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Rebekah Mercer

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Rebekah Mercer
Born (1973-12-06) December 6, 1973 (age 50)
Yorktown Heights, New York,
U.S.
EducationCornell University
Stanford University (BS, MS)
Occupation(s)Director, Emerdata[1]
Political partyRepublican
SpouseSylvain Mirochnikoff (2003–2018)
FamilyRobert Mercer (father)

Rebekah Mercer is an American heiress and Republican[2][3] political donor who is the director of the Mercer Family Foundation. She began overseeing day-to-day operations of political projects for the Mercer family when the Mercers became involved in conservative causes.[2][4][5][6][7][8] Her father, billionaire Robert Mercer, said in November 2017 that he had sold his stake in the news site Breitbart to his daughters.[9] In August 2018, she funded and co-founded the social networking service Parler.[10][11]

Early life and education

Mercer is the daughter of Diana Lynne (Dean) and billionaire hedge fund manager Robert Mercer; Rebekah is the second of the Mercers' three daughters.[12] She was raised in Yorktown Heights, a suburb of New York.[6] Mercer enrolled at Cornell before transferring to Stanford University where she studied biology and mathematics and earned a master's degree in 1999 from Stanford in management science and engineering.[6][13] She worked as a Wall Street trader at Renaissance Technologies, the hedge fund her father has helped lead. Mercer and her sisters also purchased Ruby et Violette, which sells cookies and brownies through its website.[14][4][8]

Political activities

Mercer first became widely known in conservative circles in 2012 after Mitt Romney's defeat in the presidential election. She spoke to a group of wealthy conservative donors at New York's University Club about what the GOP had done wrong in canvassing and technology operations during the election cycle.[6]

Mercer helped start Reclaim New York with Steve Bannon in 2013. The organization trains citizens to watch their government closely, and uses freedom of information laws to force the New York government to disclose public spending.[6]

Mercer joined the board of the Heritage Foundation in 2014 as a trustee.[6]

A September 2016 Politico headline called her "the most powerful woman in GOP politics."[15] She has been more aligned with the anti-establishment part of the GOP than most other big Republican donors.[6] Newsmax Media owner Christopher Ruddy called her the "First Lady of the Alt-Right".[2]

Mercer supported Mitt Romney in 2012 and Ted Cruz for the 2016 presidential election. After Trump won the GOP nomination, she and her father switched their support to him. Mercer supported Jeff Sessions for Secretary of State over Mitt Romney.[2][7]

2016 presidential election

Mercer, along with her father, contributed $25 million to the 2016 presidential election.[5]

During the 2016 U.S. presidential primaries, Mercer led Keep the Promise I, a Super PAC (political action committee) which was the largest outside benefactor of Ted Cruz.[6]

In June 2016 after Trump won the primary, Mercer created the Defeat Crooked Hillary PAC, and ran the daily operations.[5] The PAC was incorporated with the name Make America Number 1 at the Federal Election Commission[16] and supported Donald Trump in the general election including making anti-Clinton ads.[16][17]

During the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Mercer proposed creating a searchable database for Hillary Clinton's e-mails in the public domain and then forwarded this suggestion to several people, including Cambridge Analytica CEO Alexander Nix, who e-mailed a request to Julian Assange for Clinton's emails.[18][19] Assange responded to the report by saying he denied Nix's request.[20] Mercer worked with Steve Bannon to create the film Clinton Cash.[8] She has consulted extensively with former Democratic strategist and pollster Patrick Caddell on campaigns.[21]

The Mercers stood behind Trump after the famous Access Hollywood tape was leaked in late 2016, dismissing Trump's claim of grabbing women's genitals against their will[22] as "locker room braggadocio."[23]

Donald Trump

Although initially a supporter of Ted Cruz in the 2016 presidential election, Mercer aimed her support at GOP candidate Donald Trump in June 2016 after Cruz lost the primary. Mercer directs the Mercer Family Foundation and served on the Executive Committee of the transition team of United States President-elect Donald Trump.[24]

