Paul Singer

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Paul Singer (dob: August 22, 1944) is the founder and president of Elliott Management Corporation, a New York-based hedge fund which is currently worth more than $23 billion. As of 23 June 2015 his net worth was estimated at $1.92 Billion. He is also the founder of the Paul E. Singer Foundation a 501(c)(3) non-profit grant making foundation which supports a number of conservative and pro-Israel causes. Singer graduated from Harvard Law School in 1969 and went on to found Elliott Management in 1977. He is a major supporter of the Republican party.

Investments in Distressed Debt

Through the Elliott Management Corporation Singer has invested in distressed sovereign debt and has bet against countries such as Peru, the Congo and Argentina following financial crises. He has succeeded in suing countries in order to get financial returns on his investments. Journalist Greg Palast offers the following description of Singer's activities in this area:

Recently, former United Nations envoy Winston Tubman suggested I ask Singer or his business associates, "Do you know you're causing babies to die?"

What does this guy do - put poison in kiddies' milk? Worse: he takes away the milk.

Singer's modus operandi is to find some forgotten tiny debt owed by a very poor nation (Peru and Congo were on his menu). He waits for the United States and European taxpayers to forgive the poor nations' debts, then waits at bit longer for offers of food aid, medicine and investment loans. Then Singer pounces, legally grabbing at every resource and all the money going to the desperate country. Trade stops, funds freeze and an entire economy is effectively held hostage.

Singer then demands aid-giving nations pay monstrous ransoms to let trade resume. At BBC TV's Newsnight, we learned that Singer demanded $400 million dollars from the Congo for a debt he picked up for less than $10 million. If he doesn't get his 4,000 percent profit, he can effectively starve the nation. I don't mean that figuratively - I mean starve as in no food. In Congo-Brazzaville last year, one-fourth of all deaths of children under five were caused by malnutrition.

In 1995 the company bought defaulted Peruvian bank for $20 million and sued the country for $58 million. Kensington International, a subsidiary of the company bought $30 million in debt owed by Congo-Brazzaville. In 2002 and 2003 the company was awarded more than $100 million in interest. As of November 2011 Singer had reportedly been able to acquire $39 million of the country's oil sales. Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has described Singer as a 'vulture'.

NML Capital, a subsidiary of Elliott Capital has gone to extraordinary lengths to extract the $1.6 billion from Argentina awarded to NML Capital by a New York judge. In 2012 NML Capital won an injunction in a Ghanaian court to hold the flagship of the Argentine navy, the ARA Libertad in the port of Tema.

In response the Argentine foreign ministry said that 'vulture funds had crossed a new limit in their attacks' and that holding the vessel was 'a trick by the unscrupulous financiers.' It was also reported that the ministry stated that the detention of the vessel violated the Vienna Convention's clause on diplomatic immunity.

In December 2012 the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea ruled that Ghana's detention of the boat was in violation of international law.

In 2007 a number of bondholders moved to get a court order to detain the Tango 01, the Argentine presidential airplane, and to seize fuel money from the aircraft's pilots. The Argentine government cancelled the trip having learned of the plan. A trip to Germany was also cancelled due to the Argentine government learning of a similar plan to seize the aircraft. Bondholders have also attempted to acquire compensation through the assets of major Argentine politicians:

Holdout bondholders have also gone after the assets of prominent Argentine politicians, including Nestor Kirchner, his wife and current president Cristina Kirchner, and 136 members of her administration, including most of the cabinet. In 2010, Singer’s Elliott got Judge Griesa, who consistently rules against Argentina, to ask Bank of America to disclose all information related to their personal accounts. Elliott has even gone after Argentina’s foreign exchange reserves, coming close to seizing $105 million held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

In 2012 NML Capital and EM (owned by Kenneth Dart) were awarded $23 million from the assets of Argentina’s Banco Hipotecario.

NML Capital was represented in its dispute with the government of Argentina by former solicitor general and Bush v. Gore lawyer Ted Olson.

