Hillary's Superbackers in Pressuring Pelosi and the Superdelegates

There is a lot to pour over here, but the following folks are the ones who are pressuring Speaker Pelosi to go against the popular vote in the Democratic Primary. Their backgrounds are tied to huge sums of wealth, sometimes conservative views and ties with people such as Rupert Murdoch’s Newscorp and The Carlyle Group, to name a few. Some are not. Senator Clinton even met with the Tribune-Review newspaper in Greensburg, PA recently - owned by Dick Scaife, who spent huge sums on attacking the Clintons during the Lewinsky scandal, where she brought up Obama's pastor. Has Scaife now endorsed Clinton? A question I'd like to know.

The names of Hillary's superbackers in this election include Marc Aronchick, Clarence Avant, Susie Tompkins Buell, Sim Farar, Robert L. Johnson, Chris Korge, Marc and Cathy Lasry, Hassan Nemazee, Alan and Susan Patricof, JB Pritzker, Amy Rao, Lynn Forester de Rothschild, Haim Saban, Bernard Schwartz, Stanley S. Shuman, Jay and Tracy Snyder, Maureen White, Steven Rattner. I’ve listed their backgrounds and their ties below. And they're willing to blow the party apart if they don't get their candidate and their way.

It’s exhaustive reading, but eye opening. Are these the people Democrats want determining their candidate over the popular vote? And many are part of the ultra-wealthy who have, at times backed Republican candidates and causes, as well. Others have been strictly Democratic backers, and some have ties to the huge telecom companies, security companies, and defense companies. (A question: Is this perhaps why Hillary was the only Senator who was not present to vote on whether or not to give retroactive immunity to the telecoms? And the only Democrat not to vote on it?

So who ARE Hillary’s backers? If you read on, the research I’ve done is a bit breathtaking. If you want to show your disapproval and your clout in maintaining the Democratic process, you can boycott those ventures who back this rather uncommon display of subverting the Democratic Process in the Democratic Party and you can write letters to their companies. Perhaps they will lose. It has given me no confidence in the open process that we would hope for under a 2nd Clinton Administration.

If they (the listed donors) win, perhaps we can re-name it the Cash Cow Party, or the Lobbyist Party. Some of the companies you can boycott if you disapprove? With some of the media conglomerates and moneys this group controls, one must ask, how will anyone report on Senator Clinton properly in their media enterprises?

Names and companies below.

1. Steven "Steve" Rattner is an American venture capitalist. As of 2004 he is founder and managing principal at private investment firm Quadrangle Group, which invests media and communications companies in the United States and Europe. A graduate of Brown University, Rattner started his career as a reporter with the New York Times, first at the Washington bureau, where he became close friends with Times owner Arthur Sulzberger, who also was at the time working as a reporter, and then at the London bureau. Subsequently, he quit journalism and joined Morgan Stanley, where he founded their Communications Group. In 1989 he joined Lazard as a General Partner; he founded their Media and Communications Group and became their deputy chairman and deputy CEO before leaving to found Quadrangle.

Bresnan Broadband Holdings, LLC ("Bresnan") and Comcast Corporation (“Comcast”) have entered into a definitive agreement for Comcast to transfer to Bresnan cable television systems serving 317,000 basic subscribers in Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and Utah ("Mountain States"), the companies said today. Comcast will receive approximately $525 million in cash plus preferred and common equity interests in Bresnan. In addition to Comcast, Bresnan's equity owners include Providence Equity Partners Inc., as the lead investor, Quadrangle Group LLC, TD Capital Communications Partners, and Bresnan management.

2. Steven Rattner and Maureen White, National Finance Chair, The Democratic Party
(From Greetings: This alone is frightening)
Maureen is an active national and international human rights advocate. She serves as a US Government Representative to UNICEF and as the Chairman of the Leadership Council on Children Affected by Armed Conflict. She also sits on the Boards of Human Rights Watch and the International Rescue Committee. Prior to beginning her career in human rights work, Maureen worked as an international investment strategist as a partner at Clay-Finlay. Maureen and her husband, Steve Rattner, have four children: Rebecca, Daniel & David, and Izzy.

By Greg Sargent, New York Magazine (Email) Published Feb 20, 2006
Just when the Democrats should be poised to rake in big bucks to target the scandal-plagued GOP, the Democratic National Committee has quietly accepted the resignation of its top fund-raiser, Maureen White.

