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Billionaire Donors Led by Soros, Simons Favor Clinton Over Trump

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hillary-clinton

Hillary gets the vote from America’s richest citizens. Or at least she’s getting their cash.

Former Secretary of State and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has collected $21.1 million for her campaign and its supporting political action committees from 17 U.S. donors on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Republican Donald Trump has received $1.02 million from 12 members of the group.

While the role the wealthiest play in American politics has come under increased scrutiny with growing attention to income inequality fueling the rise of populist candidates, contributions from U.S. billionaires on the Bloomberg index amount to 3 percent of the $708 million raised by the two candidates, as of the latest Federal Election Commission filings.

Hedge fund billionaire George Soros is the biggest spender among donors on the index, giving almost $11.9 million to Clinton’s cause. A Hungarian immigrant to the U.S., Soros is the 17th-richest person in the country with $24.7 billion, according to the index. The co-founder of hedge fund Renaissance Technologies — and former NSA codebreaker — James Simons, is the second-biggest spender, giving $7 million to Clinton.

“I’m a lifelong Democrat and I think very highly of Hillary Clinton,” Simons said.

Trump is finding GOP-supporting billionaires to be far more frugal, at least to date. His top publicly disclosed donor, American Homes 4 Rent co-founder Bradley Wayne Hughes, Sr., has given $449,000. His billionaire daughter, Tamara Hughes Gustavson, the company’s largest individual shareholder, has given Trump $25,000.

“I think this election will determine the course of this country for a long time into the future,” said Thomas Peterffy, a Trump donor, Hungarian immigrant and multi-billionaire from founding electronic brokerage Interactive Brokers Group Inc. “If we are going to continue on our current progressive course by appointing liberal judges and piling on more regulations and not simplifying the tax code, it will be very difficult to reverse at a later date. We are on a slippery slope sliding towards socialism.”

Peterffy said his only political donation this cycle has been $100,000 to a Trump group. The billionaire added he is working on his own commercials in support of Republican candidates. New York financier John Paulson, the country’s 54th-richest person with $8.1 billion, gave $5,400 to support Trump. His spokesman Armel Leslie said he gave $250,000 in June, but that gift is not yet reported in filings. Because of varying FEC disclosure deadlines and possible agency delays in posting filings, contributions of some donors may be undercounted.

Casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson, the 15th-richest American with $29.2 billion, and Home Depot Inc. co-founder Bernard Marcus, ranked 77th with $6.2 billion, each penned op-eds endorsing Trump in the spring. Marcus committed $3 million to Trump in May, according to a July story in Politico that cited an unidentified source, and Adelson is reportedly still considering putting $5 million behind Trump.

There are 40 billionaires on the index who gave to other Republican presidential contenders in the party’s primary and haven’t sent money to Trump. Longtime Republican donors David and Charles Koch, the fifth- and sixth-richest Americans on the index, have declined to support the New York real estate billionaire and are instead funding other conservative candidates. Both Bernie Sanders supporters on the index — David Geffen and James Cox Chambers — have also given to Clinton, according to the data.

All of the billionaire donors were contacted for comment and most didn’t respond or declined to comment. Representatives for Geffen, Soros and Dustin Moskovitz confirmed their donation amounts and declined to comment further.

“Mr. Hamm has given more” to Trump than FEC disclosures to date show, Kristin Thomas, a spokeswoman, said in an e-mail. She declined to specify Hamm’s contribution amount.

The survey looks at FEC disclosures through Sept. 20 and includes donations made to the candidates, joint fundraising committees and super-PACs since the start of 2015. The data exclude money given to national parties, PACs not specifically aligned with the candidates, and money given to other down-ticket candidates and causes. The FEC information doesn’t include donations made to the campaigns after the end of August. Some groups file disclosures quarterly, so information is included only through the end of June.

The analysis also excludes billionaire donors who are not on the Bloomberg index, which ranks the world’s 400 richest people. Thomas Barrack, Jay Pritzker and Haim Saban have given millions of dollars to the campaigns. Many of the billionaires included in the analysis could also be giving to nonprofit groups that have no obligation to disclose who funds them. Renaissance Technologies co-founder Robert Mercer has set up a pro-Trump group and seeded it with $2 million, while this month Joseph Ricketts revealed plans to support Trump primarily through similar vehicles.

Facebook billionaire Moskovitz and his wife, Cari Tuna, have pledged $20 million to Democratic groups, including the Hillary Victory Fund and progressive activist group MoveOn.org. New York grocery magnate John Catsimatidis has given to both Trump and Clinton.

Is the CEO and Founder of Investors King Limited. He is a seasoned foreign exchange research analyst and a published author on Yahoo Finance, Business Insider, Nasdaq, Entrepreneur.com, Investorplace, and other prominent platforms. With over two decades of experience in global financial markets, Olukoya is well-recognized in the industry.

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Yahaya Bello Leaves EFCC Office Without Interrogation, Says Media Office

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Revenue system

The media office of the former governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, has confirmed that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) did not interrogate him when he visited the anti-graft agency’s office on Wednesday morning.

