¶ Tim Scott's Finance Industry Money
Sen. Tim Scott has taken over $9.6 million from the finance, insurance, and real estate industries, far more than he has taken from other sectors. Sen. Scott’s major individual donors include over $3 million from billionaire debt collection magnate Benjamin Navarro, whose company drew controversy for boosting debtor lawsuits in the first months of the pandemic. Sen. Scott has also taken hundreds of thousands of dollars from hedge fund billionaires Paul Singer and Daniel Loeb, who is known for his “nasty” business tactics.
¶ By Far, Sen. Tim Scott’s Biggest Industry Contributor Is The Finance, Insurance, And Real Estate Sector, Which Has Given Him At Least $9.6 Million.
¶ By Far, Sen. Tim Scott’s Biggest Industry Contributor Has Been The Finance, Insurance & Real Estate Sector, Which Has Given Him Over $9.6 Million Throughout His Federal Career.
The Industry Sector That Has Given The Most To Sen. Tim Scott Throughout HIs Federal Career Is The Finance, Insurance, And Real Estate Sector, Which Has Given Him A Total Of $9,673,204, Far More Than Other Industries:
Sen. Scott Has Taken $3,186,110 From The Securities & Investment Industry, $1,908,841 From The Insurance Industry, $2,383,142 From The Real Estate Industry, $729,100 From Commercial Banks, And $452,914 From Finance And Credit Companies. [OpenSecrets, accessed 04/05/23]
Sen. Tim Scott Was Ranking Member Of The U.S. Senate Committee On Banking, Housing, And Urban Affairs As Of March 9, 2023. [U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, accessed 03/09/23]
- The Senate Banking Committee’s Jurisdiction Includes Oversight Of “Banks, Banking, And Financial Institutions” And Other Matters:
¶ Sen. Tim Scott Has Taken Over $3 Million From Benjamin Navarro, The Billionaire Founder Of Debt Collection Giant Sherman Financial Group, Which Had The Largest YoY Increase In Lawsuit Filings “To Squeeze Cash From People” During The First Year Of COVID-19.
¶ Benjamin Navarro Is The Billionaire Chief Executive And Founder Of Debt Collector Sherman Financial Group.
Sherman Financial, Which Operates As An Investment Company, Purchases And Services Performing And Non-Performing Consumer Debt. “Sherman Financial Group, LLC operates as an investment company. The Company purchases and services performing and non-performing consumer debt originated by financial institutions, credit card companies, and retailers.” [Bloomberg, accessed 12/22/22]
Ben Navarro, Sherman Financial’s Chief Executive Who Founded The Company Two Decades Ago, Transformed Debt Collection Into “A Multibillion-Dollar Industry.” “Since founding the company two decades ago, Sherman Chief Executive Ben Navarro has helped transform the once small and fragmented business of collecting old credit-card debt into a multibillion-dollar industry dominated by huge firms.” [The Wall Street Journal, 04/07/21].
Navarro Had An Estimated Net Worth Of About $3 Billion As Of 2018. “He has an estimated worth of about $3 billion.” [ESPN, 04/12/18]
Sherman Financial, Which Is Based In Charleston, S.C., Was Backed By “Big Investors” And Able To Buy Large Debt Portfolios, Allowing Them To Diversify And Buy A “Bank That Issues High-Interest Credit Cards, Often To Consumers With Weak Credit.” “Sherman, based in Charleston, S.C., got its start buying distressed debts from other firms. Initially, its competitors were small and unable to handle large volumes, while Sherman, backed by big investors, bought large portfolios, using computer systems that made analyzing old loans and collecting on them more efficient and profitable. Over the years, Sherman diversified. It bought a bank that issues high-interest credit cards, often to consumers with weak credit. If customers default, other Sherman entities try to collect.” [The Wall Street Journal, 04/07/21]
¶ During The First Months Of The COVID-19 Pandemic, Sherman Financial “Filed More Lawsuits To Squeeze Cash From People” While Other Debt Collectors “Gave Borrowers A Break.”
During The First Months Of The COVID-19 Pandemic, When Most Debt Collectors “Gave Borrowers A Break,” Sherman Financial “Filed More Lawsuits To Squeeze Cash From People,” Having The “Largest Year-Over-Year Increase Of Any Firm Identified Between Last March 15 And Dec. 31—Up 52% From The Year-Earlier Period.” “When Covid-19 hit the economy, most debt collectors gave borrowers a break, cutting back on lawsuits amid lockdowns, closed courts and loan-forbearance initiatives. One of the biggest and least-known companies in the industry did the opposite. Sherman Financial Group filed more lawsuits to squeeze cash from people behind on their credit-card bills. A Wall Street Journal analysis, based on the five state-court districts with searchable online records, showed Sherman had the largest year-over-year increase of any firm identified between last March 15 and Dec. 31—up 52% from the year-earlier period, compared with a 24% decline in those districts for the industry as a whole.” [The Wall Street Journal, 04/07/21]
¶ Tim Scott Has Received Over $3 Million In Contributions From Benjamin Navarro Over His Federal Career.
