Relax, America. Big Business is not taking over the presidential elections. A new report by MapLight.org shows that the bulk of so-called Super PAC money has come from a few individual donors, and not from big corporations.
But thats not to say that a few rich businesspeople havent been giving a bundle.
MapLight, a nonprofit and nonpartisan research group that tracks money in politics, analyzed Federal Election Commission data from January 1, 2011, to February 29, 2012.
It found that most Super PAC contributions over $1 million came from individuals in just 14 statesand not from corporations.
That seems to quash the fear expressed by some political observers about the influence of big corporate donations on the 2012 presidential campaign, following the 2010 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission that freed up companies to contribute to Super PACs.
In fact, numerous individuals gave million dollar (or larger) contributions, but companies seldom gave that much. Exceptions included two Utah companies, Eli Publishing Inc. and F8 LLC, which each gave $1 million to a pro-Mitt Romney Super PAC.
However, both of these entities appear to be shell companies, and the donations actually came from two individuals, according to a report by the Fox affiliate in Provo. The giant sums of money is surprising enough, but Eli Publishing and F8 LLC dont seem to do any business, the newscast said. They incorporated with the state, but they have no presence on the internet and when Fox 13 went to their address, we found only an accounting firm whose employees werent aware of the companies activities.
Another large giver, SEIU COPE (the Service Employees International Unions Committee on Political Education) in Washington, D.C., contributed $1 million to a Super PAC supporting President Barack Obamas campaign; and the builder Rooney Holdings Inc. in Oklahoma donated $1 million for Romney.
Law firm names were mostly absent from the list. One notable exception was Akerman Senterfitt in Florida, which donated $20,000 to a pro-Obama Super PAC.
The cheapest state was Mississippi, which registered just one $25 donation from an individual, directed in favor of Romney.
By comparison, the most contributions to Super PACs came from the state of Nevada, where residents gave a total of $16.8 million. Most of it went to a Super PAC supporting Republican candidate Newt Gingrich, which received $16.5 million.
CorpCounsel.com also culled these highlights from MapLights data:
- The largest Nevada contributors were casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, CEO of the Las Vegas Sands Corp., and his wife Miriam Adelson, who each gave $7.5 million to a Super PAC supporting Gingrich. Keeping it in the Adelson family, daughter Shelley Maye also donated a half million dollars. Miriam Adelsons daughter, Sivan Ochshorn, gave another half million; and her other daughter, Yasmin Lukatz, gave $250,000, as did Yasmins husband, Oren Lukatzall in support of Gingrich.
- Nevada companies that donated included FSH Capital, with $50,000 to a Rick Santorum Super PAC; REBS Inc., $25,000 to a Mitt Romney Super PAC; and Desert Diamond Industries, $250, to a Ron Paul Super PAC. All three contributions were in support of Republican candidates.
- Californians gave the second-highest total, $11.3 million. Super PACs for Romney got $4.5 million; for Obama $3.9 million; and for Paul $2.7 million. The largest contributors were PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, $2.6 million to support Paul; DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, $2 million to support Obama (DreamWorks partner Steven Spielberg gave $100,000 in support of Obama); and comedian Bill Maher, $1 million, to a pro-Obama Super PAC.
- California companies donating to pro-Romney PACs included W/F Investment Corp., $275,000; G.H. Palmer Associates, $100,000; Sareli Investments, $50,000; Manchester Financial Group, $25,000; Spectrum Laboratory Products Inc., $25,000; JTC Holdings, $20,000; Monterey Peninsula Surgery Center, $20,000 Romney; Pacific Capital Group Inc. $7,500; Acton Industrial Park $5,000; Northwest Business Park, $5,000; Tiger Ventures, $5,000; and Wellspring Associates Inc., $5,000. Arrabon Management Services, gave $25,000 to a pro-Santorum Super PAC.
- The Super PAC supporting Romneys campaign received $8.6 million of the $9 million donated by New Yorkers. Most of it came from current or former investment bank CEOs like Julian Robertson with $1.25 million, and a million each from John Paulson, Edward Conard, Paul Singer, and Robert Mercer.
- Romney didnt get all the investment-sector money, though. In Wyoming, Foster Friess, founder of investment firm Friess Associates, donated $1.65 million, all of it to a Santorum Super PAC.
- In Maryland, J.W. Marriott Jr. and Richard Marriottsons of the late Marriott hotel magnate J. Willard Marriotteach gave $750,000 to a pro-Romney Super PAC.
- In Idaho, health-products company Melaleuca Inc. and three of its subsidiaries each gave $250,000 to a pro-Romney Super PAC, for $1 million in total.
See also: “Tracing the Effects of Oil and Gas Industry Political Donations,” CorpCounsel, February 2012.
