In a report from the Huffington Post, billionaire Sheldon Adelson spent $150 million into the presidential campaign for the Republican Party in an effort to remove Barack Obama from the White House. Adelson is a casino tycoon who funded multiple Republican candidates and groups during the presidential campaign. His casino business is the subject of two federal criminal investigations.
It was previously reported that Adelson spent roughly $54 million but the new total is three times that amount and 50 percent higher than the original $100 million Adelson said that he would be willing to spend.
Adelson’s goal with his campaign spending was to defeat Obama and aid the Republican Party in its quest to regain control of Congress following the election on November 6. All of Adelson’s spending was for nothing as Obama defeated Romney for a second term in the White House. The Democrats also retained control of the Senate.
Forbes magazine estimates that Adelson is worth $20 billion and is the subject of an investigation from the United States Justice Department for how his casinos operate. Adelson said that the way he was being treated by prosecutors and the investigation from the Justice Department as reasons behind his support for the Republican Party during the election season.
Adelson continued by saying that a second term from Obama would cause ‘vilification of people that were against (Obama)’.
According to the report from the Huffington Post, which talked with two fundraisers, said that Adelson paid out anywhere from $30 to $40 million to Crossroads GPS, which was a campaign operated by Karl Rove. The report also noted that Adelson paid $15 million to Charles and David Koch, $5 million to the United States Chamber of Commerce and the Republican Jewish Coalition.
There are laws that put limits on the amount of money that can be donated to political candidates but a ruling from the Supreme Court in 2010 allows unions, corporations and individuals to make unlimited donations to arms-length groups.