There is certainly no shortage of these hedge fund titans using their money and influence to get involved in the political world. I’m not too sure what to think about that, but given how rich these gentleman are I find it hard to imagine that they have any idea how the world functions for most people.
Billionaire investorKenneth Griffin, founder and chief executive of Chicago-based hedge fund Citadel, arguably is this city's only Wall Street titan.
Griffin, 43, who is also an active political donor, doesn't crave the limelight. But we've known a lot more about his financial dealings than his politics. Until now.
In a rare interview, Griffin reveals how the fallout from the 2008 financial crisis changed his industry's relationship with government — and not to his liking. He has responded by giving millions of dollars to candidates and political groups that support his belief in limited government.
"I spend way too much of my time thinking about politics these days because government is way too involved in financial markets these days," he said.
In the 2012 election cycle, Griffin (alone or in tandem with his wife Anne) has given $150,000 to Restore Our Future, the super PAC supporting Mitt Romney; more than $560,000 to the Republican Governors Association; and $300,000 to American Crossroads, founded by Republican strategists Ed Gillespie andKarl Rove.
According to Chicago magazine, the Griffins were the top donors in the 2010 election cycle to Republicans running for Illinois legislative seats. Also in 2010, Ken gave $500,000 to American Crossroads and $500,000 to Stand for Children Illinois, an education-reform group that helped win Chicago a longer school day and limited the chances of a Chicago teachers strike.
The Griffins also have given approximately $1.5 million over time to David andCharles Koch's conservative causes, which operate under the umbrella Americans for Prosperity.
Below is the transcript of the interview. Edits were made for clarity and to avoid repetition.
Q. Are you a Republican or a Democrat?
A. I'm a Reagan Republican.
Q. You've supported both Republicans and Democrats in the past. How do you decide which candidates to support?
A. Country before party.
Q. Explain.
A. Who's going to be our best leader ... That's first and foremost.
Q. Do you meet with them before you decide to support them?
A. It is often constructive to meet with a candidate for a particular office, but I believe what is most important is the candidate's track record. Almost all politicians are able to have a great one-on-one meeting. But I'm not interested in the candidate who can have a great meeting. I'm interested in the person who can make the right decisions.
Q. Do you do research? Or do you ask someone to do research on candidates' track records? Or do you read the news?
A. It's all of the above. It's race dependent. It's candidate specific. One's opinions are formed by the amalgamation of what they learn in their own research; from research they have done for them; from their friends; what they read in the paper. All are really important.
Q. What about the amounts? Is it based on what the candidate asks you for? They vary a lot. You and Anne gave $200,000 to (Mayor) Rahm (Emanuel), for instance.
A. I was really proud to support Rahm. He is really one of the brightest men I've ever spent time with. And I've known Rahm for maybe 15 years. I believe our city and our state has some real challenges ahead of it, whether it's educating our children, whether it's dealing with the fiscal irresponsibility of past leaders. And I don't want to cast aspersions on anyone in particular. It's just where we are today. We're going to need to make some very important decisions about how to put our fiscal house back in order. And I think Rahm has the intellectual capacity to understand the issues and to make trade-offs and decisions that are going to have to be made. He and I are not on the same side of the aisle per se. We're not on the same side of a couple of different things. But the insights that he has and the determination he has are really important to solving the problems we face as a city.
Link to the entire article:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-0311-confidential-griffin-web-version-20120311,0,2604121,full.column
Billionaire investorKenneth Griffin, founder and chief executive of Chicago-based hedge fund Citadel, arguably is this city's only Wall Street titan.
Griffin, 43, who is also an active political donor, doesn't crave the limelight. But we've known a lot more about his financial dealings than his politics. Until now.
In a rare interview, Griffin reveals how the fallout from the 2008 financial crisis changed his industry's relationship with government — and not to his liking. He has responded by giving millions of dollars to candidates and political groups that support his belief in limited government.
"I spend way too much of my time thinking about politics these days because government is way too involved in financial markets these days," he said.
In the 2012 election cycle, Griffin (alone or in tandem with his wife Anne) has given $150,000 to Restore Our Future, the super PAC supporting Mitt Romney; more than $560,000 to the Republican Governors Association; and $300,000 to American Crossroads, founded by Republican strategists Ed Gillespie andKarl Rove.
According to Chicago magazine, the Griffins were the top donors in the 2010 election cycle to Republicans running for Illinois legislative seats. Also in 2010, Ken gave $500,000 to American Crossroads and $500,000 to Stand for Children Illinois, an education-reform group that helped win Chicago a longer school day and limited the chances of a Chicago teachers strike.
The Griffins also have given approximately $1.5 million over time to David andCharles Koch's conservative causes, which operate under the umbrella Americans for Prosperity.
Below is the transcript of the interview. Edits were made for clarity and to avoid repetition.
Q. Are you a Republican or a Democrat?
A. I'm a Reagan Republican.
Q. You've supported both Republicans and Democrats in the past. How do you decide which candidates to support?
A. Country before party.
Q. Explain.
A. Who's going to be our best leader ... That's first and foremost.
Q. Do you meet with them before you decide to support them?
A. It is often constructive to meet with a candidate for a particular office, but I believe what is most important is the candidate's track record. Almost all politicians are able to have a great one-on-one meeting. But I'm not interested in the candidate who can have a great meeting. I'm interested in the person who can make the right decisions.
Q. Do you do research? Or do you ask someone to do research on candidates' track records? Or do you read the news?
A. It's all of the above. It's race dependent. It's candidate specific. One's opinions are formed by the amalgamation of what they learn in their own research; from research they have done for them; from their friends; what they read in the paper. All are really important.
Q. What about the amounts? Is it based on what the candidate asks you for? They vary a lot. You and Anne gave $200,000 to (Mayor) Rahm (Emanuel), for instance.
A. I was really proud to support Rahm. He is really one of the brightest men I've ever spent time with. And I've known Rahm for maybe 15 years. I believe our city and our state has some real challenges ahead of it, whether it's educating our children, whether it's dealing with the fiscal irresponsibility of past leaders. And I don't want to cast aspersions on anyone in particular. It's just where we are today. We're going to need to make some very important decisions about how to put our fiscal house back in order. And I think Rahm has the intellectual capacity to understand the issues and to make trade-offs and decisions that are going to have to be made. He and I are not on the same side of the aisle per se. We're not on the same side of a couple of different things. But the insights that he has and the determination he has are really important to solving the problems we face as a city.
Link to the entire article:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-0311-confidential-griffin-web-version-20120311,0,2604121,full.column