She is married to Wall Streeter Steven Rattner (who ruffled some feathers by joining Democrats for Bloomberg) and was the chief conduit of New York money. “We’re very grateful to Maureen,” says Howard Dean. Insiders say that Bill Clinton will host a big event in White’s honor in New York on April 10. It’ll be the former president’s first fund-raising event for Dean’s DNC. White raised huge sums for John Kerry and helped the DNC raise an off-year record $51 million in 2005. “Howard wanted to extend her stay as long as possible,” says one DNC-er. The job of chief fund-raiser is an exhausting and intense one, knowledgeable sources say, and after four and a half years, White decided she’d grown weary of her central role, though she’ll continue to help the party. A successor to White has not yet been named.

3. Robert Johnson , BET (Black Entertainment Television), Robert L. Johnson (born April 8, 1946) is an American businessman and the founder of Black Entertainment Television (BET), and is its former chairman and chief executive officer. Johnson is currently the chairman of RLJ Development which he is also founder. He is also the owner of the Charlotte Bobcats, a National Basketball Association franchise.

He became the first black billionaire in America in 2001. As of the end of 2007, he is one of two African American billionaires (The other being Oprah Winfrey) in The US, according to Forbes magazine. Forbes in 2007 estimated his wealth at $1.1 billion, not enough to make the Forbes 400 that year. (The minimum amount to be on the list in 2007 is $1.3 billion.).

J ohnson also serves on the boards of General Mills and Hilton Hotels.In 2006, Johnson became a staunch advocate of phasing-out the Estate tax. He went so far as to call the tax racist, although relatively few black people will have to pay this tax.

In late 2006, Johnson founded Our Stories Films, a Los Angeles-based film company. His partner is Harvey Weinstein, whose own new enterprise, the Weinstein Company, will serve as his distributor. JPMorgan Chase invested $175 million into Our Stories. His private equity fund is financed partly by the Washington-based Carlyle Group, while his hedge fund has backing from Deutsche Bank.

In 2007, Johnson was so inspired by new Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf that he and a delegation of several African-American leaders toured Liberia and committed to revitalizing the historic relationship between African-Americans and the war-torn country. This led to the creation of the $30 million Liberia Enterprise Development Fund.[6] Months later Johnson wrote a controversial letter to the Washington Post advocating that the new AFRICOM Military Command be based in Liberia. Johnson has also called for "African-Americans to support Liberia like Jewish-Americans support Israel".[6]

In January, 2008, Johnson became the target of criticism for remarks he made to supporters of Hillary Clinton about Barack Obama. Johnson taunted Obama about his self-confessed past cocaine use. The Clinton campaign denied this, submitting that the comments were referring to Obama's work as a community organizer. In subsequent days, Johnson was roundly criticized for his comments as hypocritical given the prodigious glorification of drug use and sale by artists prominently featured on BET.

3. Marc Aronchick: Hangley Aronchick Segal and Pudlin law firm, Mr. Aronchick served as a member of the Civil Rules Committee of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and as a member of the Judicial Council of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He previously served as a member of the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. Mr. Aronchick also served as a member of the Bench Bar Relations Task Force of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He has served as chair of the Board of Ethics of the City of Philadelphia. He has served as a federal and state court appointed arbitrator or mediator, and as a Judge Pro Tem of the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County. Mr. Aronchick has a diverse national trial and appellate practice, including health care fraud and abuse, health care litigation, controversies involving financial institutions, antitrust, environmental, employment, securities, class actions, construction, professional malpractice, governmental, administrative, general business and white collar criminal defense cases. (Greetings: A good person to have on your side going into the PA primary.)

4. Clarence Avant, Universal Publishing Group and Motown/Polygram Acknowledged as a father figure by numerous performers and producers, Avant has been honored publicly for his positive contributions to society. In 1993, Avant was named Chairman of Motown Records and, four years later, he became the first African-American to serve on the International Management Board for Polygram. Today, Avant is president of his own publishing companies, Avant Garde and Interior Music Corp. Clarence Avant also serves a member of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and the Pepsi-Cola African-American Advisory Board.

