Could Obama Be Losing Hedge Fund Support?

“Wall Street Democrats aren’t especially happy with the words coming out of Barack Obama’s mouth, but most of them are biting their tongue—and still writing him checks,” writes the Daily Beast. “The most recent public example came in November, when private equity billionaire Leon Cooperman, who like many finance executives expressed support of the idea of higher taxes and a social safety net, wrote a scathing open letter to the president.”

Cooperman, who is the founder and manager of Omega Advisors, said “I can justifiably hold you accountable for your and your minions’ role in setting the tenor of the rancorous debate now roiling U.S.. To frame the debate as one of rich-and-entitled versus poor-and-dispossessed is to both miss the point and further inflame an already incendiary environment.”

“In the spring and summer of 2007, Obama raised $7.7 million from the financial industry, while Romney brought in $5.1 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics,” reports the Daily Beast. “Four years and one great recession later, they’ve basically switched places, with Romney raking in nearly $8 million and Obama—who has watched former supporters like Chicago hedge-fund billionaire Ken Griffin go back to support only Republicans—has seen his haul fall to $4.2 million. (Fourth-quarter-industry data is not yet available.)”