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Apparently, Marco Rubio has only one constituency: billionaires. Average Americans need not apply. What favors does Rubio now owe these billionaires? One thing is certain, these billionaires make money with cheap labor, and that's a cause that Rubio is sure to champion for them.
With Marco Rubio ascendant, will Larry Ellison double down?
By Josh Richman - 10/17/2015
With Marco Rubio ascendant, will Larry Ellison double down?
By Josh Richman - 10/17/2015
Months after Silicon Valley's richest man pumped millions into the super PAC backing Marco Rubio's presidential campaign, the Florida senator is once again climbing in the polls.
The $3 million that Larry Ellison gave to the Conservative Solutions PAC in May and June is by far the largest commitment anyone in California has made so far to a 2016 presidential candidate, once again putting the colorful Oracle founder in a league of his own. And it's possible he and others have anted up even more since the Federal Election Commission's last reporting deadline on June 30.
It's testament to the power one person with an outsized ego and checkbook to match can wield in an era of unlimited contributions that began in 2010 with the U.S. Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling.
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Nor is Ellison the only billionaire megadonor in Rubio's corner.
Norman Braman, a Miami car dealer and former Philadelphia Eagles owner, gave $5 million to Conservative Solutions. And Las Vegas casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, who dumped at least $93 million into 2012's elections, recently met privately with Rubio and might endorse him soon, Politico reported.
But Ellison's fortune, estimated by Forbes at $47.1 billion, far exceeds those of Adelson ($27.2 billion) and Braman ($1.95 billion) combined. No matter what "gravitas, or wisdom beyond his years" Ellison might see in Rubio, that huge bankroll must be what Rubio sees in Ellison, said Adam Goodman, a Tampa-based GOP strategist.
"That's probably a phone call that Marco will always be returning," he said.
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http://www.mercurynews.com/politics...ubio-ascendant-will-larry-ellison-double-down