5. Susie Tompkins Buell Esprit Clothing and Susie Tompkins Buell Foundation

6. Sim Farrar Signalife, Inc and other investments by, Signalife
The 2008 Frost & Sullivan Patient Monitoring Technology Innovation of the Year Award was presented to Signalife in recognition of its superior leadership and vision in patient monitoring with its Fidelity heart monitoring systems. Signalife’s unique technology provides unprecedented signal clarity in the highly sought-after real-time, wireless cardiac monitoring arena. Its ability to understand and recognize market needs and then develop innovative and unique technologies to address those dilemmas has earned Signalife the 2008 Frost & Sullivan Technology Innovation of the Year Award in the North American Patient Monitoring Market.

Signalife (SGN), a Greenville, SC, firm specialized in biomedical signal monitoring, has hired a new distribution organization for its Fidelity 100 product line. The technology, originally developed to monitor brain waves of U.S. Air Force Pilots, compresses and reduces noise prior to amplifying an ECG signal, improving signal quality. The new sales group consists of independent distributor reps for cardiac rhythm management products. The initial focus will be on the Southern region of the U.S., from North Carolina to Texas. Additional representation is already under consideration in other areas of the country. Signalife will start with 25 sales reps and may increase that to 50 by the end of the year. The independent reps will go after its existing relationships with physicians and hospitals, a group that Signalife CEO Pamela Bunes says “mirror the desired call points for our company.” (Note from greetings: Health care costs?)

7. Chris Korge From the Miami Herald: Chris Korge hates to be called a lobbyist. "I'm an attorney," he huffs. True, he is an attorney, but he is primarily a lobbyist -- arguably the top lobbyist today in Miami-Dade County. The two dozen clients he represents before the county commission include venerable institutions such as BellSouth, Host-Marriott, and Parsons Brinckerhoff Construction Services.
Avenue Capital, NYC

8. Marc and Cathy Lasry
Marc Lasry is one of the pioneers of the distressed securities market, which has been the exclusive focus of his professional career. Marc is a Founder and Managing Partner of Avenue Capital Group, the distressed fund manager with assets totaling over $5 billion. He is also the Founder and Senior Managing Director of Amroc, one of the largest broker/dealers of distressed securities. Prior to operating Amroc as an independent entity, Marc and Amroc were affiliated with Acadia Partners L.P., an investment partnership whose general partners include Keystone, Inc. (an investment partnership firm that was affiliated with the Robert M. Bass Group), American Express Company, and the Equitable Life Assurance Society of America. Marc previously was Co-Director of the Bankruptcy and Corporate Reorganization Department at Cowen & Company. Prior to that time, he served as Director of the Private Debt Department at Smith Vasiliou Management Company. Previously, Marc specialized in bankruptcy law at the New York law firm of Angel & Frankel.

9. Hassan Nemazee
Cochair, Carret Asset Management Group LLC, Cochair, Brean Murray, Carret & Co., LLC, and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Nemazee Capital Corporation, New York; board of Asia Society. (from Wikipedia) is a multimillionaire Iranian-American investment banker. Nemazee was born in Washington, D.C. on January 27, 1950 and attended Landon School, graduating in 1968. He received his AB degree with Honors from Harvard University in 1972. Nemazee has not returned to Iran since the Iranian revolution. Most of his family's property was seized by the new Iranian government (Greetings question - how would this affect policy with Iran?)

10. Susan Patricof and Alan Patricof
Susan Patricof, Sister-in-law of producer/Tribeca Film Center honcho Jane Rosenthal. Virtually plays herself as 'auction bidde" in her sole film role, since she is not a full-time actress, but rather the wife of wealthy venture-capital entrepreneur Alan Patricof. Both were early major financial supporters of, and now friends, with President Bill Clinton.

Alan Patricof is the founder and managing director of Greycroft, LLC. A longtime innovator and advocate for venture capital, Mr. Patricof entered the industry in its formative days with the creation of Patricof & Co. Ventures Inc., a predecessor to Apax Partners, Inc. of which he was founder and chairman. In 2006, this led to his formation of Greycroft Partners, a venture capital firm focused on the digital media sector. During the past 40 years, he has participated in the financing and development of a large number of public and private companies. He has helped foster and grow a number of global companies, such as Apple Computer, America Online, Cadence Systems, Office Depot, FORE Systems, Cellular Communications, Inc., NTL and Audible, Inc. He was also a founder and chairman of the board of New York magazine, which later acquired the Village Voice and New West magazine. Currently, Mr. Patricof sits on the boards of Boston Properties, Pump Audio, Content Next, Handmark, Inc., The Newsmarket, and VoodooVox.

