Barack Obama's economic advisory board has been very good to him

President-elect Barack Obama’s Transition Economic Advisory Board, who were lined up behind today at the Democrat's first news conference since his election victory, includes several people who were very helpful to the economics of Obama’s presidential campaign.

In fact, they gave $155,000 directly to Obama’s presidential accounts.

They and employees of their companies accounted for upward of $2 million in donations to the campaign, a Times review of Federal Election Commission records shows.

Some members, including Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, started out backing Hillary Clinton. Some, including former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, gave modest sums of $2,300. A few, including former Federal Reserve Chair Paul Volcker, gave Obama no money.

But several were integral to Obama’s financial campaign.

Chicago billionaire Penny Pritzker was national finance chair for Obama’s presidential campaign, helping oversee the record-setting operation which saw Obama raise more than $640 million.

Pritzker, chief executive officer of Classic Residence by Hyatt, also donated $37,300 to Obama’s fundraising accounts.

Here’s a look at some of the others:

• William Daley, brother of Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley, gave $95,000 to Democratic campaigns in 2007 and 2008, including $4,600 to Obama. Employees at Daley’s bank, JPMorgan Chase, donated $495,000 to Obama’s presidential campaign.
• Eric Schmidt, chairman of Internet giant Google, was among Obama’s most high-profile backers. Google employees donated $727,000, making the Silicon Valley-based firm Obama’s second largest source of corporate employee money.
• Citigroup Chairman Robert Rubin gave $35,600 to Obama-related committees. Citigroup employees donated $460,000 to Obama’s presidential campaign.
• Warren Buffett donated $4,600 to Obama and $28,500 to the Democratic National Committee, which helped Obama fund his campaign.
• Richard Parsons, chairman of Time Warner, has been a major donor to Republicans including President Bush and John McCain. But he also gave $4,600 to Obama in August. Time-Warner employees donated $130,000.

Pritzker, Buffett, Daley, Rubin. Despite McCain's campaign rhetoric, there's not a socialist among them.

-- Dan Morain

Speaking of money, if you're hopelessly interested in the politics of the first new administration in 8 years and a new Congress, you don't need any dough to get alerts sent to your cellphone of each new Ticket item. Just go here to register.

Photo: President-elect Obama meets with his economic advisory team in Chicago. At left are Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Vice President-elect Joe Biden.

Credit: AP / Pablo Martinez Monsivais

Comments

[Pete Nicely]

There's an accusation in this article that seems very leading. Obama definitely wouldn't be meeting with Buffet or anyone from Google if they hadn't lined his pockets. Find me some smart, active rich people who didn't donate a lot this election. If David Geffen was there then you'd have a story.

[Jonathan Zasloff]

Once again, Dan Morain decides to do a hatchet job on Obama. One might think that a reporter might be interested in such questions as: what do these people believe? What would be likely economic policies coming from them? Are there tensions/fissures in the group? Is this window dressing or a real working group?
But instead, Morain decides to smear Obama, suggesting something improper, and avoiding any discussion of real policy. No wonder the LAT is losing circulation.

[VJ Machiavelli]

No, they are not, but they are planning to raise TAXES. Now how many people do you know that want to pay more in taxes ???

VJ Machiavelli
http://www.vjmachiavelli.blogspot.com

[Mama73]

I voted for the other guy, and I think this is a stupid article. How can you even associate the money folks employees raise with their own personal donations? Please.

What I want to know is if any of these people will convince Obama NOT to raise capital gains and to sack HIS plans for health care (there is a plan by a Dem from Oregon that is almost revenue neutral -- and has Rep budget hawks behind it).

[swift boater]

Jennifer Granholm, the MI governor???? Gee, she's the one I would pick to help me formulate a natioanl economic policy.

Afterall, just look at the miracle job she's done on MI. Turned it from the greatest industrial behemoth the world has ever seen into a basket case. Promote unionism and stop free trade that's the ticket!

PS- every single country the US has a free trade agreement with- all 14- we have a trade surplus.

Swiftboating= telling it like it is

[reliapundit - the astute blogger]

pritzker figured very prominently in fannie mae and banking scandals.

[J. MacKay]

Wasn't Penny Prizker in charge of a Chicago Bank that went under around 2000 due to bad home loans??? It was seen as a preview of what was coming with Fannie and Freddie.

[carter2]

Penny Pritzer (and the Pritzker family) are culprits in the subprime mortgage crisis. She chaired Superior Bank of Chicago, later seized by the FDIC. Superior Bank was a pioneer of subprime mortgage lending and the creation of mortgage-backed securities. For years, the bank had paid out massive dividends driven by something close to fraudulent accounting. The party just stopped a bit earlier for Superior than for the rest of the subprime market. As the OTC said they seized the bank, "Superior Bank suffered as a result of its former high-risk business strategy, which was focused on the generation of significant volumes of subprime mortgage and automobile loans for securitization and sale in the secondary market. OTS found that the bank also suffered from poor lending practices, improper record keeping and accounting, and ineffective board and management supervision." http://files.ots.treas.gov//77151.html

[fred suggs]

"President-elect Obama meets with his economic advisory team in Chicago. At left are Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Vice President-elect Joe Biden."

Yes, Gov. Granholm has done such a fine job with the Michigan economy that she merits giving the president-elect economic advise.

FWIW, I'm quite sure that if Obama was proposing an tax on assets as opposed to increased income taxes, Warren Buffet, Penny Pritzker, Peter Lewis, Denise Ilitch, George Soros and the other billionaires who bankroll the Democrats wouldn't like it. Rich liberals don't mind high income tax rates because unlike the lower classes, their annual income is only a small fraction of their net worth.

[Yehudit]

Penny Pritzker is a major player in the predatory loan business, dating to her role in the Superior Bank scandal in the early 90s. There's a story for you LA Times. The way Mr Hope and Change surrounds himself with these old school Chicago crooks and no one cares ....

She is Obamas campaign treasurer. She also owns the NYC hotel where Ahmadinejad stayed this summer.

[Roger Godby]

Buffet is an investment genius, but part of his success lies in the estate tax. When heirs can't pay it, Buffet helps them out by buying and relieving them of the estate. He's surely astute enough to know that he will benefit by pullling government levers for his own interest.

Citibank? Expecting record debt write-off next year, its share price going into the single digits. Thanks, Mr. Rubin! Thanks Citibank employees. Some smart people there, all plugging for the Big O.

[MarkJ]

Obama's economic advisory team? Living proof that, for Democrats, "Nothing succeeds like failure."

[John D]

Robert Rubin? Does anyone remember that the former Clinton Treasury Secretary went to bat for Enron when they were under investigation by Treasury?

It was a good thing that Brer Clinton canceled that executive order that made it illegal for officials to lobby their old departments for five years. But that was in effect only to prevent former Bush officials from doing it, not Democrats.

[Brian H]

Zasloff;
Smear Obama? Like carrying coals to Newcastle. He's so dirty nothing new can stick to him. Who notices one more dumptster load in the landfill?