Recycled Fortunes
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.
–Genesis
As it is with men, so it is with their fortunes.
In this country, at least, it seems like vast business fortunes often get returned to the economy — or at least, media consultants — in the form of spending on political campaigns.
That would certainly be the case in two of yesterday’s key races: Jon Corzine, incumbent New Jersey Governor (who lost); and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg (who won, but narrowly).
Corzine, who is estimated to have made $400 million while at Goldman Sachs, has now spent a good chunk of that money funding his campaigns for Senate and Governor.
Bloomberg, who made a good deal more than that creating his eponymous business news empire, reportedly spent more than $100 million to get re-elected.
Of course, long-time Minnesotans will recall that Al Checchi, who looted Northwest Airlines in an (in)famous leveraged buyout in the early ’90’s, spent a sizable chunk of that trying to get elected governor of California.
Rebuffing him may have been the last smart thing that that electorate did . . .