11. JB Pritzker
Ranked 451 among The World's Richest People In 2006 Grandchild of A.N. Pritzker (d. 1986), who, with sons Jay (d. 1999) and Robert, created industrial conglomerate Marmon (2004 sales: $6.4 billion) and hotel chain Hyatt (211 hotels worldwide).Mr. Pritzker is a Partner of and founded New World Ventures in 1996, which has become one of Chicago's prominent early-stage technology fund managers. He is also Managing Partner of The Pritzker Group. A founding board member of the Illinois Venture Capital Association, a founding director of the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center, and a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization, Pritzker has been a forceful and active proponent of a stronger technology base in the Midwest region. He also continues to serve on a variety of other private corporate boards. Pritzker is a trustee and serves on the investment committee of Northwestern University

12. Amy Rao, who's the founder and CEO of Integrated Archive Systems, a technology services firm in Palo Alto. Rao also dislikes the term "fundraiser." And yet she and Buell raise funds for Democrats in prodigious amounts, a fact that may explain why they are such sought-after friends among Democratic candidates (and why Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton flew out to visit Buell when she turned 60 last August). Susie Tompkins Buell and Amy Rao speak every day, inevitably about politics. Buell is godmother to Rao's daughter. Rao spends weekends at Buell's retreat, in a small coastal village north of San Francisco. They are best friends. Between them, Buell and Rao have a lot of other friends. And a lot of people who want to be their friends, some of them quite ambitious.

13. Lady de Rothschild is Founder and Chief Executive of E L Rothschild LLC, a private company, since June 2002. From 1990 to 2002, Lady de Rothschild was President and Chief Executive Officer of FirstMark Holdings, Inc., which owned and managed various telecommunications companies. She was Executive Vice President for Development at Metromedia Telecommunications, Inc. from 1984 to 1989. She began her career in 1980 as an associate at the law firm of Simpson, Thacher and Bartlett LLP, where she practiced corporate law. Lady de Rothschild is a director of The Economist Newspaper Limited (member of the Audit Committee). She is also a member of the U.N. Advisory Committee on Inclusive Financial Services and a trustee of the American Fund for the Tate Gallery, the Outward Bound Trust (UK), and the Alfred Herrhausen Society for International Dialogue (Deutsche Bank). Lady de Rothschild is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Foreign Policy Association, and she served as a member of the National Information Infrastructure Advisory Committee and as the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board under President Clinton.

In 2000, she married her 3rd husband , Sir Evelyn Robert Adrian de Rothschild (born August 29, 1931) is a British financier and a member of the prominent Rothschild banking family of England. The son of Anthony Gustav de Rothschild (1887-1961) and Yvonne Cahen d'Anvers (1899-1977). In 1968, Evelyn de Rothschild was appointed a director of Paris-based de Rothschild Frères. In 1976 he took over as bank chairman from Victor Rothschild and in 1982 became chairman of Rothschilds Continuation Holdings AG, the co-ordinating company for the merchant banking group. He became co-chairman of Rothschild Bank A.G., Zurich in 1994, serving until 2003 when he oversaw the merger of the family's French and UK houses.
* Chairman - The Economist (1972-1989) * Chairman - British Merchant Banking & Securities House Association (1985-1989) * Deputy Chairman - Milton Keynes Development Corporation (1971-1984) * Chairman - United Racecourses (1977-1994) * Director - De Beers Consolidated Mines (1977-1994) * Director - IBM United Kingdom Holdings Limited (1972-1995)

Evelyn de Rothschild also served as a Director of the newspaper group owned by Lord Beaverbrook. Years later, he served for a time as a Director of Lord Black's Daily Telegraph newspaper and was a member of the Hollinger International Advisory Board (The Chicago Sun-Times media group).

13. Jay Snyder is a member of the US Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy. Snyder is also a principal of HBJ Investments, LLC, and Ashfield Consulting Group, a financial services firm. Snyder’s past service includes serving as a U.S. Representative to the 55th United Nations General Assembly and later as a public delegate involved in a variety of issues, including the global HIV/AIDS pandemic, sustainable development, and U.S. efforts at UN reform. Snyder has also served as vice president of Biocraft Laboratories, and as managing director for the Mayberry Core Asset Management Group.

