Speaking of the inauguration, the watchdog group Public Citizen took a long hard look at Obama’s list of official inaugural donors and discovered that they include a lot of familiar faces from the campaign. Nearly 80 percent of the $35.3 million raised came from just 211 individual “bundlers.”
More than half the inaugural bundlers also served as bundlers to the Obama campaign, according to Public Citizen’s analysis. They include many prominent Wall Street executives, who have been much in the news during the financial bailout, including:
• Louis Susman, vice chairman of Citigroup Corporate and Investment Banking and managing director, vice chairman of investment banking, Citigroup ($300,000);
• Mark Gilbert, senior executive, Lehman Brothers ($185,000);
• Robert Wolf, chairman and CEO, UBS Americas ($100,000);
• Jennifer Scully, vice president, private wealth management, Goldman Sachs ($100,000);
• Bruce Heyman, managing director of the Private Wealth Management Group, Midwest region, Goldman Sachs ($50,000);
• Kobi Brinson, senior vice president and assistant general counsel, Wachovia ($35,000)
Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal has this interesting chart showing donors by employer. Topping the list are Hollywood’s Dreamworks, Microsoft/Bill and Melissa Gates Foundation, and Google.
Updated to add: The Center for Responsive Politics today released its own analysis of official inaugural donors here. From the news release:
The struggling finance, insurance and real estate sector still managed to pull together at least $7.1 million in contributions for Obama’s inauguration, leading all sectors in giving. Financier George Soros and his extended family contributed at least $250,000. The miscellaneous business sector, which ranges from retailers to liquor companies and advertising firms, is next, donating $4.9 million, followed by $3.3 million from the communications and electronics sector, which includes technology companies. Lawyers and lobbyists have given $3 million. (As he did during the campaign, Obama is refusing contributions from registered federal lobbyists but accepts money from their family members and coworkers who aren’t registered.)
Looking at specific industries within these sectors, the securities and investment industry ranks first. Individuals with Wall Street ties–118 of them–have contributed more than $3.6 million, or an average of $30,534 each. The entertainment industry has donated $1.7 million, with $275,000 coming from individuals associated with Dreamworks SKG alone. The film studio’s principals, Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg, were among the $50,000 donors, along with their wives.
TweetBeneficiary: congressional candidate, lawmaker, or entity which collects funds raised at party
Host: person who is hosting party-often, but not always, a registered federal lobbyist
Venue Name: where the party is
Entertainment Type: type of gathering, such as "breakfast," "ski trip," "bowling"
Other Lawmakers Mentioned: lawmakers mentioned on invitation who are used as a draw for the event
Sunlight's Party Time is a project to track parties for members of Congress or congressional candidates that happen all year round in Washington, D.C. and beyond. (read more)
We also post information we receive about parties where members of Congress are expected to participate—such as convention or inaugural parties.
Since we don't hear about all the parties, you can also tell us if you know where the party is and we don't.
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