Mitt Romney's Bailout Bonanza: How He Made Millions From The Rescue of Detroit

**Jimaz** · October-18-12, 06:21 PM

Mitt Romney’s opposition to the auto bailout has haunted him on the campaign trail, especially in Rust Belt states like Ohio. There, in September, the Obama campaign launched television ads blasting Romney’s November 2008 New York Times op-ed, “Let Detroit Go Bankrupt.” But Romney has done a good job of concealing, until now, the fact that he and his wife, Ann, personally gained at least $15.3 million from the bailout—and a few of Romney’s most important Wall Street donors made more than $4 billion. Their gains, and the Romneys’, were astronomical—more than 3,000 percent on their investment.

It all starts with Delphi Automotive, a former General Motors subsidiary whose auto parts remain essential to GM’s production lines. No bailout of GM—or Chrysler, for that matter—could have been successful without saving Delphi. So, in addition to making massive loans to automakers in 2009, the federal government sent, directly or indirectly, more than $12.9 billion to Delphi—and to the hedge funds that had gained control over it....

Other GOP presidential hopefuls chased Singer’s endorsement, but Mitt chased Singer with his own checkbook, investing at least $1 million with Elliott through Ann Romney’s blind trust [[it could be far more, but the Romneys have declined to disclose exactly how much). Along the way, Singer gained a reputation, according to Fortune, “for strong-arming his way to profit.” That is certainly what happened at Delphi....

In their 2011 and 2012 Federal Financial Disclosure filing, Ann Romney’s trust lists “more than $1 million” invested with Elliott. This is the description for all of her big investments—the minimal disclosure required by law. [[Had Romney kept the holding in his own name, he would have had to reveal if his investment with Singer had made more than $50 million.)...

The Romneys might insist that the funds were given to Singer, Mitt’s key donor, only through Ann’s blind trust. But as Mitt Romney said some years ago of Ted Kennedy, “The blind trust is an age-old ruse, if you will. Which is to say, you can always tell a blind trust what it can and cannot do.” Romney, who reminds us often that he was CEO of a hedge fund, can certainly read Elliott Management’s SEC statements, and he knows Ann’s trust is invested heavily in a fund whose No. 1 stake is with Delphi....

**canuck** · October-18-12, 06:36 PM

And if one of Ann's Cadillacs needs a tune-up, she can always use the other one.

**Wesley Mouch** · October-19-12, 02:27 AM

Glad to know Romney knows how to make a profit. We could use that in the oval office.

**jba** · October-19-12, 04:21 AM

Originally Posted by Wesley Mouch

Glad to know Romney knows how to make a profit. We could use that in the oval office.

I second that!

**jefferson78** · October-19-12, 07:15 AM

Originally Posted by jba

I second that!

Are you serious? Yeah we need another multi-millionare in office who made obscene amounts of money in suspicious ways.
Yeah, he really cares about you. That is, if you are already rich. If not, good luck.
You people are fools if you think electing this tool will benefit you in any way.

**Gannon** · October-19-12, 07:40 AM

Originally Posted by jefferson78

Are you serious? Yeah we need another multi-millionare in office who made obscene amounts of money in suspicious ways.
Yeah, he really cares about you. That is, if you are already rich. If not, good luck.
You people are fools if you think electing this tool will benefit you in any way.

I second that!

It is really telling when people puppet propaganda back without actually thinking or feeling anything on their own.

The guy stole millions from crafty dealings and some want to worship him?! What a state our democratic republic is in...<sigh>.

No cheers on any of this. Fuck Mitt.

**Crumbled_pavement** · October-19-12, 07:45 AM

Originally Posted by Wesley Mouch

Glad to know Romney knows how to make a profit. We could use that in the oval office.

I don't necessarily disagree with this statement. But if Romney did indeed make a fortune off the bailouts then why is he so upset? I don't know, maybe I'd be happy to make millions. Romney has blasted the president numerous times for actions that basically ended up making Romney more money. This stuff just can't be made up.

**bailey** · October-19-12, 07:52 AM

Originally Posted by Crumbled_pavement

I don't necessarily disagree with this statement. But if Romney did indeed make a fortune off the bailouts then why is he so upset? I don't know, maybe I'd be happy to make millions. Romney has blasted the president numerous times for actions that basically ended up making Romney more money. This stuff just can't be made up.

His mendacity knows no bounds. It's just that simple.

**Gannon** · October-19-12, 08:03 AM

Here is the definition, to insure those on the synapto-deficient-right don't mistake your comments for a compliment!

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/mendacity?s=t

1. the quality of being mendacious; untruthfulness; tendency to lie.

2. an instance of lying; falsehood.

**JBMcB** · October-19-12, 08:07 AM

"but Mitt chased Singer with his own checkbook, investing at least $1 million with Elliott through Ann Romney’s blind trust"

That sentence makes no sense. A blind trust means you hand money to a financial adviser, and they invest it for you. You don't "chase" an investment with a blind trust, the person or firm running it makes those decisions for you without you knowing, or having any say in the matter - hence the term "blind trust."

There's enough wrong with Mitt Romney that you don't need to invent things to complain about.