14. Stanley Shuman is Managing Director of Allen & Company LLC, the investment banking firm. He currently serves on the Boards of News Corporation (Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News Group) and SESAC. He also serves on numerous civic and non profit boards, including Carnegie Hall, WNET/Channel 13, the Museum of Television and Radio, The Lower Manhattan Development Corp; Chairman of Center for New York City Law. He has served as Chairman of the Board of Visitors of the Institute of Public Policy Service and Public Affairs at Duke University; is a Charter Trustee of Phillips Academy, Andover and is a member of the Executive Committee of the Committee on University Resources at Harvard. He was appointed by President Clinton to the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, served for 19 years as a member of the Financial Control Board for the City of New York, and he is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and The Economic Club of New York.

15. Bernard Leon Schwartz (born December 12, 1926, Brooklyn, New York) was the Chairman of the Board and CEO of Loral Space & Communications, Chairman and CEO of K&F Industries, Inc., Chairman and CEO of Loral Corp., and president and CEO of Globalstar. During his time at Loral, he was instrumental in helping the Chinese military to acquire weapons techonology. He is currently the Chairman and CEO of BLS Investments, his own investment firm located in Manhattan. According to NBC News, from 1992 to 1996 he was the single largest contributor to the Democratic Party.

Loral Space & Communications Inc. is a satellite communications company headed by Michael B. Targoff and incorporated in Delaware. The company was formed in 1996 from the remnants of Loral Corporation when Loral divested its defense electronics and system integration businesses to Lockheed Martin for $9.1 billion. In 2006, Bernard L. Schwartz retired after leading the company for many years. Loral presently operates satellite manufacturing company Space Systems/Loral (acquired in 1990 as the Space Systems Division of Ford Aerospace), and has an investment in Telesat Canada in partnership with the Public Pension Investment Board of Canada. The company also participates in a number of international and domestic joint ventures, including an ownership stake in XTAR.History

In January 2002, Loral reached a settlement with the U.S. Government in a case relating to the company’s involvement in a review of a Chinese rocket launch failure in 1996. Loral agreed to pay a civil fine of $14 million to the State Department without admitting or denying the government’s charges. "Loral and US Government Settle Chinese Launch Matter", Loral news release, January 9, 2002.

On July 15, 2003, Loral and certain subsidiaries filed voluntary petitions under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. In conjunction with the filing, Loral announced the sale of its North American satellite fleet to Intelsat to help reduce its debt. Loral emerged from Chapter 11 on November 21, 2005. Globalstar is a low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation for telephone and low-speed data communications, similar to (and competing with) the Iridium satellite system.
(Note from Greetings: Could this be why Hillary was the only senator not present for the vote on whether or not to grant retroactive immmunity to the telecoms. Obama was present and voted against it.)

16. Haim Saban (I’ve saved for last – the long list of companies and their ties is somewhat terrifying if you are thinking of backing Senator Clinton)
Haim Saban and his family, along with much of the Egyptian Jewish community, fled Egypt for Israel after the 1956 Suez War. With an estimated current net worth of around $3.4 billion, he is ranked by Forbes as the 102nd richest person in America. He currently resides in Beverly Hills, California, and in Israel. Saban started his career as a concert organizer. In France, he participated in the introduction of Japanese anime and sentai TV series in the country. Saban Productions (TV and Film). In the United States, he became a television producer, founding Saban Entertainment in 1983. In the 1990s, Saban's company became best known for the adaptations of Power Rangers, Masked Rider, VR Troopers and Big Bad Beetleborgs. In 2003 he headed the $5.7 billion purchase of Kirch Media Group, the then-bankrupt German media conglomerate. In 2001, he and News Corporation (Rupert Murdoch and Fox) sold Fox Family Worldwide for $5.1 billion to The Walt Disney Company for ABC - the network was renamed ABC Family Channel. Saban made about $1.6 billion from this sale, making it the largest transaction between a company and a private citizen ever. In June 2006, he was part of an investor group led by Texas Pacific Group of Fort Worth, Texas and Thomas H. Lee Partners that won the bid for Univisión, the largest Spanish-language media company in the United States. The bid was for $12.7 billion (USD). Shareholders have filed a lawsuit over the handling of the deal.

Saban summarized his politics in a 2004 New York Times interview with the statement, "I'm a one-issue guy and my issue is Israel." Saban has donated to the US Democratic Party and the Israeli Labor Party, he has also donated to Republicans including George W. Bush, and has business affiliations with Rupert Murdoch.