Benjamin Navarro Has Received Over $3 Million In Contributions From Benjamin Navarro, The Billionaire CEO Of The Sherman Financial Group:
|
Donor |
Recipient |
Date |
Amount |
| Navarro, Benjamin. | Tim Scott For Senate |
06/28/13 |
|
| Navarro, Benjamin | Tim Scott For Senate |
03/29/13 |
|
| Navarro, Benjamin | Tim Scott For Senate |
03/09/15 |
|
| Navarro, Benjamin | Tim Scott For Senate |
10/10/19 |
|
| Navarro, Benjamin | Opportunity Matters Fund, Inc. |
10/13/20 |
|
| Navarro, Benjamin | Tim Scott For Senate |
09/30/21 |
|
| Navarro, Benjamin | Tim Scott For Senate |
09/30/21 |
|
| Navarro, Benjamin W. | Tim Scott Victory Fund |
09/30/21 |
|
| Navarro, Benjamin | Opportunity Matters Fund, Inc. |
10/11/22 |
|
| Navarro, Benjamin | Opportunity Matters Fund, Inc. |
08/6/22 |
|
| Navarro, Benjamin | Opportunity Matters Fund, Inc. |
08/30/22 |
|
|
Total: |
$3,027,800 |
[Federal Election Commission, accessed 03/09/23]
- The Opportunity Matters Fund Is “A Super PAC Tied To Sen. Tim Scott.” “A super PAC tied to Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., is donating $5 million to Senate Republicans’ main outside group as the party works to take control of the chamber in November. The Scott group, known as the Opportunity Matters Fund, is contributing to the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC aligned with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell that has spent millions on Senate races across the country.” [NBC News, 09/26/22]
¶ Sen. Tim Scott Has Taken At Least $288,000 From “Hedge Fund Billionaire” Paul Singer, The Founder, President, Co-Chief Executive Officer, And Co-Chief Investment Officer Of Elliott Investment Management.
¶ “Hedge Fund Billionaire” Paul Singer Is The Founder, President, Co-Chief Executive Officer, And Co-Chief Investment Officer Of Elliott Investment Management L.P. Who Is Worth Approximately $5.5 Billion.
“Paul Singer Is The Founder, President, Co-Chief Executive Officer, And Co-Chief Investment Officer Of Elliott Investment Management L.P.” [Elliott Management, accessed 11/23/22]
As Of November 2022, Paul Singer Was Worth Approximately $5.5 Billion, With His Firm Managing Around $56 Billion In Assets. “He founded his hedge fund firm, Elliott Management, in 1977 with $1.3 million. The firm now has some $56 billion in assets under management.” [Forbes, accessed 11/23/22]
“Hedge Fund Billionaire” Paul Singer Is “One Of The Republican Party’s Most Generous And Influential Funders.” “The first was the Manhattan Institute’s chairman, Paul Singer. The hedge fund billionaire was the Board of Trustees’ biggest yearly donor ($525,000 in 2016) as well as one of the Republican Party’s most generous and influential funders. […] Second, the number two donor among the trustees ($450,000) was Rebekah Mercer, daughter of another hedge-fund billionaire, Robert Mercer. Ms. Mercer was the principle funder of Steve Bannon’s Breitbart, the country’s most prominent media purveyor of coy white nationalism." [Democracy, 07/07/20]
¶ Singer Has Donated At Least $288,000 To Senator Tim Scott Over The Senator’s Federal Career.
Paul Singer Has Donated At Least $288,000 To Senator Tim Scott Over The Senator’s Career:
|
Donor |
Recipient |
Date |
Amount |
| Singer, Paul | Tim Scott For Senate |
06/29/13 |
|
| Singer, Paul | Tim Scott For Senate |
06/05/15 |
|
| Singer, Paul | Tim Scott For Senate |
06/05/15 |
|
| Singer, Paul | Tim Scott For Senate |
09/30/21 |
|
| Singer, Paul | Tim Scott For Senate |
09/30/21 |
|
| Singer, Paul E. | Tim Scott Victory Fund |
09/30/21 |
|
| Singer, Paul E. | Tomorrow Is Meaningful PAC |
09/30/21 |
|
| Singer, Paul | Tim Scott For Senate |
09/30/22 |
|
|
TOTAL: |
$288,000 |
[Federal Election Commission, accessed 03/09/23]
- The Tomorrow Is Meaningful PAC’s Leadership PAC Sponsor Is Sen. Tim Scott. [Federal Election Commission, accessed 03/09/23]
¶ Sen. Tim Scott Has Taken Over $323,000 From “Billionaire Hedge-Fund Manager” Daniel Loeb, The Founder, CEO, And Chief Investment Officer Of Third Point Who Has Been Accused Of Using Humiliation As A Business Tactic And Undermining The Pension Fund Of The Nation’s Biggest Teachers Union.
