‘Bundlers’ raised at least $74 million for Obama campaign in 2011
President Obama added nearly 100 fundraising heavy-hitters -- among them Hollywood stars and financial titans -- to his reelection effort in the fourth quarter of last year, according to a list released by his campaign today.
In all, the campaign reeled in 445 bundlers -- major fundraisers who solicit donations on the campaign’s behalf -- in 2011. Together, they raised at least $74.4 million for the reelection effort.
The campaign did not detail how much each bundler brought in, but groups the fundraisers in tiers based on the amounts raised; 75 bundlers moved into a higher fundraising tier in the last quarter of the year.
There were 89 individuals and couples new to the fundraising roster in the most recent quarter, including small-screen stars Wendell Pierce (of HBO’s “The Wire” and “Treme”) and Eva Longoria (of ABC’s “Desperate Housewives”), who raised at least $50,000 and $200,000, respectively.
Obama also picked up at least half a dozen fundraisers from the finance sector, including one managing director of Bain Capital, the private equity firm founded by his possible GOP rival Mitt Romney. Jonathan Lavine, the chief investment officer of Bain affiliate Sankaty Advisors, was also an Obama fundraiser in 2008, but only joined the reelection effort in recent months, raising between $100,000 and $200,000.
The list also includes embattled Wall Street executive Jon Corzine, a top-tier bundler whose financial derivatives firm MF Global collapsed last fall. Corzine, the former governor of New Jersey, is not new to the list this quarter, but in the wake of the scandal surrounding his firm’s decline, the campaign said in December it would return $70,000 in personal contributions made by Corzine and his wife.
Campaigns are not required to disclose bundlers who are not registered lobbyists. None of the Republican contenders have voluntarily released their lineup of bundlers.
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