**Gannon** · October-19-12, 08:13 AM

I believe the function of a blind trust is to blind those from investigating a person's finances...in no way do I believe the uber-rich leave their money in anyone's hands without supervision. If anyone truly believes there is no oversight and direction by the investing party...then perhaps they'd like to see some 'land' down in Florida that just came out of the dryer.

**Jimaz** · October-19-12, 08:33 AM

Reminder: Mitt Romney's 'blind trust' isn't as blind as it should be

In his 1994 Senate campaign against Ted Kennedy, Romney scoffed at the idea that blind trusts are actually blind, calling it "an age-old ruse." And it seems that when Romney, in 2003, set up his own blind trust, he went into it with the view that he was pulling off a ruse.

**Gannon** · October-19-12, 08:42 AM

Great catch, Jimaz, as usual.

Where are the Rmoney psychophants now?! Oh, they are busy blinding themselves to the truth.

Yeah, I know I mis-spelled sycophant. This one is much more appropriate!

**Honky Tonk** · October-19-12, 08:55 AM

"A blind trust means you hand money to a financial adviser, and they invest it for you"

I'm fairly certain THAT law only applies to the bottom 99%.

**Cincinnati_Kid** · October-19-12, 09:01 AM

Originally Posted by Wesley Mouch

Glad to know Romney knows how to make a profit. We could use that in the oval office.

Yeah, making profits that benefit only the "1 percenters" I'm glad you're not running for president. If Romney gets in "heaven help us all "

**Honky Tonk** · October-19-12, 09:03 AM

"Glad to know Romney knows how to make a profit. We could use that in the oval office."

Don't forget Osama Bin Laden turned a profit on 9-11 too.

**Cincinnati_Kid** · October-19-12, 09:07 AM

Originally Posted by jefferson78

Are you serious? Yeah we need another multi-millionare in office who made obscene amounts of money in suspicious ways.
Yeah, he really cares about you. That is, if you are already rich. If not, good luck.
You people are fools if you think electing this tool will benefit you in any way.

I second that. Then if he gets in, and proceeds to take us back to the 1950's, you Romney backers will be crying in your milk and nowhere to be found on this board. Let that "loon" stay in Massachusetts.

**Gannon** · October-19-12, 09:16 AM

There is profit from production of goods and services, which is largely a good thing. Provided the margins are not obscene, or one takes too much skim from a general 'need' rather than mere wants.

Then there is this stealing from the top due to advantageous positioning of wealth...this is the worst form of abuse in the capitalist system. And Mitt is their king. He is one of the worst of the worst abusers of the system. Period.

No way he should have the top seat of power in the world. None can justify this. He is a robber-baron to the extreme...and should be put in shackles, not placed on a throne.

**JBMcB** · October-19-12, 09:31 AM

Think about the situation: Delphi, was coming out of a four year long bankruptcy, after the accounting scandal in '05 and them *suing* their investors in '08.

So Romney, being a savvy investor, breaks federal law and forces his wife's blind trust to invest in a hedge fund that invests in this company? This is just dumb.

Ooohh... this is just a reaction to the whole pension debacle. Hah - this isn't going to play well in the media. You'll need a forensic accountant to try to gin up something on Romney over this. The GOP can trot out various Delphi retirees who got screwed to tell their story.

As always with the two party system, nobody wins.

**Honky Tonk** · October-19-12, 09:45 AM

"Yeah, he really cares about you"

He DOES care about you! SOMEONE has do do the menial labor @ rock-bottom wages to make him rich

**firstandten** · October-19-12, 09:48 AM

Originally Posted by Wesley Mouch

Glad to know Romney knows how to make a profit. We could use that in the oval office.

No, we don't need that in the oval office.

The fact that someone can make a profit has very little to do with running a country. The goals, objectives and mission of both are different, the skillsets involved are different. In the city we fell for that line of thinking and its gotten us nowhere.

**Zacha341** · October-19-12, 10:28 AM

Yep, the anyone but "Romney" march is on...

Originally Posted by Cincinnati_Kid

I second that. Then if he gets in, and proceeds to take us back to the 1950's, you Romney backers will be crying in your milk and nowhere to be found on this board. Let that "loon" stay in Massachusetts.

**Wesley Mouch** · October-19-12, 10:56 AM

Originally Posted by Crumbled_pavement

I don't necessarily disagree with this statement. But if Romney did indeed make a fortune off the bailouts then why is he so upset? I don't know, maybe I'd be happy to make millions. Romney has blasted the president numerous times for actions that basically ended up making Romney more money. This stuff just can't be made up.

Capitalizing on the errors of others is a time-honored money maker. One can still disagree with a policy -- yet make money off it. I'd suggest that this is a 'skillset' that is useful for a president. Lemons to Lemonade.

**Honky Tonk** · October-19-12, 11:06 AM

Originally Posted by Wesley Mouch

Capitalizing on the errors of others is a time-honored money maker. One can still disagree with a policy -- yet make money off it. I'd suggest that this is a 'skillset' that is useful for a president. Lemons to Lemonade.

Agreed, Look @ Dick Cheney, Halliburton, & the Iraq.

**Goose** · October-19-12, 12:36 PM

just so I can understand

Romney investing his OWN money in a failing company and making a profit = BAD

the government investing out TAX DOLLARS in a failing company and losing money = GOOD

move forward???