¶ Daniel Loeb Is The “Billionaire Hedge-Fund Manager” And Founder Of Third Point, A New York-Based Asset Management Firm.
Daniel Loeb Is The Founder, Chief Executive Officer, And Chief Investment Officer Of Third Point LLC, A New York-Based Asset Management Firm. “Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer Daniel S. Loeb is CEO of Third Point LLC, a New York-based asset management firm founded in 1995.” [Third Point, accessed 01/05/23]
Daniel Loeb Had A Net Worth Of $3.5 Billion As Of March 9, 2023:
¶ Loeb Has Been Accused Of Publicly Humiliating CEOs Through The “Nastiest” Letters And Undermining The American Federation Of Teachers’ $800 Billion Pension Fund.
In A Lengthy Profile, Vanity Fair Accused “Billionaire Hedge-Fund Manager,” Daniel Loeb, Of Publicly Humiliating CEOs Through The “Nastiest” And “Florid” Letters In Attempts To Make Them “Quit Or Get Fired” So Loeb Can “Unleash His Strategies For ‘Unlocking Shareholder Value.’” “Loeb, the 51-year-old founder and principal owner of the hedge fund Third Point L.L.C., is famous, or rather infamous, for such bomb throwing. Packaging them in the form of letters to corporate C.E.O.'s (and sometimes to his hedge-fund colleagues), Loeb excoriates his targets publicly, not only for their professional performance but also often for their personal behavior. The idea is to humiliate the C.E.O.'s, causing them to quit or to get fired, so Loeb can unleash his strategies for ‘unlocking shareholder value,’ as they say in the hedge-fund world. Other hedge-funders send such letters, but most agree that Loeb's are the nastiest and most florid.” [Vanity Fair, December 2013]
- The Profile Called Loeb A “Billionaire Hedge-Fund Manager.” “Billionaire hedge-fund manager Dan Loeb calls himself an ‘activist investor,’ but even in the rough-and-tumble financial world, his tactics—nasty, personal attacks on C.E.O.'s and colleagues—are considered extreme.” [Vanity Fair, December 2013]
In 2013, Loeb Was Accused Of Soliciting The American Federation Of Teacher’s $800 Billion Pension Fund While Supporting Efforts To “Replac[e] Teachers' Defined-Benefit Pension Plans With Defined-Contribution Plans.” “Loeb's pugnacious side was also on view earlier this year when the powerful American Federation of Teachers—the nation's largest teachers' union—accused him of trying to solicit a chunk of the union's $800 billion pension fund to manage while being an enthusiastic supporter and board member of StudentsFirst, a national organization that advocates, among other things, replacing teachers' defined-benefit pension plans with defined-contribution plans.” [Vanity Fair, December 2013]
¶ Daniel Loeb Has Donated Over $323,000 To Senator Tim Scott Over The Senator’s Federal Career.
Daniel Loeb Has Donated At Least $323,614 To Senator Tim Scott Over The Senator’s Federal Career:
|
Donor |
Recipient |
Date |
Amount |
| Loeb, Daniel | Tim Scott For Senate |
06/29/15 |
|
| Loeb, Daniel | Tim Scott For Senate |
06/29/15 |
|
| Loeb, Daniel S | Opportunity Matters Fund, Inc. |
09/24/20 |
|
| Loeb, Daniel | Tomorrow Is Meaningful Pac |
09/29/20 |
|
| Loeb, Daniel S | Opportunity Matters Fund, Inc. |
12/03/20 |
|
| Loeb, Daniel | Tomorrow Is Meaningful Pac |
06/15/21 |
|
| Loeb, Daniel | Tim Scott For Senate |
09/30/21 |
|
| Loeb, Daniel | Tim Scott For Senate |
09/30/21 |
|
| Loeb, Daniel | Tim Scott For Senate |
06/15/21 |
|
| Loeb, Daniel | Tim Scott For Senate |
06/15/21 |
|
|
TOTAL: |
$323,614.78 |
[Federal Election Commission, accessed 01/05/22]