TPG Capital (formerly Texas Pacific Group, commonly referred to as "TPG") is a private equity investment firm Notable companies TPG has owned or invested in over the years include Continental Airlines, Ducati, Neiman Marcus, Burger King, J. Crew, Lenovo, MGM, Seagate, Alltel Wireless, Harrah's, Avaya, Freescale Semiconductor, and Univision. TPG is among the "megafunds" in the private equity industry as well as one of the four most elite players (TPG, The Blackstone Group, KKR, and The Carlyle Group)

In recent years Blackstone has made significant investments in the hotel and commercial real estate industries by buying and taking private seven large publicly-traded firms:
* On February 1, 2008, Microsoft announced that it will be advised by the Blackstone Group in the unsolicited $44.6 billion bid for Yahoo, along with Morgan Stanley.[2]
* On July 3, 2007, Blackstone Group and Hilton Hotels Corporation announced plans for the Blackstone Group to acquire Hilton Hotels Corporation with all debt assumed in an all cash deal valued at $26 billion.[3][4]
* On July 1, 2007, Blackstone sold Global Tower Partners to Macquarie Infrastructure Partners for an enterprise value of $1.425 billion. Global Tower Partners is a leading owner and operator of wireless towers and sites.[5]
* In May 2007, the government of the People's Republic of China through its China Investment Corporation agreed to buy $3 billion non-voting stock in Blackstone, which is slightly less than a 10% stake. As a result Blackstone has increased its initial public offering to $7.8 billion worth of stock, which includes the China stake.
* In May, 2007, Blackstone agreed to purchase Alliance Data for $7.8 billion but changed its mind in January, 2008.
* In April, 2007, Blackstone agreed to sell Extended Stay Hotels, based in Spartanburg, South Carolina and its brands to The Lightstone Group for $8 billion.
* In March, 2007, Blackstone filed for $4 billion initial public offering, preparing to change private to a public firm.[6]
* In March, 2007 Blackstone purchased The Tussauds Group, for £1 billion from Dubai International Capital.[7]
* In December, 2006, Blackstone as part of a Consortium of private equity funds including Goldman Sachs Capital Partners, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and TPG, agreed to purchase all stock shares of Biomet for approximately $10.9 billion. Biomet is a worldwide manufacturer and marketer of hip, knee, shoulder, and spinal implants and supporting surgical supplies for the orthopedic industry.
* In November, 2006, Blackstone agreed through its affiliate, Blackstone Real Estate Partners, to acquire billionaire Sam Zell's Equity Office Properties Trust, for approximately $39 billion. Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and a few others acted as financial advisors to Blackstone in the deal. Prior to the takeover Equity Office was the nation’s largest publicly held office building owner and manager. Its total office portfolio consisted of whole or partial interests in 580 buildings comprising 108,600,000 square feet (10,090,000 m²) in 16 states and the District of Columbia. The acquisition was the biggest takeover of a real estate company and the largest private equity deal in history.[8]
* In September, 2006, Blackstone led a consortium buyout of Freescale Semiconductor. The other members of the consortium were the Carlyle Group, Permira Funds and the Texas Pacific Group. [9]
* In July, 2006, Blackstone Capital Partners agreed to purchase Encore Medical for $870 million in cash. Encore makes spine, knee, hip and shoulder implants for the orthopedic industry.
* In June, 2006, Blackstone entered into a definitive agreement with Cendant Corporation to acquire Travelport, its travel distribution services business for about $4.3B in cash. Travelport includes the Orbitz travel reservation website used by consumers, the Galileo computer reservations system used by airlines and travel agents, Gulliver’s wholesale travel business, and other travel-related software brands and solutions.
* Also in June, 2006, Blackstone teamed up with Canadian property firm Brookfield Properties to acquire U.S. office REIT Trizec Properties. Blackstone and Brookfield valued Trizec at $8.9 billion.
* Since April, 2006, Blackstone is a major shareholder (4.5%) of Germany's Deutsche Telekom.
* In February, 2006, Blackstone announced it would purchase Meristar Hospitality Corporation and its 57 hotel assets for $2.6B. Meristar's additional 10 Florida resorts (which Blackstone announced it would acquire separately several weeks before buying the entire company) were relaunched as members of the LXR brand.
* In January, 2006, Blackstone closed on its $3.4 billion previously announced acquisition of La Quinta Corporation, an owner, manager, and franchiser of limited service hotels under the La Quinta Inns, La Quinta Inns & Suites, and Baymont Inn & Suites brands. In March, 2006 Blackstone announced it would sell the Baymont Inn brand to the Cendant Hotel Group and re-brand Baymont's existing hotels as La Quintas.
* In June, 2005, Blackstone acquired Wyndham International for $3.2 billion. The Wyndham brand and management business was sold to Cendant Corp and 14 full-service Wyndham hotels located primarily in urban locations were sold to Columbia Sussex, a private hotel ownership and management business based outside Cincinnati. The 21 hotels that remained consisted of Wyndham's prized resort assets and included such properties as El Conquistador Resort & Spa in Puerto Rico, The Reach Resort in Key West, FL, and Carmel Valley Ranch in Carmel, CA. These assets were converted to the LXR brand. Summerfield Suites, Wyndham's extended stay offering was sold to Global Hyatt and renamed Hyatt Summerfield Suites.
* In October, 2004, Boca Resorts, Inc. agreed to be sold to Blackstone for $1.25 billion. Boca Resorts owned and operated five resort properties in Florida that were all transitioned to the LXR Luxury Resorts brand.
* In August, 2004, Blackstone paid $800 million to acquire Prime Hospitality. Prime's AmeriSuites brand was quickly sold to Global Hyatt and has since been reborn as Hyatt Place. Thirty-seven Wellesley Inns were converted to the Extended StayAmerica brand and the Prime Hotel Saratoga Springs was renamed The Saratoga and joined the LXR Luxury Resorts brand.
*In March, 2004, its major affiliate, Blackstone Real Estate Partners, paid $1.9 billion to acquire Extended StayAmerica. ESA has since been combined with Blackstone's previously-owned Homestead Village brand and rechristened Extended Stay Hotels.

