My main point (as assigned by Charles Koch) is casting a skewed eyebrow on yet another of Mayer's web of SHADOW MONEY conspiracy tales for the New Yorker's readership. Mayer's entire case hinges on ~$60 million spent on politics over the last decade somehow funding everything Trump secretly...when Trump is a rather public billionaire who sometimes states his opinions publicly as well.
$14 million of which was dumped into Ted Cruz's campaign in 2015 and $11 million on Breitbart in 2011. And $25 million total given to Republican candidates/PACs in the 2016 cycle. James Simons, the founder of Renaissance, the hedge fund Mercer got rich off running, dropped $27 million on Democrats in the 2016 cycle.
In the last three cycles Simons has spent $44.9 million on Democrats, Mercer has spent $40.1 million on Republicans. They're both at the core of Renaissance's hedge fund story, yet this is all the text Simons gets from Mayer:
t’s worth noting that several other wealthy financiers, including Democrats such as Thomas Steyer and Donald Sussman, gave even more money to campaigns. (One of the top Democratic donors was James Simons, the retired founder of Renaissance Technologies.) Nevertheless, Mercer’s political efforts stand apart.
...
Renaissance was founded by James Simons, a legendary mathematician, in 1982. Simons had run the math department at Stony Brook University, on Long Island, and the hedge fund took a uniquely academic approach to high finance.
...
The Medallion Fund made Renaissance employees among the wealthiest people in the country. Forbes estimates that Simons, who has the biggest share, is worth eighteen billion dollars. In 2009, Simons stepped aside, to focus on philanthropy, and named Mercer and Brown co-C.E.O.s. Institutional Investor’s Alpha estimates that, in 2015, Mercer earned a hundred and thirty-five million dollars at Renaissance.
She wrote basically the same article six years ago about different billionaires:
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/08/30/covert-operationsAnd twelve years ago she discovered the same scary thing about DARK MONEY:
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2004/10/18/the-money-manThee astonishing amount of cash that Soros has poured into the Presidential race is nonetheless dwarfed by Republican efforts to influence public policy through private donations. Perhaps the best perspective has been provided by Rob Stein, a Democratic strategist based in Washington. After the 2002 election, the G.O.P. controlled the Presidency, both houses of Congress, and most state legislatures; Stein worried that the country was in danger of succumbing to one-party rule. ...
Stein identified nine hugely wealthy families who had anchored the effort, all of whom were sustained by corporate fortunes; the list included the Olins, the Bradleys, the Coorses, the Kochs, the Smith-Richardsons, and the Mellon Scaifes. Between 1985 and 2001, the nine families had collectively given half a billion dollars to charitable foundations promoting policies that were in their immediate self-interest, such as lowering income taxes and deregulating industry. Scaife’s foundations have reportedly spent at least three hundred and forty million dollars supporting the conservative cause.
And yet, most importantly, she ignores the fact that Putin is rumored to be the richest man in the world. Why not focus on his funding with shadow money?!? Does this mean Putin has gotten to Jane Mayer like he did Barack Obama to get Obama to cover up everything during the election? I'm just asking questions? Stop distracting us from Trump's treason of doing something with Russia that made people not vote for Hillary with these stories about good ol home grown AMERICAN billionaires like the type that supported Hillary, Jane! Focus on the big Russian picture here! Putin! Manafort! Cheka! We will bury you! Bringing your dog into meetings with German Chancellors! Romney putting dogs on the roof of his car! Connect the dots people!
