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So how did Romney make his huge fortune?
invite response
2012 Sep 2, 9:01pm 51,669 views 90 comments
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Vicente
2013 Feb 20, 3:20pm
Corporate Raiders became acceptable in the 80's so the stigma that it had back then does not apply to today. Now had this been the "Good fight" for all these years, I could understand the distraction.
Lunch with Gordon Gekko? Sure. Hang out at his parties? Sure. Put him in the White House? Fuck no!
There's a difference between having a secret admiration for someone whose principles you despise, and putting a sociopath in charge of foreign policy and nuclear launch codes.
American in Japan
2013 Apr 2, 6:23pm
Good insights here distinguishing rentierism from "innovative" capitaism:
How rich moochers ruin America (Salon.com)
The election is over but this problem is worse than ever.
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I am bringing this up, since I hear many Americans (not in Japan, though) saying how Romney is an entrepreneur who has created many jobs for Americans...
I have done just a bit of research, but I am not convinced that this is true.
This is how Romney actually made all his money (Businessinsider)
Tally of Job Creation By Bain Proves Vexing (Wall Street Journal)
Assets offshore hint at larger Romney wealth (Japantoday.com)
Election-2012/Mitt Romney--Did he-create 100 thousand jobs or kill 7 thousand (Rightwingnews.com)
Bain Capital is Romney's corporation founded in 1983. It is one of the top-leveraged buyout firms in the US.
Staples - Sevenfold return on investment for Bain Capital.
Accuride - a leveraged buyout by Bain Capital
Damon Corp.: "Under Romney, one of Bain Capital's more questionable deals was the firm's 1989 purchase of Damon, a medical testing company that ended up pleading guilty to defrauding the government and paying a $119 million fine. Although he sat on the company's board, Romney was never implicated, and Bain tripled its investment returns before selling the company in 1993. Romney personally got $473,000 from the deal, according to the Boston Globe." (Businessinsider)
Experian - a "flip" of a different kind...
DDI Corp. acquired by Bain Capital's in 2000... (A fail here as DDI later filed for bankruptcy protection and laid off 2,100 workers in 2003)
I quote: "The first indication the 100,000 jobs created number’s dodgy is that when Mitt ran against Ted Kennedy in 1994..." (Rightwingnews.com)
"$1.7 trillion was spent by Private Equity on leveraged buyouts. Private Equity companies rolled up a total of a trillion in debt making these purchases." (Alternet.org)
Politics after-mitt-romney-deal-company-showed-profits-and-then-layoffs (NY Times)
These Americans are training the Chinese workers who will replace them. (Businessinsider.com)
The sources vary along political persuasion. sources.
Note- I have no problem with people making millions, while truly creating wealth and jobs for Americans in the process.