Paul Singer
Paul Singer is the founder of hedge fund Elliott Associates.[1]
Formed in 1977, Elliott is one of the oldest hedge funds under continuous management. Singer started the firm as a convertible arbitrage trader, but following the 1987 market crash moved into activist investing, including distressed debt. Today, Elliott has more than $8 billion of capital under management and has generated a compound net return of approximately 14 percent per year over the last 30 years. [2]
Singer is generally known as the original 'vulture'[3] of the for-profit so-called 'vulture funds', which buy government bonds from poor countries and demand an exorbitant return on their loans. In 1996, Singer bought up some of the debt of Peru for $11 million and got back $58 million.[3] He purchased a bond from the Democratic Republic of Congo for about $10 million, sued in court for $400 million[4] and ended up with $127 million.[3]
Singer is also the Republican Party's chief donor in New York, and has given a combined $1.7 million to the party since George W. Bush's first presidential campaign.[5] Singer and Elliot employees make up the top contributor bloc to Rudolph Giuliani's 2008 presidential run, having donated $168,400.[4] In 2007, Singer provided $175,000 to initially finance the petition drive for a proposed California initiative to apportion the state's 55 electoral votes by congressional district instead of winner-take-all. At least 19 of the state's 53 congressional districts could be expected to vote for a GOP presidential candidate, enough to change the national results in a close election.[6]
Notes
- ^ Elliott Management Corporation Company Profile. Yahoo! Finance. Retrieved on 2007-07-18.
- ^ Elliot's Activist Chief has no time for cheats but denounces aggressive tactics", Financial Times, April 10, 2006, accessed September 29, 2007
- ^ a b c "Vulture Fund" Company Seeks $40 Million Payment from Zambia on $4 Million Debt (2007-02-15). Retrieved on 2007-07-18.
- ^ a b Palast, Greg (2007-06-20). Randi Rhodes and Greg Palast Hunt Giuliani's Favorite Vulture. Retrieved on 2007-07-18.
- ^ Jones, Meirion. "'Vulture funds' threat to developing world", BBC Newsnight, 2007-02-14. Retrieved on 2007-07-18.
- ^ Andrew Malcom, "Giuliani fundraiser was mystery initiative backer", Los Angeles Times, November 28, 2007
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