[lbo-talk] "the whole of Greenwich is backing Obama"

[Doug Henwood]

Financial Times - April 25, 2007

Another top hedge fund chief backs Obama
By Deborah Brewster in New York

Paul Tudor Jones, the wealthy hedge fund manager, has become the  
latest in a growing band from his profession to throw their weight  
behind Barack Obama, the US senator vying for the Democratic  
presidential nomination.

Mr Jones is said to be planning to host a 500-guest fundraiser for Mr  
Obama on May 19. The event will be held at Mr Jones's seaside mansion  
in Greenwich, Connecticut,a big US centre for hedge funds.

"The whole of Greenwich is backing Obama," said one leading US  
businessman.

Hedge fund managers, whose newly found wealth has made them  
attractive targets for presidential hopefuls, appear to be turning to  
Mr Obama in large numbers.

Last month, George Soros switched his allegiance from Hillary Clinton  
to Mr Obama. Orin Kramer, a longstanding Democratic fundraiser who is  
also a hedge fund manager, is also supporting the black challenger.  
Other prominent managers backing him include Daniel Loeb, and Eric  
Mindich, a former Goldman Sachs star trader who now runs the Eton  
Park fund.

Mr Jones began his working life as a commodity trader and is one of a  
few investors who have reached the elevated status of Mr Soros in a  
crowded field.

His $15bn (£7.5bn) Tudor Management fund has notably outperformed its  
peers since its inception, and Mr Jones was recently featured in an  
article by the author Tom Wolfe on hedge fund managers - "The new  
masters of the universe" - in Portfolio magazine. Mr Jones also  
founded the Robin Hood charitable foundation, which is heavily  
supported by hedge fund chiefs.

Regardless of their personal affiliations, hedge fund managers have  
become increasingly active lobbyists in Washington and increasingly  
big campaign givers as the $1,400bn industry has grown and become  
more sophisticated.

Employees from SAC Capital, the Greenwich outfit run by Steve Cohen,  
were the top contributors to the presidential campaign of Christopher  
Dodd, the Democratic senate banking chairman, in the first quarter of  
2007.