According to the media office, the EFCC informed Bello that he could leave without being interrogated. This occurred in the presence of Alhaji Usman Ododo, who accompanied the former governor to the commission’s office.

“The EFCC did not interrogate him, as officials told him he could leave,” Ohiare Michael, the director of Bello’s media office, said in a statement.

“We don’t know what this means yet. As we write, Alhaji Yahaya Bello has left the EFCC office. He was accompanied there by the Governor of Kogi State, His Excellency Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo.”

He further stated that this decision came after consultations with Bello’s family, legal team, and political allies.

He said, “Bello showed up at the EFCC office after consultations with his family, legal team, and political allies, saying he had nothing to hide or fear. His legal team has represented him in court throughout the ongoing case. The EFCC had earlier declared Bello wanted after a series of events.”

Recall that the media office of Yahaya Bello alleged that, on Wednesday night, operatives of the EFCC laid siege to the Kogi Government Lodge in Abuja in an attempt to forcefully arrest the former governor.

They also explained how his legal team had represented him in court throughout the ongoing case and how Bello had mustered the courage to honor the EFCC’s invitation to clear his name, stating he has nothing to hide or fear.

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Soludo Reportedly Fires Commissioner Over Poor Performance 

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Chukwuma Soludo

Governor of Anambra State, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, has reportedly sacked the state Commissioner for Information, Paul Nwosu.

Sources close to the embattled commissioner revealed that Nwosu was relieved of his duties over alleged poor performance.

Another source claimed that the commissioner resigned and was not sacked.

Feelers from the Ministry of Information in the state have it that the commissioner have already dusted his table and moved on.

“As I speak to you, Mr Paul Nwosu has packed his bag, and we’re just waiting for the news to be announced by the Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr Christian Aburime,” a source in the ministry confided in Investors King on Tuesday.

However, the governor’s Press Secretary, Christian Aburime, in a mobile phone conversation said that he is not aware of Nwosu’s sack but promised to get back to the media if anything like that happens.

As at the time of filing this report, it was not yet clear if the commissioner would be redeployed to another ministry.

Meanwhile, feelers have it that Dr. Law Mefor, a veteran communications strategist and a notable All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) member, has been lined up as a replacement.

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Edo Governorship: Anger, Worry as APC, PDP Candidates Shun Debate

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Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State

There is raging worry among major political stakeholders in Edo State over the refusal of the candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Ighodalo Asue, and his All Progressives Congress (APC) counterpart, Senator Monday Okpebholo to honour debate organised in the state recently ahead of the Saturday’s governorship election.

Asue and Okpebholo failed to show up at a governorship debate organised by the Edo State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in conjunction with the Nigeria Elections Debate Group (NEDG) and the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON) for the party flag bearers to tell the people of the state their plans if elected to govern the South-South state.

Investors King gathered that only the Labour Party (LP) candidate, Olumide Akpata, his Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) candidate, Patience Ndidi-Key and the Action Democratic Congress (ADC) Derek Izedonmwen were present at the debate.

Speaking at the debate event, Akpata condemned in strong terms the absence of the other candidates, describing the failure of the APC and PDP candidates to honour the invitation to debate as an outright disregard not only to the NUJ and BON but Edo people.

Urging residents to call out the candidates and use their votes to do justice to them at the poll, Akpata, who claimed the two candidates hoped on violence and manipulations to win the governorship election and that is why they did not show up, also charged media organisations and executives to condemn the action by the two candidates in their editorials, writing, among others.

He wondered why a candidate should intend to govern a state without coming to tell the people what he has for them, saying, “Asue Ighodalo comes from the private sector as I do, but if I may ask, as chairman of the board of several companies, did he employ any intending employee without an interview? This is simple logic.”

Also frowning at the refusal of the candidates to show up for the debate, Olugbenga Edema Campaign Organisation of the NNPP in the forthcoming off-cycle governorship election in Ondo State, Olugbenga Edema, berated Asue and Okpebholo.

While describing the absence of PDP and APC candidates from the debate as an affront and disrespect to the electorate, Edema maintained that the action of the duo denies the people, particularly the electorate, their fundamental right to evaluate the policies and visions of those seeking to govern them.

In a statement signed and issued by the spokesperson of the campaign organisation, Oluwatosin Ayeni, it was emphasised that the refusal of the candidate to participate in the debate was a lack of respect for the voters, who are entitled to assess those seeking public office.

While urging the people of Edo State to take a stand, Edema called for the rejection of the two parties at the poll on Saturday, adding that such impunity on the electorate by the two political parties would not be tolerated in Ondo State.

Similarly, the Nigerian Elections Debate Group (NEDG) condemned the development and called on Nigerians to insist that those aspiring to govern them must be made accountable to them.

The Executive Secretary of NEDG, Eddie Emessiri said their non-appearance was unwarranted because ample time was giving to all candidates.

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