Billionaires Saban and Soros Pour $3M Into Hillary Clinton Campaign
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Billionaires George Soros and Haim Saban donated a total of $3 million to the presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton, the news site Politico reported.
Saban, an Israeli Hollywood mogul, gave Priorities USA Action, Clinton’s super PAC, $2 million, while Soros, a Jewish, Hungary-born business magnate, donated $1 million, according to Politico’s article published Thursday.
Clinton’s super PAC, which is dedicated to airing ads supporting her presidential bid and attacking her opponents, revealed Thursday that it had raised a total of $15.6 million during the first half of the year.
Other heavy donors included DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg and director J.J. Abrams and his wife Katie McGrath, as well as California investor Herb Sandler and Boston philanthropist Barbara Lee.
According to an analysis published Friday, also by Politico, Clinton is privately signaling to wealthy Jewish donors that, no matter the result of the Iranian nuclear negotiations, she will be a better friend to Israel than President Barack Obama.
But on the Iranian nuclear deal, which the Obama administration is working to close in the near future despite strong-worded objections by Israel’s government, Clinton has been noncommittal, according to the report.
Donors who oppose the deal are under the impression she shares their reservations, while those supporting it believe she agrees with them, according to the Politico article based on interviews with more than 10 Jewish donors. Saban in April suggested Clinton opposes the deal but later said he has “no idea” where she stands on the issue.
The Iranian issue has strained relations between Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israel opposes the deal being discussed in Switzerland because of concerns that it “paves Iran’s path to a nuclear bomb,” as Netanyahu has repeatedly warned. But Obama said he is working toward closing the deal because it’s “the best way to prevent” a nuclear Iran.
The deal offers Iran some sanctions relief in exchange for verifiable scaling back of its nuclear program. But Netanyahu insists Iran should not be allowed to retain any equipment for the enrichment of uranium or the development of other nuclear weapons, which Iran claims it does not seek.
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