Meet the super donor ‘all-stars’

Harold Simmons

Harold Simmons

Did you know?

Known as the “king of Superfund sites,” in several publications, Harold Simmons owns a ranch in Arkansas that is home to 35 bears and 100 elk. It is also stocked with 250 deer and 300 wild turkeys for hunting, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Bob Perry

Bob Perry

Did you know?

Perry Homes has been involved in more than 100 lawsuits in the state of Texas since the early 1980s.

Fred Eychaner

Fred Eychaner

Did you know?

Eychaner graduated from Northwestern University’s prestigious Medill School of Journalism and worked as a sports reporter and city hall reporter before starting his printing business.

J. Joe Ricketts

J. Joe Ricketts

Did you know?

Ricketts owns the world’s largest online bison retail store. High Plains Bison supplies meat to Chicago’s Wrigley Field, which he and his family own, along with the Cubs.

William S. Rose

William S. Rose

Did you know?

Rose’s $634,000 home, located in a Knoxville suburb, is the principal office of Specialty Group, the shadowy company through which he contributed millions to FreedomWorks for America.

United Auto Workers

United Auto Workers

Did you know?

UAW not only represents auto workers but also workers in the aerospace, health care and gaming industries.

NEA (National Education Association)

NEA (National Education Association)

Did you know?

The NEA is the nation’s largest union, with more than 14,000 affiliate organizations across the country.

Michael Bloomberg

Michael Bloomberg

Did you know?

Bloomberg refuses compensation for his service as mayor, instead accepting a nominal salary of $1 per year.

RGA

RGA

Did you know?

The RGA’s method of financing gubernatorial campaigns was called “an elaborate money-laundering scheme, which is legal” by a representative from the good government group Common Cause.

James Simons

James Simons

Did you know?

Simons is an active philanthropist. In addition to chairing the nonprofit Math for America and supporting autism research, he funds a nature preserve and an organization that trains and supports rural health care workers in Nepal.

AFSCME

AFSCME

Did you know?

AFSCME’s president, Lee Saunders, is the labor union’s first African-American leader and a product of a union upbringing. Saunders’ father worked as a bus driver in Cleveland.

AFL-CIO

AFL-CIO

Did you know?

AFL, one of the first federations of labor unions, was founded 126 years ago. From the creation of CIO in 1935 to the AFL-CIO merger in 1955, the two union federations were rivals.

Robert Rowling

Robert Rowling

Did you know?

In a 2008 profile, the Dallas Morning News called Rowling’s empire “a grab bag” that includes hotels, fitness centers, oil and gas assets, financial and energy stock, real estate and “even a chain of Mexican dollar stores.”

American Federation of Teachers

American Federation of Teachers

Did you know?

AFT is the nation’s second largest teachers union after the National Education Association, another super donor.

Robert Mercer

Robert Mercer

Did you know?

In July 2010, Mercer made a $1 million donation to the New York State Conservative Party to fund an ad campaign opposing construction of the controversial Ground Zero mosque.

Steve and Amber Mostyn

Steve and Amber Mostyn

Did you know?

At Steve and Amber Mostyns’ 2006 lakeside wedding ceremony, ushers wore bright orange Hawaiian shirts. At the reception, guests visited a buffet-style mashed potato bar.

George Soros

George Soros

Did you know?

Soros is known as “the man who broke the bank of England” for betting against the British pound sterling and netting approximately $1 billion when the currency crashed in September 1992.

William Koch

William Koch

Did you know?

In 2010, Koch spent $3.1 million on a fake Colorado ghost town that had served as a local tourist attraction and the set for old Westerns, including “True Grit” staring John Wayne. He had the buildings moved to his personal ranch.

Peter Thiel

Peter Thiel

Did you know?

Thiel is the creator of the “20 Under 20” program, which gives would-be college students $100,000 each to start their own businesses instead of going to college. He has also donated $1.25 million to the Seasteading Institute, which wants to create undersea colonies that would function as experiments in Libertarian government.

SEIU

SEIU

Did you know?

SEIU claims to be “the fastest growing union in North America” with a membership of 2.1 million workers primarily in the service sector, including healthcare, food service, security and janitorial jobs.

Joe Craft

Joe Craft

Did you know?

Craft’s company, Alliance Resource Partners, operates 11 mining complexes in five states. Alliance produced more than 30 million tons of coal in 2011.

John Childs

John Childs

Did you know?

As president of Wetlands Americas Trust, Childs fundraises for Ducks Unlimited, a Florida-based wetland and waterfowl conservation charity.

United Association

United Association

Did you know?

The United Association’s full name is the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry.

A. Jerrold “Jerry” Perenchio

A. Jerrold “Jerry” Perenchio

Did you know?

The former owner of Univision once represented Marlon Brando and Elizabeth Taylor. He lives in the mansion used for establishing shots in the “Beverly Hillbillies.”

William Doré

William Doré

Did you know?

Doré wanted to become a teacher and coach, but after making good money selling insurance in college, he decided he wanted a higher standard of living. He began offshore diving, a notoriously dangerous and lucrative line of work.

* William J. Doré made $700 million in 2006 in the sale of Global Industries.

Harlan Crow

Harlan Crow

Did you know?

In the sprawling private garden of his home — one of the most expensive in Dallas — Crow collects statues of dictators, including Lenin, Mao, Stalin and other lesser known despots and assassins.

Cooperative of American Physicians

Cooperative of American Physicians

Did you know?

Six states — including California, the Cooperative of American Physicians’s primary area of service — account for 51.4 percent of medical malpractice payouts.

Foster Friess

Foster Friess

Did you know?

Friess drew criticism for his comment on contraceptives to MSNBC: “You know, back in my days, they’d use Bayer aspirin for contraceptives. The gals put it between their knees, and it wasn’t that costly.”