Paul Singer (businessman)

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Paul Singer
The Global Financial Context Paul Singer.jpg
Singer at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in 2013
Born Paul Elliott Singer
August 22, 1944
New York
Residence New York City
Nationality United States American
Ethnicity Jewish
Alma mater

University of Rochester (B.S.)

Harvard Law School (J.D.)
Occupation Businessman
Known for Elliott Management
Net worth Increase US$ 1.3 billion (March 2013)[1]

Paul Elliott Singer (born August 22, 1944) is the founder and CEO of hedge fund Elliott Management Corporation and The Paul E. Singer Foundation.[2]

Contents

Education and early career [edit]

Singer grew up in a Jewish family[3] in Tenafly, New Jersey, one of three children of a Manhattan pharmacist and a homemaker.[4] He obtained his B.S. in psychology from the University of Rochester and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.[5][4] In 1974, Singer accepted a job as an attorney in the real estate division of the investment bank Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette.[5][4]

Elliott Management Corporation [edit]

Main article: Elliott Management Corporation

In 1977, Singer founded the hedge fund Elliott Associates L.P. with $1.3 million from various friends and family members.[4] Elliott Management Corporation oversees Elliott Associates and Elliott International Limited, which together have more than $21 billion in assets under management.[6] According to The Guardian, "Elliott's principal investment strategy is buying distressed debt cheaply and selling it at a profit or suing for full payment."[7]

Philanthropy [edit]

Paul Singer founded the Paul E. Singer Family Foundation, which supports many charitable projects including the Harvard Graduate School of Education Singer Prize for Excellence in Secondary Teaching and VH1 Save The Music Foundation, the Food Bank For New York City, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Action Fund, and the New York City Police Foundation.[8][9][10][11][12] In addition, Singer, whose gay son married his partner in Massachusetts, where gay marriage is legal, has donated $425,000 of his own money and raised another $500,000 to support the drive for legalization of gay marriage in New York,[13] and in October 2012, Singer donated $250,000 to the Maryland Marriage Campaign.[14]

In the area of gay rights, Singer has given more than $12 million of his own money to gay rights initiatives since 2007, including same-sex marriage efforts in numerous states.[15] Singer donated $425,000 of his own money and raised another $500,000 to support the drive for legalization of same-sex marriage in New York. In 2012, Singer was a major donor for marriage equality ballot initiatives in Maine, Minnesota, Maryland and Washington through Freedom to Marry, an organization that campaigns for the right of same-sex couples to marry nationwide.[16] Singer supports the American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER), the sole sponsor of the federal court challenge to California's Proposition 8.[17][18] He has joined other Wall Street executives in support of LGBT equality in the workplace as a means of retaining employees and improving overall business outcomes.[19]

In the area of education, Singer sponsors the University of Rochester Singer Prize for Excellence in Secondary Teaching.[20] He is a supporter of the KIPP public charter schools program, the Harlem Children's Zone, and the Success Charter Network. He also supports the Police Athletic League NYC and the NYC Police Foundation.[10]

In the area of military veterans’ support programs, Singer has given over $14 million to a variety of causes, including the Bob Woodruff Foundation, the Semper Fi Fund, the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, Spirit of America, the Navy Seal Foundation, The Mission Continues, and the Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation.[21]

Board memberships [edit]

Singer is Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research.[22] He also serves on the Board of Fellows of Harvard Medical School and the Board of Directors of Commentary Magazine.[23][24]

Singer is a member of the Committee on Capital Markets Regulation.

Political activity [edit]

Singer is an active participant in Republican Party politics.[25] He was a major contributor to George W. Bush's presidential campaigns.[26]

In 2007, Singer led a financial industry fund-raising effort for Rudolph Giuliani, first as regional finance chair and later as senior policy adviser.[27][28]

In 2007, Singer provided $175,000 to support a petition drive for a proposed California initiative to apportion the state's 55 electoral votes by congressional district. At least 19 of the state's 53 congressional districts could be expected to vote for a GOP presidential candidate, enough to change the national results in a close election.[29]

President George W. Bush appointed Singer to serve on the Honorary Delegation to accompany him to Jerusalem for the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the State of Israel in May 2008.[30]

In 2011, Singer played a major role in passing legislation that would allow same-sex marriage in the state of New York by, along with other major GOP donors, throwing his support behind it.[31] In 2011, he donated $1 million to Restore Our Future Inc, the Superpac supporting Mitt Romney.[32]

Lee Fang, writing for the progressive political blog ThinkProgress, claimed that "the rise of Singer’s political profile can be traced to his work as a top donor to pro-Bush character-assasination (sic) groups like the Swift Boat Veterans."[33]

In 2011, Singer donated $1 million to Restore Our Future, a political action committee (PAC) created to support Mitt Romney in the U.S. Presidential election.[34] Singer was a major contributor to George W. Bush's presidential campaigns and was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve on the Honorary Delegation to accompany him to Jerusalem for the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the State of Israel in May of 2008..[26][35]

In 2012, Singer provided $1 million to start a super PAC named American Unity PAC. According to the New York Times, the PAC's "sole mission will be to encourage Republican candidates to support same-sex marriage, in part by helping them to feel financially shielded from any blowback from well-funded groups that oppose it."[36]

Writings and commentary [edit]

Singer has written columns in the Wall Street Journal.[24] In 2009, he wrote a piece titled, “Free-Marketeers Should Welcome Some Regulation,” in which he argued that, “It's true that monetary policy was too lax for too long, and the government encouraged lending to people who were unlikely to repay their loans. But this crisis was primarily caused by managements and individuals throughout the financial system who exercised extremely poor judgment. The private sector, not the public sector, is where the biggest mistakes were made.” [37]

