykes Self-Employed Sykes Enterprises Tampa
Ellen Teresi Publishing Executive Paisano Publications Fort Lauderdale
Joseph Teresi Publisher/CEO Paisano Publications Fort Lauderdale
Mrs. Anthony Traviesa Venture Capital V3 Partners Llp Tampa
Robert Zangrillo Founder Dragon Global Management Miami Beach

Source: Sunlight Foundation Influence Explorer

A broader search for big Florida donors suggests some more contenders. For example, Bill Bain, the retired founder of Bain & Company and Bain Capital, who lives in Naples, gave $50,000 to the Romney campaign PAC on April 25, less than a month before the fundraiser. Might he have driven across the state to hear Romney talk in Boca Raton? Perhaps, but the Leder event was just one of several fundraising events Romney attended in Florida in this time period, including another in Boca the same day.

http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2012/09/romney-47-percent-fundraiser-florida

Read 127 times Last modified on Tuesday, 18 September 2012 23:23
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