In the Trump transition, Mercer helped in successfully lobbying against Mitt Romney as secretary of state and for Sen. Jeff Sessions as attorney general.[14] People close to the transition said she had not favored Corey Lewandowski as possible Republican National Committee chair and that Lewandowski had reportedly resisted paying for services from data firm Cambridge Analytica–a company funded by the Mercers–early in the campaign, though a close associate of Mercer's denied the stories.[25] Paul Manafort, Kellyanne Conway's predecessor as campaign director, was also said to be critical of Cambridge Analytica, which had worked for Ted Cruz and was financially backed by the Mercers.[15] Conway reportedly said that after the inauguration, the expectation was that Mercer was likely to lead an outside group, funded by her father, aimed at bolstering Trump's agenda. It was assumed that Cambridge Analytica would also assist the group's efforts.[14]

In 2010, Mercer bought six adjoining apartment units in Donald Trump's 41-story Heritage at Trump Place.[26]

Steve Bannon

The Mercers first introduced Steve Bannon to Trump.[9] Mercer helped create the film Clinton Cash with Bannon, a top political adviser to Trump at the time.[8] She has been one of Bannon's main financial contributors.[27][28]

In late 2017, Bannon told several conservative donors that Mercer had pledged her financial support if he decided to run for president in 2020 against Trump. However, Mercer was frustrated by his comments to the media and disagreed with his public comments in support for Roy Moore, who was under fire for sexual misconduct allegations involving young girls. In January 2018 a person familiar with conversations between Mercer and Bannon said Mercer would no longer back Bannon financially.[28] Mercer herself said that she had not spoken to Bannon, the former White House chief strategist, in many months and that she continued to support President Trump.[13][3]

Breitbart News

Mercer and her father, Robert Mercer were key financial benefactors for Breitbart News. Larry Solov, the CEO of Breitbart, said in February 2017 that they are part-owners.[5] Robert Mercer announced in November 2017 that he had sold his stake in the website to his daughters.[9]

Cambridge Analytica

Main article: Cambridge Analytica

Cambridge Analytica was a privately held data mining and data analysis company with financial backing from the Mercers.[4] The Mercers invested in the company after Mitt Romney lost the 2012 presidential election.[6] On May 1, 2018, Cambridge Analytica and its parent company filed for insolvency proceedings and closed operations.[29][30] Alexander Tayler, a former director for Cambridge Analytica, was appointed director of Emerdata on March 28, 2018.[31] Rebekah Mercer, Jennifer Mercer, Alexander Nix and Johnson Chun Shun Ko who has links to Erik Prince are in leadership positions at Emerdata.[32][33]

RAM Veterans Foundation

In May 2022, Mercer was credited with creating the RAM Veterans Foundation, named in honor of Robert Alexander Mercer who died in France during World War II. RAM Veterans Foundation is an organization that reviews and recommends veterans charities to donors at CharitiesForVets.com. [34]

Parler

In 2018, Mercer co-founded, and funded, the social media website Parler with John Matze and Jared Thomson. Mercer described herself in a Parler post as having "started Parler" with Matze.[35][10][11] The Parler board, allegedly controlled by Mercer, fired Parler CEO John Matze on January 29, 2021.[36]

As of early February 2021, Mercer holds the majority shares and, The Washington Post reported "increasingly pulls the strings" at Parler, controlling two-thirds of its board, and appointing other directors.[37]

American Museum of Natural History

The Mercer family has contributed $4 million to the American Museum of Natural History, and Rebekah Mercer sat on the museum board of directors from 2013 to 2019. In January 2018, a protest by the group Revolting Lesbians called for Mercer's removal from the board.[38] The protest followed the release of a letter from over 200 academics and scientists calling for the board to "end ties to anti-science propagandists and funders of climate science misinformation."[39]

