AG Spitzer Continues to Rake it in From Financial Firms

July 24, 2006, 1:00 a.m. EDT 1 Min Read

New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's campaign to clean up Wall Street hasn't stopped financiers from pumping money into his 2006 gubernatorial campaign, according to The New York Times.

The latest campaign finance reports, filed with the state Board of Elections on July 15, show that although financial companies have not directly contributed to the Democrat, many prominent individuals form the industry have.

Finance industry leaders join Hollywood directors, horse breeders and heiresses reflected among the nearly 7,000 contributions to his $11 million war chest.

Byron Trott, co-head of Goldman Sachs, and Laurence Grafstein, a managing director at Lazard, both contributed money to Spitzer. Steve Rattner of the private equity firm Quadrangle Group has given $50,100, while Ira Riklis of Sutherland Capital Management has contributed $50,000. Robert Soros of Soros Capital Management, Daniel Benton of Andor Capital Management, Henry Laufer of Renaissance Partners, and David Kowitz of Industrial Capital Partners each gave $25,000 to the two-term Attorney General.

S.P. Wijegoonaratna of Fortress Investment has given $10,000, as has David Ganek of Level Global Investors.

And while Spitzer's coffers far outsize those of his competitors, some financial companies have also contributed to his Democratic challenger, Thomas R. Suozzi. Among Suozzi's biggest backers is Home Depot founder Kennth G. Langone. Suozzi, who has raised $4 million, also received $10,000 from Anthony Gerard of Azimuth Asset Management, $2,000 from Gerard Asset Management, $1,000 from Sheffield Asset Management and another $5,000 from Royal Capital Management, according to July 15 filings.

Republican Candidate John Faso had raised $1.5 million as of the July 15 filing.

The staff of Money Management Executive ("MME") has prepared these capsule summaries based on reports published by the news sources to which they are attributed. Those news sources are not associated with MME, and have not prepared, sponsored, endorsed, or approved these summaries.