The Carlyle Group is a Washington, D.C., USA based global private equity investment firm with more than $81.1 billion of equity capital under management.[1] The firm operates four fund families, focusing on leveraged buyouts, venture & growth capital, real estate and leveraged finance investments. The firm employs more than 575 investment professionals in 21 countries with several offices in North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia; its portfolio companies employ more than 286,000 people worldwide. Carlyle has over 1200 investors in 68 countries. The firm is well known for the dozens of world political figures and luminaries it has employed. Some of these figures, such as George H. W. Bush and his Secretary of State James A. Baker III, have generated controversy stemming from allegations of conflicts of interest.

Though known for its expertise in aerospace and defense, Carlyle invested more than thirty percent of its assets in the telecommunications and media sector. Noted portfolio companies are Dex Media, the former directories business of Qwest Communications; Willcom, a Japanese wireless company; Casema, a Dutch cable company; and Insight Communications, the ninth largest cable company in the U.S.

The Carlyle Group was once a major investor in US Investigations Services, which is the privatized arm of the United States Office of Personnel Management's Office of Federal Investigations, but has since divested itself, selling its stake to Providence Equity Partners in 2007. Brand-name companies that Carlyle owns include: Dunkin' Brands, which owns Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins, and dental hygiene company Water Pik. Carlyle also recently took rental car company Hertz public.

In March 2008, Carlyle Capital Corporation, established in August 2006[12] for the purpose of making investments in U.S. mortgage-backed securities, defaulted on about US$ 16.6 billion of debt as the global credit crunch brought about by the subprime mortgage crisis worsened for leveraged investors. The Guernsey-based affiliate of Carlyle was very heavily leveraged , up to 32 times by some accounts, and it expects its creditors to seize its remaining assets.[13] Tremors in the mortgage markets induced several of Carlyle's 13 lenders to make margin calls or to declare Carlyle in default on its loans. Carlyle acquired United Defense Industries in October 1997, bringing in over 60% of Carlyle's defense business. United Defense went public on the New York Stock Exchange in December 2001 with Carlyle retaining a stock ownership position.

Connections between the Carlyle and the Bush family have inspired controversy, particularly in relation to the War on Terror and the Iraq War. George H. W. Bush and his Secretary of State James A. Baker III have at times been advisors to the group. One writer claimed that Saudi Arabian interests have given $1.4 billion to firms connected to the Bush family. Of this figure, $1.18 billion comes from contracts awarded to defense contractor Braddock, Dunn & McDonald, which Carlyle sold before George H. W. Bush became an advisor.[23] A Carlyle spokesman noted in 2003 that its 7 percent interest in defense industries was far less than several other venture capital groups.

(Last note from Greetings: Senator Clinton - Will you release your tax filings before the Pennsylvania election? These are some serious ties listed above.)