MJ – Among the 15 top donors to outside political groups this election cycle, only two happen to work for the same company: James Simons, the billionaire founder and chairman of the hedge fund Renaissance Technologies is a prominent Democrat. RenTech’s co-chief executive, Robert Mercer, is a Republican backer of right-wing tea party candidates. In all, they’ve given $3 million to political groups and candidates that often seem to be diametrically opposed.
In an election year in which the Democratic Party’s Wall Street donors have threatened to jump ship, RenTech’s approach may provide a roadmap for the financial sector’s evolving political strategy. By all appearances, the notoriously secretive hedge fund approaches politics as it approaches investing: by hedging its bets.
