Hedge Fund Support for Mitt Romney Growing

Hedge funds are like the rock stars of the finance industry. There are plenty of people and companies making money on Wall Street but hedge fund managers are a unique mix – they have assets under management that rival some the purchasing power parity of the world’s smaller countries and, unlike large corporations, have a single face. So, it should come as no wonder that they get attention and are analyzed (as well as criticized) for their actions, both with regards to investment and otherwise. This, being an election year, means that hedge fund managers may receive especially close scrutiny.

Mitt Romney in particular has received a lot of support from Wall Street. “The top $1 million contributions came from Robert Mercer, co-executive of Renaissance Technologies, one of the world’s largest hedge funds; Julian H. Robertson, Jr., the retired head of Tiger Management Corp., another top hedge fund; and Paul Singer, head of the New York-based Elliot Management Corp,” reports the Washington Post. “Paul Singer, Robert Mercer and Julian Robertson each donated $1 million to the Super Pac Restore Our Future, which can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money in support of Romney,” writes ABC News. “Two other wealthy donors, John Paulson and Edward Conard, were already reported to have given $1 million each as well.” Blue Ridge Capital‘s John Griffin and Citadel Investment Group‘s Ken Griffin made significant contributions to Romney’s campaign as well, each donating $100,000.