In August 2009, fellow hedge fund manager Jim Chanos said that he and Singer warned G7 finance ministers in 2007 that ‘a systemic financial collapse could happen because major banks were creating ‘radioactive’ securitizations from things like subprime mortgages.[38]

At a September 2006 financial conference in New York City, Singer delivered a speech called "Complexity Made Simple," advising that the purchase of collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) was a serious mistake, anticipating the downturn of the housing market by nearly a year before the $770 billion taxpayer-funded bailout.[5]

Personal life [edit]

Singer has been divorced since 1996.[4] He lives on New York City's Upper West Side and also has a house in Aspen, Colorado.[4]

Notes [edit]

  1. ^ Forbes Billionaires: Paul Singer retrieved March 15, 2013
  2. ^ "Elliott Management Corporation Company Profile". Yahoo! Finance. Retrieved 2007-07-18. 
  3. ^ JTA: "Jewish, Republican, pro-gay rights" By Ron Kampeas May 14, 2011
  4. ^ a b c d e f CNN Money: "Mitt Romney's hedge fund kingmaker" By Michelle Celarier March 26, 2012
  5. ^ a b c Kambiz Foroohar (February 2008). "The Opportunist". Bloomberg Markets. 
  6. ^ http://www.forbes.com/profile/paul-singer/
  7. ^ Sheehan, Michael (November 15, 2011). "Vulture funds – the key players". The Guardian. Retrieved June 10, 2012. 
  8. ^ [1], "Harvard Awards the First Singer Prize", May 31, 2007
  9. ^ [2], "Dr. Shiela Johnson and Gordon Appointed to VHI Save the Music Foundation Board of Directors", March 19, 2007
  10. ^ a b [3], "New York City Police Foundation Donors List", June 30, 2009
  11. ^ "Can-Do 2010 Supporters". 
  12. ^ Eric Lichtblau (August 27, 2010). "Financier’s Largess Shows G.O.P.’s Wall St. Support". The New York Times. New York Times. 
  13. ^ Nicholas Confessore and Michael Barbaro (May 14, 2011). "Donors to GOP are backing gay marriage push". The New York Times. New York Times. 
  14. ^ "Republican Donor Paul Singer Gives $250,000 to Maryland Marriage Campaign". Advocate. Retrieved 18 March 2013. 
  15. ^ Bruni, Frank (June 9, 2012). "The G.O.P.’s Gay Trajectory". The New York Times. 
  16. ^ http://www.advocate.com/politics/election/2012/08/13/freedom-marry-pours-3-million-state-marriage-battles
  17. ^ de la Merced, Michael (June 26, 2011). "The Financiers Who Helped Back N.Y. Gay Marriage Campaign". The New York Times. 
  18. ^ Bruni, Frank (June 9, 2012). "Paul Singer’s Equality Efforts". The New York Times. 
  19. ^ http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/2416-wall-street-lgbt.html
  20. ^ http://www.rochester.edu/college/singerprize/
  21. ^ http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/multicultural-latest-news/the-paul-e-singer-foundation-to-serve-as-title-sponsor-for-the-bob-woodruff-foundation-4th-annual-stand-up-for-heroes-106635323.html and http://www.marineparents.com/announcements/phfs-donation.asp
  22. ^ [4], "Manhattan Institute Trustees", 2010
  23. ^ "Board of Fellows". 
  24. ^ a b Paul Singer (March 23, 2010). "The Dodd bill and U.S. Competitiveness". Wall Street Journal. 
  25. ^ New York Times: "Financier’s Largess Shows G.O.P.’s Wall St. Support" By ERIC LICHTBLAU August 27, 2010
  26. ^ a b "Hedge Fund Chiefs, With Cash, Join Political Fray". The New York Times. New York Times. January 25, 2007,. 
  27. ^ "Romney Attracts More of Bush's Top Donors Than Rivals (Update2)". Bloomberg. July 20, 2007. 
  28. ^ new York Times: "Publicity-Shy Giuliani Backer Is Thrust Into Spotlight" By MICHAEL COOPER and LESLIE WAYNE November 22, 2007
  29. ^ Andrew Malcom, "Giuliani fundraiser was mystery initiative backer", Los Angeles Times, November 28, 2007
  30. ^ http://www.nysun.com/foreign/bush-visit-may-boost-olmert/76303/
  31. ^ Barbaro, Michael (June 25, 2011). "The Road to Gay Marriage in New York". The New York Times. 
  32. ^ http://query.nictusa.com/cgi-bin/dcdev/forms/C00490045/763780/sa/ALL
  33. ^ Fang, Lee (October 10, 2011). "Journalists Funded By ‘Vulture Capitalist’ Paul Singer Campaign To Smear Wall Street Protests". ThinkProgress. Retrieved June 10, 2012. 
  34. ^ http://query.nictusa.com/cgi-bin/dcdev/forms/C00490045/763780/sa/ALL
  35. ^ http://www.nysun.com/foreign/bush-visit-may-boost-olmert/76303/
  36. ^ Bruni, Frank (June 9, 2012). "The G.O.P.’s Gay Trajectory". The New York Times. Retrieved June 10, 2012. 
  37. ^ Singer, Paul (April 3, 2009). "Free-Marketeers Should Welcome Some Regulation". The Wall Street Journal. 
  38. ^ Benner, Katie (August 26, 2009). "Chanos: G7 ignored crisis warning". CNN. 
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