In 2012, then-Florida representative Connie Mack sponsored a bill to force Argentina to pay $3.5 billion to a number of hedge funds including Elliott Management. A number of Elliott employees were significant supporters of Mack's 2012 Senate campaign. Mack claimed to be unaware of Singer's role regarding Argentine debt.

Singer's purchasing of distressed debt has influenced the restructuring of Greek debt:

Singer’s relentless legal tactics also have cast a shadow over Greece’s sovereign-debt restructuring. It’s no accident that the law firm representing Greece — Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton — is the one that also represents Argentina in its fight with Elliott. “Elliott scares the hell out of the Greeks,” says one investor close to the Greek negotiations.

Hoping to avoid an Argentina-like battle over central bank reserves, the Greek bond exchange offer specifically stated that such monies could not be used to repay the debt, nor could anything that is considered Greece’s cultural heritage. Then there’s the collective-action clause, which Greece inserted in the new bonds. Since two-thirds of bondholders accepted the deal, all others were required to go along. Argentina’s bonds did not have such a provision. Although there’s some noise about hedge funds holding out on foreign-issued Greek bonds, extracting more from cash-strapped Greece is a long shot. Elliott hasn’t built up a hold-out position in Greek debt, according to an individual close to the firm. Last year it profited instead by trading Greek credit default swaps.

Singer has defended his investment in distressed debt, even claiming to be providing a service by holding nations to ransom:

In the summer of 2013, Singer told Institutional Investor's Alpha Magazine that forcing debt payment is a Singer-flavored form of activism. "We've made the point over and over again that sovereigns that could pay their debts and choose not to may be attempting to save some money but are harming their people and their economies by making investing in their countries more risky and more problematic and by discouraging foreign investment." In Singer's view, he isn't just forcing indebted companies and countries to pay up. He's trying to create a world where distressed debt doesn't exist.

Investment in Bankrupt Companies

In an article for Truthout investigative journalist Greg Palast detailed one of Singer's first ventures:

Singer's first big vulture attack was on American asbestos victims.

Background: The executives of three companies - vermiculate mine operator WR Grace, wallboard manufacturer USG and building materials company Owens Corning - knew that asbestos exposure in their respective operations was killing their workers. When caught and sued, the companies filed for bankruptcy, agreeing to pay almost all of their earnings to the people who were dying and injured by their asbestos.

But Singer had a better idea. These companies, as you can imagine, were worth next to nothing, and Singer bought Owens Corning for a song.

If he could cut the amount paid to the victims, Singer could boost Corning's value big time. So, a public relations campaign began, attacking the dying workers, saying they were all faking it.

One attacker was a guy named George W. Bush.

In January 2005, President Dubya held a televised meeting to promote an "expert" who pronounced that over half a million workers suing Singer's industry were liars. If workers couldn't breathe, he said to the grinning president, it wasn't the fault of asbestos.

The "expert" was not a doctor, but, notably, his "research" was partly funded by ... Paul Singer. And so was Bush. Since the death of Enron's Ken Lay, Singer and his vulture flock at Singer's hedge fund, Elliott International, had become the top contributors to the Republican National Committee. It's hard to measure his largesse exactly because some of that help comes in through the side door. For example, Singer put money behind the Swift Boat smear on Bush's opponent, John Kerry.

The legal, political and public relations attacks on the dying workers chiseled away the compensation expected to be paid by the asbestos companies, boosting their net worth. Singer then flipped Corning, selling it for a neat billion-dollar profit.

It's legal. It's brilliant. It's sick. It's Singer.

Singer profited from the collapse of Lehman Brothers by 'buying up both private and public claims across the Lehman capital structure...'

In 2009, Singer took control of Delphi Automotive, a major supplier of car parts for General Motors and Chrysler, then both bankrupt. Singer and his co-investors reportedly demanded that the US Treasury pay them billions of dollars in cash or they would shut off GM and Chrysler's access to parts likely forcing them into liquidation. Singer's consortium were subsequently granted $12.9 billion dollars in cash and subsidies from the auto bailout fund of the US Treasury. Elliott Management made some $1.29 billion. Singer later shut down 25 of the 29 Delphi car part plants and outsourced 25,000 Delphi jobs to Asia.

