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| Jeb Bush grabs cash from Iran and Cuba emigres while opposing Obama policies | Jeb Bush grabs cash from Iran and Cuba emigres while opposing Obama policies |
| (34 minutes later) | |
| Emigres from Iran and Cuba are at the top of Jeb Bush’s record-breaking presidential fundraising haul, according to campaign finance disclosures that paint the former Florida governor’s opposition to Barack Obama’s twin foreign policy priorities in stark new light. | Emigres from Iran and Cuba are at the top of Jeb Bush’s record-breaking presidential fundraising haul, according to campaign finance disclosures that paint the former Florida governor’s opposition to Barack Obama’s twin foreign policy priorities in stark new light. |
| Mike Fernandez, a Florida-based private equity billionaire who moved from Cuba in the 1960s, appears to be the largest single donor – giving just over $3m in three contributions to the Bush-supporting Right to Rise group since March. | |
| Hushang Ansary, Iran’s ambassador to the US before the revolution who is now based in Texas, is joint second on the list – contributing $2m together with his wife, Shahla Ansary. | |
| Only US citizens or green-card holders can make contributions to political campaigns. Both men have lived in the US for decades. | |
| Nineteen families or corporations have given more than $1m, according to the filings made available on Friday. | Nineteen families or corporations have given more than $1m, according to the filings made available on Friday. |
| The Right to Rise political action committee, known as a Super Pac for its unlimited donation limits, has raised more than $100m to help Bush’s presidential campaign since it launched, although it is technically independent from the candidate under Federal Election Commission rules. | The Right to Rise political action committee, known as a Super Pac for its unlimited donation limits, has raised more than $100m to help Bush’s presidential campaign since it launched, although it is technically independent from the candidate under Federal Election Commission rules. |
| Ansary, who has business interests in the oil industry, has long been a big donor to the Bush family, having contributed heavily to George W Bush’s campaign in the 1990s. | Ansary, who has business interests in the oil industry, has long been a big donor to the Bush family, having contributed heavily to George W Bush’s campaign in the 1990s. |
| Three other Texas-based couples who made their money from oil also gave $2m each: Richard and Nancy Kinder, Ray and Nancy Hunt, and Trevor and Jan Rees-Jones. | Three other Texas-based couples who made their money from oil also gave $2m each: Richard and Nancy Kinder, Ray and Nancy Hunt, and Trevor and Jan Rees-Jones. |
| Fernandez has written about how he cannot forget “the brutality of the regime” in Cuba, having witnessed the death of a man by firing squad there at the age of nine. But he has also argued it is “time to accept change” in the island’s relationship with the US. | Fernandez has written about how he cannot forget “the brutality of the regime” in Cuba, having witnessed the death of a man by firing squad there at the age of nine. But he has also argued it is “time to accept change” in the island’s relationship with the US. |
| “I am not a fan of President Obama but after 50-plus years, this is long overdue,” he added in a statement issued at the time of the White House deal with Cuba. | “I am not a fan of President Obama but after 50-plus years, this is long overdue,” he added in a statement issued at the time of the White House deal with Cuba. |
| Helen Schwab, wife of multibillionaire Charles Schwab, gave $1.5m. According to Forbes, Charles Schwab, 78, the largest shareholder and executive chairman of the brokerage that bears his name, is worth $7.3bn. | Helen Schwab, wife of multibillionaire Charles Schwab, gave $1.5m. According to Forbes, Charles Schwab, 78, the largest shareholder and executive chairman of the brokerage that bears his name, is worth $7.3bn. |
| Other members of the Bush family also gave a lot of cash. Jeb’s father, former president George HW Bush, donated $125,000; his brother, former president George W Bush, gave $95,000. American Pacific International Capital, where Jeb’s brother Neil sits on the board, gave $1.3m. | |
| Former US ambassadors appointed by the two Bush presidents gave a total of $3.8m. | |
| Among big donors are hedge fund billionaire Louis Bacon who gave $1m through his hedge fund Moore Capital Management. Bacon, who is worth $1.75bn according to Forbes, hosted a glitzy party in support of Mitt Romney before the last election and has donated £250,000 to the Conservative party in the UK. | |
| Bacon owns luxury homes in New York, the Bahamas, London and Colorado. Earlier this year he filed a $50m defamation lawsuit against a Bahamas vacation-home neighbour, the Finnish-Canadian fashion boss Peter Nygard, over an allegedly “obsessive and malicious” smear campaign against him. | |
| Another hedge fund billionaire, Robert Day, chairman and chief executive of the Californian Oakmount Corporation, donated $1m. | |
| The managing director of Barclays bank in New York, Stephen Lessing, donated $250,000. Lessing was a top executive at Lehman Brothers in the run-up to its collapse. | |
| A lot of the money, nearly $30m, came from Florida where Jeb Bush served as governor for eight years. |