Tax records indicate that the Mercer family donated millions of dollars to organizations that reject the scientific consensus regarding climate change.[39] In March 2018 a group called the "Clean Money Project" mounted a spoof campaign aimed at highlighting Mercer's positions on climate change and pressuring the museum to sever ties with her.[40] In 2016, over 250 scientists penned an open letter calling for the museum to "end ties to anti-science propagandists and funders of climate science misinformation, and to have Rebekah Mercer leave the American Museum of Natural History Board of Trustees."[41]

By the end of 2019 Mercer was no longer on the board.[42]

Personal life

Mercer studied at Stanford University where she met Sylvain Mirochnikoff. The couple married in 2003.[26] In 2010, she bought six adjoining apartment units in Donald Trump's 41-story Heritage at Trump Place.[26] Mercer left her trading job to home-school her four children.[14][8] In 2016, Mirochnikoff, a native of France, was a managing director at Morgan Stanley.[6]

References

  1. ^ "EMERDATA LIMITED – Officers (free information from Companies House)". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Archived from the original on April 11, 2019. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d Swenson, Kyle (January 5, 2018). "Rebekah Mercer, the billionaire backer of Bannon and Trump, chooses sides". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on January 6, 2018. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
  3. ^ a b Helderman, Rosalind S. Post Politics: Mercer issues rare public rebuke of former ally Bannon. Archived January 7, 2018, at the Wayback Machine Washington Post, January 4, 2018.
  4. ^ a b c Gray, Rosie. "What Does the Billionaire Family Backing Donald Trump Really Want?". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on October 29, 2017. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
  5. ^ a b c d "Who are mega-donors Bob and Rebekah Mercer, and why are they influential?". USA Today. Archived from the original on January 5, 2018. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Gold, Matea (September 14, 2014). "The rise of GOP mega-donor Rebekah Mercer". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 14, 2016. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  7. ^ a b Storey, Kate. How Secretive Manhattan Heiress Rebekah Mercer Became One of the Most Powerful Women in Politics Archived September 19, 2017, at the Wayback Machine. Town&Country March 17, 2017.
  8. ^ a b c d e Mider, Zachary (November 11, 2016). "Rebekah Mercer, Daughter of Major Donor, Named to Trump Role". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on November 14, 2016. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  9. ^ a b c "Billionaire Investor Robert Mercer To Step Down From Firm, Selling Stake in Breitbart". NPR. Archived from the original on November 5, 2017. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
  10. ^ a b Benveniste, Alexis; Yurieff, Kaya. "Meet Rebekah Mercer, the deep-pocketed co-founder of Parler, a controversial conservative social network". CNN. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
  11. ^ a b Lyons, Kim (November 14, 2020). "Social app Parler apparently receives funding from the conservative Mercer family". The Verge. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
  12. ^ Stein, Jeff (November 11, 2016). "Donald Trump's transition team includes 3 Trump kids and 5 millionaires". Vox. Archived from the original on November 15, 2016. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  13. ^ a b Swenson, Kyle (January 5, 2018). "Rebekah Mercer, the billionaire backer of Bannon and Trump, chooses sides". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on January 7, 2018. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
  14. ^ a b c d Zuckerman, Gregory, Keach Hagey, Scott Patterson and Rebecca Ballhaus, "Meet the Mercers: A Quiet Tycoon and His Daughter Become Power Brokers in Trump’s Washington" (subscription) Archived March 7, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, Wall Street Journal, January 8, 2017. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
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  16. ^ a b "Exclusive: Anti-Clinton PAC Adding TV Commercials". Time. Archived from the original on June 23, 2017. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  17. ^ "Make America Number 1 - FactCheck.org". FactCheck.org. November 3, 2016. Archived from the original on May 1, 2017. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  18. ^ Dana Bash and Marshall Cohen (October 27, 2017). "GOP megadonor requested Trump's data firm organize hacked Clinton emails". CNN. Archived from the original on October 28, 2017.
