The Oxfam report zeroes in on the political influence affordable to the ultrarich: lobbying, specifically in the financial and pharmaceutical and health care industries. Growing wealth inequality certainly isn’t a new phenomenon, and almost a year after the Thomas Piketty sensation, chatter about its causes and consequences hasn’t dulled. According to Oxfam, the top 80 billionaires have seen their collective wealth grow by $600 billion between 20. Ninety percent are male and 85 percent are over age 50. Some of the companies that invested in lobbying in 2018 include Alphabet Inc., Facebook, Amazon and Lockheed Martin.So who are these billionaires and how’d they get so much more money? Forbes listed 1,645 billionaires in 2014, one-third of whom started their lives wealthy. Last year, companies combined to spend at least $1.7 billion on lobbying activities, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. Most of the candidates have sworn off money from lobbyists and special interest groups out of concern that progressive organizations could argue that they're controlled by big corporations. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Kamala Harris, D-Calif.īiden's campaign efforts to avoid lobbyists come while other Democrats running for president are also attempting to shy away from having any ties to people in the industry. The Real Clear Politics polling average shows him ahead of Sens. The total represents only a small fraction of the $21.5 million Biden raised over that time period.īiden continues to lead in national polls of Democratic primary voters. But the campaign told the Associated Press it would return those donations. In the second quarter, Biden's campaign took in at least $6,000 from a handful of registered lobbyists that represent major corporations, including Google and Lockheed Martin. Ricchetti did not respond to requests for comment. Some of these hosts, however, have done past lobbying work.Ī spokesman for the Biden campaign declined to comment. A few of the fundraising events have been hosted by public affairs executives with links to the government relations industry, but they are not currently registered as lobbyists, records show. In April, Biden pledged that he would not accept any campaign contributions from registered lobbyists. Ricchetti himself was once a lobbyist and advocated for pharmaceutical giants such as Novartis, Eli Lilly and Sanofi, according to disclosure forms. Behind closed doors, these people have said Ricchetti blocked their access. Steve Ricchetti, one of Biden's longtime advisors, has been acting as a gatekeeper for some who want to meet with the former vice president. They have been frozen out on the money," a person close to Biden explained. "They have high sensitivity on dialogue with lobbyists. Still, they have been unable to break through the campaign's inner circle, which has shielded the candidate from such engagement, according to Biden associates. Registered lobbyists want to have a role within the campaign's fundraising apparatus, as they look to advise Biden on putting more resources into states beyond early primary locations, such as New Hampshire and Iowa, according to a lobbyist who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The PAC is scheduled to shut down in the coming months.īiden has sworn off lobbyist contributions for the 2020 election and has yet to have a fundraiser hosted by a registered lobbyist. His political action committee, American Possibilities, also often received contributions from those in the lobbying industry. Of that, $165,000 was given for his 2008 presidential run. Over 35 years, lobbyists gave Biden just over $500,000, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. Still, that hasn't stopped Biden from meeting outside of fundraising venues for brief interactions with individual lobbyists who have known him for decades, these people added.īiden established connections with lobbyists over his expansive career in public service, including his decades-long tenure representing Delaware in the U.S. Personal Loans for 670 Credit Score or Lower Personal Loans for 580 Credit Score or Lower Best Debt Consolidation Loans for Bad Credit
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