The Rainmakers: California's top political donors, 2001-2011
Lavishing their largesse on legislators and political committees alike, the largest donors to California politics spent $1.25 billion from 2001 through 2011. The group — 50 special interests and 50 wealthy individuals — spans the Golden State's social order. They are corporate leaders and venture capitalists, real estate developers and Hollywood scions. They are energy and tobacco companies, labor unions and tribal governments. Collectively, they shelled out a third of all the money given to campaigns in the state during the 11-year period. This data includes only contributions to candidates and ballot measure committees, not independent expenditure groups.
T. Boone Pickens Jr., Dallas, TX
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Win/loss percentage
$164,800 to winners, $551,000 to losers
T. Boone Pickens made his fortune in oil and also now owns significant water shares in Texas. His BP Capital biography describes him as a “surprising environmentalist,” citing the wind farm he developed through Mesa Power in the Texas Panhandle and his development of natural gas as an alternative to fossil fuels. In 2008, he developed the “Pickens Plan” for reducing dependence on foreign oil and still touts it today. In California, his political donations largely have supported Republican causes, though he donates to a wide range of philanthropic efforts, from medical research to education.
Total contributions: $3,735,800
List of contributions
Source: Contribution data from National Institute on Money in State Politics
Credits: Interactive by Michael Corey, Coulter Jones and Chase Davis. Reporting by Coulter Jones. Badge design by Thomas Guffey. Additional reporting by Stanford University students enrolled in a Communications Department investigative reporting class under the direction of California Watch Editorial Director Mark Katches. The project began in January 2011. Students participating were: Devin Banerjee, Daniel Bohm, Kathleen Chaykowski, Tom Corrigan, Cassandra Feliciano, Jamie Hansen, Amy Harris, Josh Hicks, Ellen Huet, Julia James, Paul Jones, Ryan Mac, Valentina Nesci, Dean Schaffer, Elizabeth Titus and Kareem Yasin. Bohm, Hansen, Huet, Harris and Titus continued to work on the project as California Watch interns under the direction of Associate Editor Denise Zapata.
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