  19. ^ Chia, Jessica (October 28, 2017). "Trump donor asked data firm if it could index WikiLeaks emails". Daily News. New York. Archived from the original on October 29, 2017.
  20. ^ Confessore, Nicholas (October 25, 2017). "Assange Says WikiLeaks Rejected Request by Data Firm Tied to Trump". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 28, 2017.
  21. ^ The reclusive hedge-fund tycoon behind the Trump presidency Archived September 25, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, The New Yorker, Jane Mayer, March 27, 2017. Retrieved March 24, 2017.
  22. ^ "Transcript: Donald Trump's Taped Comments About Women". New York Times. October 8, 2016. Archived from the original on September 19, 2019.
  23. ^ "The billionaire donors standing behind Donald Trump after the tape". USA Today. Archived from the original on January 5, 2018. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  24. ^ "President-Elect Donald J. Trump Announces New Vice Chairs and Executive Committee Members Serving on Presidential Transition Team". November 30, 2016. Archived from the original on April 6, 2017.
  25. ^ Vogel, Kenneth P. (November 21, 2016). "The heiress quietly shaping Trump's operation". Politico. Archived from the original on January 26, 2017.
  26. ^ a b c Chung, Juliet (April 27, 2010). "Mega Merger: Six Apartments May Make One". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on November 14, 2016. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  27. ^ Correll, Diana Stancy. "Top Trump donor Rebekah Mercer cuts off Steve Bannon". Washington Examiner. Archived from the original on January 4, 2018. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  28. ^ a b Dawsey, Josh; Parker, Ashley (January 4, 2018). "Trump lawyer seeks to block insider book on White House". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on January 3, 2018. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
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  30. ^ "Cambridge Analytica and Scl Elections Commence Insolvency Proceedings and Release Results of Independent Investigation into Recent Allegations". CA Commercial. Cambridge Analytica. May 2, 2018. Archived from the original on May 2, 2018. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
  31. ^ Nichols, Shaun (May 2, 2018). "Cambridge Analytica dismantled for good? Nope: It just changed its name to Emerdata". The Register. Archived from the original on May 2, 2018. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
  32. ^ Ghosh, Shona (March 21, 2018). "The power players behind Cambridge Analytica have set up a mysterious new data company". Business Insider Australia. Archived from the original on March 21, 2018. Retrieved July 29, 2019.
  33. ^ "SCL GROUP LIMITED – Officers (free information from Companies House)". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Archived from the original on April 25, 2017. Retrieved July 29, 2019.
  34. ^ Brest, Mike. "New group looks to help veterans by finding reliable charities to support". Washington Examiner. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  35. ^ Alexis Benveniste. "Meet Rebekah Mercer, the deep-pocketed co-founder of Parler, a controversial conservative social network". CNN. Archived from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
  36. ^ Paul, Elizabeth Culliford, Katie (February 4, 2021). "Parler CEO John Matze says he was fired by board". Reuters. Retrieved February 4, 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  37. ^ "Major Trump backer Rebekah Mercer orchestrates Parler’s second act" Rachel Lerman, The Washington Post, February 2021. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
  38. ^ Kaufman, Alexander C. (January 26, 2018). "Scientists Tell NYC's Natural History Museum To Boot Billionaire Trump Backer From Board". Archived from the original on March 17, 2018. Retrieved March 19, 2018 – via Huff Post.
  39. ^ a b Pogrebin, Robin; Sengupta, Somini (2018). "A Science Denier at the Natural History Museum? Scientists Rebel". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 28, 2018. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
  40. ^ Kaufman, Alexander C. (March 7, 2018). "Gift Shop Stunt Ups Pressure On Natural History Museum To Jettison Trump Megadonor". Archived from the original on March 7, 2018. Retrieved March 8, 2018 – via Huff Post.
  41. ^ "Open Letter from Scientists to the American Museum of Natural History". Archived from the original on March 22, 2020. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  42. ^ "Rebekah Mercer, Billionaire Donor to Anti-Climate Science Causes, Is Off the American Museum of Natural History Board". artnet News. February 24, 2020. Archived from the original on March 22, 2020. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
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