Sunday, September 01, 2002
The Buddy System?
Executives at Worldcom seem to have had a rewarding relationship with their brokers at Salomon Smith Barney. Presumably Worldcom stockholders and employees weren't getting quite the same level of attention. Several Worldcom execs and directors made fortunes over the last few years in trades of their own portfolios while Worldcom descended into bankruptcy.
Relevant? Ask an ex-Worldcom employee who's worried about making this month's mortgage payment.
From the New York Times:
So how did Worldcom execs spend some of the millions the company made over the last few years? A look at the PAC donations from Worldcom gives a mixed picture:
From the Center for Responsive Politics:
And what of personal donations by the Worldcom execs mentioned above?
It has been the policy of www.201k.com, when researching the political donations of businesses, to ignore the personal donations of individuals -- even executives in the news -- employed at the companies. This is in keeping with our belief that one's personal politics are one's perogative. So we've concentrated on corporate donations. Notable exceptions were the enormous donations made by Mr. and Mrs. Ken Lay and Mr. Jeff Skillings of Enron to George W. Bush, as that particular connection is itself an ongoing news story.
In researching Worldcom donations, however, we've decided once again that personal donations are worth noting. Given the personal profit made by some officers of that now-bankrupt company, and given that their political donations were of significant amounts, we feel that this public information would be of interest to the many Worldcom employees and shareholders who have lost a great deal in the last year.
From the Center for Responsive Politics
Mr. Scott D. Sullivan (Former Worldcom CFO):
Charles W. "Chip" Pickering Jr (R) $1,500
Bob Kerrey (D) $1,000
Jim DeMint (R) $1,000
Elizabeth Dole (R) $500
Orrin G. Hatch (R) $500
Saxby Chambliss (R) $2,000
Edward J. Markey (D) $1,000
George W. Bush (R) $1,000
That's $6,500 to Republicans and $2,000 to Democrats.
Mr. David F. Myers - (former Worldcom controller accused of pressuring an in-house accounting exec):
George W. Bush (R) $500
(Also: A Mrs. David F. Myers gave Charles W. "Chip" Pickering Jr (R) $1,000)
Mr. Stiles A. Kellett Jr (A Worldcom Director), listed for the most part as from "KELLETT INVESTMENT CORPORATION" or "KELLETT INVESTMENTS" of Atlanta, Georgia:
Mack Mattingly (R) $1,000
Rudolph Giuliani (R) $1,000
Steve Forbes (R) $1,000
"Georgia Republicans" $7,000
Saxby Chambliss (R) $2,000
Roger F. Kahn (D) $500
"RNC/Repub National State Elections Cmte" $70,000
"Republican National Cmte" $10,000
George W. Bush (R) $2,000
"National Republican Congressional Cmte" $16,750
Sunny Warren (R) $1,000
Bob Barr (R) $2,000
Orrin G. Hatch (R) $500
Rick A. Lazio (R) $250 (Must have been lukewarm on Lazio, huh?)
Paul Coverdell (R) $1,000
"1999 State Victory Fund Cmte" (We're guessing this doesn't mean Democrats) $15,000
John H. Isakson (R) $2,000
"Common Sense Leadership Fund"(Once again we're guessing this doesn't mean Democrats) $5,000
John McCain (R) $1,000
That's a whopping $138,500 to Republican candidates and groups, and $500 to Democrats. For an interesting sidenote, you can go to the Center for Responsive Politics and check out equally generous (and Republican) donations from a Mr. Samual Kellett of the "KELLETT INVESTMENT CORPORATION" of Atlanta, Georgia, and a Ms. Carol Kellett (Homemaker), also of Atlanta, Georgia.
I'm sure Worldcom employees and shareholders will be gratified to know their execs and directors were so publically minded. For those keeping score, Worldcom is in the "Telephone Utilities" sector. The number one recipient of donations from this sector during the campaign of 2000?
Relevant? Ask an ex-Worldcom employee who's worried about making this month's mortgage payment.
From the New York Times:
- Bernard J. Ebbers, WorldCom's former chief executive, made more than $11 million in four years on 21 hot stock offerings he received from Salomon Smith Barney, according to documents released yesterday by the House Financial Services Committee.
Other executives at WorldCom profited from the offerings they received from Salomon. Stiles A. Kellett Jr.
- a director, made $202,000 on shares of 29 companies. Scott D. Sullivan,
- the former chief financial officer at the company who resigned after WorldCom disclosed $3.8 billion in improper accounting, made $33,176 on initial offerings in his Salomon account during the period. He lost enough money on two of the stocks he received - Telegroup Inc. and Rhythms NetConnections - that those losses almost wiped out his gains from the other seven stocks he received.
