Thread: Who are the millionaires bankrolling the 2016 presidential race?

Yes the article only mentions the few top contributors but Monsanto has contributed aside from speaking fee payments.
Article from July 17, 2015, 6 mths ago - the numbers could be more now. She hired a former Monsanto lobbyist & political fixer, Jerry Crawford, as adviser in April & to run her campaign in July '15.
Lobbyists for Monsanto, ExxonMobil Raise Money for Hillary Clinton

Registered lobbyists brought in more than $2 million in fundraising for the Clinton campaign, recent filings show.

Ben Brody @BenBrodyDC

July 17, 2015 — 4:50 AM EDT

When Barack Obama was running for the presidency in 2008—and later for reelection in 2012—he promised he wouldn't take money from registered lobbyists, not even as bundlers. In the race to succeed him, Hillary Clinton is not following in his footsteps.

The former secretary of state raised more than $2 million from 40 "bundlers"—fundraisers who get their contacts to give to campaigns—who were also lobbyists, according to financial forms released Wednesday by the Federal Election Commission. In all, the Clinton campaign raised $46.7 million between the beginning of April and the end of June.

Bundlers, who are often wealthy or well-connected individuals, do more than donate to campaigns. They put their social networks to work for favorite candidates, persuading (often equally wealthy and well-connected) family members, friends, colleagues, and other contacts to donate as well, effectively bringing in far more money than they could under the current legal donation limits. Individuals can contribute $2,700 to candidate committees (as opposed to super PACS) for the primary election and the same amount for the general election, for a total of $5,400 in a campaign cycle. Campaigns don't have to disclose their bundlers—unless those bundlers are also lobbyists.

Clinton's bundlers include some familiar names: Jerry Crawford, an outside lobbyist to Monsanto and Iowa kingmaker, put together another $35,000 or so. Tony Podesta, a mega-lobbyist who co-founded the Podesta Group and is the brother of Clinton's campaign chair John, bundled almost $75,000.

John Podesta himself previewed the open-for-lobbying-donations strategy back in April, telling PBS' Charlie Rose show, "I think that our judgment was we will take money if it's legal, obviously" because of how much opponents were raising. "So, we're going to raise the resources that are necessary," he said.

Other bundlers lobby for big companies including Microsoft (Fred Humphries) and Exxon Mobil (Theresa Fariello) or industry groups including the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (Daphna Peled). Another group includes former staffers for prominent Democratic politicians (including President Clinton) and politicians themselves, including former South Carolina Governor Jim Hodges. Lobbyist bundlers don't have to disclose their employers, but the names appear on both Clinton's disclosures and 2015 lobbyist registrations.

Clinton spokesman Josh Schwerin said in an email that 94 percent of the more than 250,000 donors to Clinton's campaign gave $250 or less. "Regardless of the size of their donation, the people who support Hillary’s campaign know that’s what she’s fighting for—working to ensure we have an economy that works for all Americans and not just those at the top, one that allows everyday Americans to get ahead and stay ahead," Schwerin wrote.

http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/ar...illary-clinton