Is Penny Pritzker the wealthiest person ever to be nominated to the president’s Cabinet? No. The Chicago businesswoman, philanthropist and political fundraiser has a personal net worth estimated at more than $1.5 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. That’s...
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Photograph by Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
President Barack Obama, left, greets Penny Pritzker, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Pritzker Realty Group LLC and Obama's nominee as secretary of commerce, in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, D.C., on May 2, 2013.
Pritzker’s Wealth in Perspective
Photograph by Chris Goodney/Bloomberg
Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim in New York.
Bloomberg by the Numbers: $2 Trillion
That’s the combined net worth of the world’s top-100 richest people included in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. No. 1 Carlos Slim Helu alone accounts for $72.1 billion of that, the index shows. Bill Gates follows a close second at $67.2...
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Photograph by Mario Tama/Getty Images
Americans for Prosperity Group activists attend a rally in Manhattan on Sept. 20, 2012 in New York City.
Anti-Obama Nonprofit Calls Out Pro-Obama Nonprofit: ‘Hypocrisy’
President Barack Obama has made it clear that he despises the tax-exempt nonprofit groups that play in politics. Yet now his own campaign is becoming one of them. The nonprofit Americans for Prosperity — a frequent target of Obama’s criticism...
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Photograph by Barrett Stinson/The Grand Island Independent/AP Photo
One of two police officers carrying an AR-15 assault rifle stands guard at the west entrance of Grand Island Senior High School, in Grand Island, Neb.
White House Scolds NRA for Ad Challenging Obama Over Children
Updated at 12:10 pm EST The White House scolded the National Rifle Association today for an ad calling the president an “elitist hypocrite” on gun control because his children have armed protection. Jay Carney, the president’s press secretary, called the...
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Photograph by Philippe Lopez/AFP via Getty Images
Sheldon Adelson, left, and his wife Miriam look at a model of the Cotai Sheraton hotel after a press conference in Macau.
Why Adelson Could Blow $53 Million
Sheldon Adelson, chairman of Las Vegas Sands Corp., and his wife Miriam spent $53.4 million on the 2012 elections, only to see most of their favored candidates go down to defeat. Among their biggest losses: $20 million to the super-political...
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Photograph by Aaron M. Sprecher/Bloomberg
Semi-subermisible oil rigs and jackup shallow-water drilling units in the Gulf of Mexico.
Adelson Finds Another Avenue for Anti-Obama Campaign Spending
Casino executive Sheldon Adelson, a $5 million contributor to Restore Our Future, the super-political action committee backing Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, and a $30,800 donor to the Republican National Committee, which also supports Romney, has found another table to...
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Photograph by Doug Mills/The New York Times via Redux
President Barack Obama during a campaign event in Columbus, Ohio.
Obama’s Nod to $10 Million Donors
Campaigning for re-election, President Barack Obama has alerted supporters to the financial challenge he faces: millionaires and billionaires writing $10 million checks to defeat him. Those checks are going to super-PACs and “social welfare” committees that draw their money from...
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Photograph by Win McNamee/Getty Images
Sen. Chuck Schumer arrives at a news conference to announce new legislation "to blunt the worst effects" of the Supreme Court's Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision.
Super-PAC Defenders Lose Debate — With Billionaires Behind the Curtains
Super-political action committees sound patriotic, as defined by David Keating, president of the Center for Competitive Politics: “It’s Americans getting together and pooling their money to talk to other Americans.” Trevor Potter, president of the Campaign Legal Center, takes a...
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Photograph by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Americans for Prosperity Foundation chairman and Koch Industries Executive Vice President David H. Koch during the Defending the American Dream Summit in Washington, DC.
Spotted: David Koch Dines with Wisconsin Senator
Tampa during convention week is awash in politicians, big donors and journalists. And sometimes they all choose the same place for dinner, as billionaire industrialist David Koch learned last night. A group of reporters including Slate’s Dave Weigel spotted Koch and Republican...
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Photograph by Kathy Kmonicek/AP Photo
New York State Police, local police and Secret Service guard the beachfront property of industrial billionaire David H. Koch before a fundraiser for Mitt Romney.
Romney’s Island-Hop for Fundraising
Mitt Romney is going island-hopping — New England-style — for campaign cash starting today and continuing Saturday. After spending much of today at his campaign headquarters in Boston — where he’s raising more money through roundtable discussions with donors —...
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Contributors
-
Al Hunt
is a columnist for Bloomberg View and host of the weekly show "Political Capital with Al Hunt" on Bloomberg TV. -
Mark Silva
is deputy managing editor for government news in Washington and editor of Political Capital. He has covered the White House and national politics. -
Emma Fidel
is political editor for Bloomberg.com in Washington. She previously covered financial regulation as a Bloomberg intern. -
Don Frederick
edits political and government coverage for Bloomberg News. He previously worked for more than a decade at the Los Angeles Times' Washington bureau. -
Gregory Giroux
analyzes elections, financing of congressional and presidential elections, political advertising and demographics in Bloomberg's Washington Bureau. -
Julie Bykowicz
covers the influence of money and lobbying in Washington, and covered the state legislature and city crime for the Baltimore Sun for 10 years. -
Jonathan Salant
covers campaign finance and lobbying in Washington. He was president of the National Press Club and started in Washington in 1987. -
Richard Rubin
covers federal tax policy. He worked at Congressional Quarterly and The Charlotte Observer before joining Bloomberg News in 2010. -
Stephanie Green
is a writer and photographer for Bloomberg Muse, the arts and leisure section of Bloomberg News. She has also written for The Washington Post, The Huffington Post and The Washington Times. -
Julie Hirschfeld Davis
is a senior political reporter for the Washington Bureau. She covered the 2012 campaign for Bloomberg News and previously covered the White House for the Baltimore Sun. -
Lisa Lerer
covers the White House and covered the 2012 campaign for Bloomberg News. She covered Congress, lobbying and the 2008 campaign for Politico. -
John McCormick
is a national political reporter looking forward to the 2016 presidential campaign, which will be the fifth he's covered. He's also reported for The Des Moines Register and Chicago Tribune. -
Julianna Goldman
covers the White House for Bloomberg News and Bloomberg Television. -
Hans Nichols
covers the White House for Bloomberg News and Bloomberg Television. -
Margaret Talev
covers the White House for Bloomberg News and covered the White House for McClatchy Newspapers. She has covered California and Florida politics. -
Cary O'Reilly
is Editor at Large at Bloomberg First Word and is Washington Daybook columnist for Bloomberg Government and Bloomberg News.