Representative Michael G. Oxley, the Ohio Republican who is chairman of the committee that subpoenaed the documents from Salomon, said: "This is an example of how insiders were able to game the system at the expense of the average investor. It raises policy questions about the fairness of the process that brings new listings to the markets."
- Congressional committee released copies of internal WorldCom e-mail messages yesterday that it says suggest that David Myers, the company's former controller, tried early this year to silence an executive who had questioned accounting practices at WorldCom.
So how did Worldcom execs spend some of the millions the company made over the last few years? A look at the PAC donations from Worldcom gives a mixed picture:
From the Center for Responsive Politics:
- WorldCom Inc PAC Summary Data
2002 election cycle (so far)
$281,837 to Democrats - $212,614 to Republicans
2000 election cycle
$223,991 to Democrats - $290,891 to Republicans
1998 election cycle
$255,761 to Democrats - $315,889 to Republicans
- Soft money Donations found for WORLDCOM:
2002 election cycle (so far)
To Democrats: $198,250
To Republicans: $231,719
2000 election cycle (the one that mattered)
To Democrats: $202,833
To Republicans: $627,660
1998 election cycle
To Democrats: $422,565
To Republicans: $719,825
And what of personal donations by the Worldcom execs mentioned above?
It has been the policy of www.201k.com, when researching the political donations of businesses, to ignore the personal donations of individuals -- even executives in the news -- employed at the companies. This is in keeping with our belief that one's personal politics are one's perogative. So we've concentrated on corporate donations. Notable exceptions were the enormous donations made by Mr. and Mrs. Ken Lay and Mr. Jeff Skillings of Enron to George W. Bush, as that particular connection is itself an ongoing news story.
In researching Worldcom donations, however, we've decided once again that personal donations are worth noting. Given the personal profit made by some officers of that now-bankrupt company, and given that their political donations were of significant amounts, we feel that this public information would be of interest to the many Worldcom employees and shareholders who have lost a great deal in the last year.
From the Center for Responsive Politics
Mr. Scott D. Sullivan (Former Worldcom CFO):
Charles W. "Chip" Pickering Jr (R) $1,500
Bob Kerrey (D) $1,000
Jim DeMint (R) $1,000
Elizabeth Dole (R) $500
Orrin G. Hatch (R) $500
Saxby Chambliss (R) $2,000
Edward J. Markey (D) $1,000
George W. Bush (R) $1,000
That's $6,500 to Republicans and $2,000 to Democrats.
Mr. David F. Myers - (former Worldcom controller accused of pressuring an in-house accounting exec):
George W. Bush (R) $500
(Also: A Mrs. David F. Myers gave Charles W. "Chip" Pickering Jr (R) $1,000)
Mr. Stiles A. Kellett Jr (A Worldcom Director), listed for the most part as from "KELLETT INVESTMENT CORPORATION" or "KELLETT INVESTMENTS" of Atlanta, Georgia:
Mack Mattingly (R) $1,000
Rudolph Giuliani (R) $1,000
Steve Forbes (R) $1,000
"Georgia Republicans" $7,000
Saxby Chambliss (R) $2,000
Roger F. Kahn (D) $500
"RNC/Repub National State Elections Cmte" $70,000
"Republican National Cmte" $10,000
George W. Bush (R) $2,000
"National Republican Congressional Cmte" $16,750
Sunny Warren (R) $1,000
Bob Barr (R) $2,000
Orrin G. Hatch (R) $500
Rick A. Lazio (R) $250 (Must have been lukewarm on Lazio, huh?)
Paul Coverdell (R) $1,000
"1999 State Victory Fund Cmte" (We're guessing this doesn't mean Democrats) $15,000
John H. Isakson (R) $2,000
"Common Sense Leadership Fund"(Once again we're guessing this doesn't mean Democrats) $5,000
John McCain (R) $1,000
That's a whopping $138,500 to Republican candidates and groups, and $500 to Democrats. For an interesting sidenote, you can go to the Center for Responsive Politics and check out equally generous (and Republican) donations from a Mr. Samual Kellett of the "KELLETT INVESTMENT CORPORATION" of Atlanta, Georgia, and a Ms. Carol Kellett (Homemaker), also of Atlanta, Georgia.
I'm sure Worldcom employees and shareholders will be gratified to know their execs and directors were so publically minded. For those keeping score, Worldcom is in the "Telephone Utilities" sector. The number one recipient of donations from this sector during the campaign of 2000?
- 1 Bush, George W (R) Pres $282,925