Position on LGBT Rights

Singer is a noted supporter of gay rights. However, the Paul E. Singer foundation funds the Philos Project, a Christian Zionist organisation that has close links with the Institute on Religion and Democracy. Members of the latter organisation, such as Janice Shaw Crouse propagate vehemently homophobic views.

In 2012 Singer donated $1 million to Freedom to Marry, a bipartisan gay marriage advocacy group.

The same year Singer created the American Unity PAC, a super PAC focused on supporting Republican congressional candidates who support marriage equality. and provided a large donation. The super PAC spent $2million on congressional races. Amongst the donors to the new super PAC was hedge fund manager Seth A. Klarman, who has been described by journalist Max Blumenthal as 'one of the pro-Israel community’s most prolific financial angels and also one of its most ideologically hardline.'

Political Contributions and Campaigning

In 2014 Singer was the third biggest political donor (excluding outside spending groups) in the United States. That year he donated $10,622,824 to conservative politicians. He is considered to be one of the most influential Republican Party donors:

In recent years Singer has emerged as a quiet force in the Republican Party. He’s one of a handful of moneymen who have given $1 million to the Romney super PAC “Restore the Future,” which so far has raised $37 million and spent some $34 million. Singer has also donated more than $220,000 to 31 Republicans in national races across the country since Barack Obama became President. Over the past three years he has given nearly $2 million to Republicans in local races in states as far-flung as Florida, Michigan, California, and Texas. But his value goes far beyond his own deep pockets. Singer is known as a major Republican “bundler,” with a large network of rich donors ready to follow his lead. “All the candidates come to pick his brain,” says one party insider.

Many in the East Coast elite wing of the party also view Singer as an intellectual with the tenacious spirit necessary to help them turn back the clock on regulation and resist higher taxes on the wealthy. “Paul Singer is a philosopher-king type of person,” says Anthony Scaramucci, the Skybridge Capital managing partner who, as Mitt Romney’s finance co-chair, worked hard to get Singer to swing his support behind his candidate.

He has donated funds to the following Political Action Committees: American Unity PAC, Ending Spending Action Fund, American Futuhre Fund, B-PAC, Arkansas Horizon, Tea Party Patriots Citizens Fund, Priorities for Iowa, Unlocking Potential PAC, Congressional Leadership Fund, New York 2014, Campaign for Jobs and Accountability, John Bolton Super PAC, and the USA Super PAC.

Singer was a major contributor to the pro-Mitt Romney superPAC Restore Our Future during Romney's presidential run. Singer donated $1 million to the superPAC. Singer was reportedly instrumental in the selection of Paul Ryan as Mitt Romney's 2012 running mate. Singer's close associate Dan Senor was one of the Romney/Ryan campaign's top foreign policy staffers. Senor is a board member of the Christian Zionist Philos Project (for which Singer is a major financial backer) and a director of the Paul E. Singer Foundation.

Singer was a major backer of Rudy Giuliani's 2008 Republican Party primary race and served as his east coast campaign chairman. He donated $172,950 to Giuliani in 2007 and leased one of his private planes to him.

Singer has reportedly provided significant sums to the Koch brothers 'dark-money projects' and to the Club for Growth, an anti-tax pro-tea party organisation that has helped to remove a number of mainstream Republicans from office. Singer has also donated to Karl Rove's Crossroads GPS and has approached Susan Ralston, former aide to Rove and disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff to aid fundraising efforts.

In April 2015 it was reported that Singer was fundraising for Marco Rubio's Republican presidential campaign:

Singer helping Rubio is a coup in the quest for donors among 2016 candidates, as Singer is known for being extraordinarily active in terms of pushing his wealthy friends to also support the candidates and causes he does.

In April 2015 Rubio was a featured guest at an event held at Singer's New York residence attended by Republican foreign policy hawks.

In May 2015, The Wall Street Journal reported that Singer was due to host two events for potential presidential candidates John Kasich and Chris Christie.

Foundation Donations

In 2009 Singer donated $1,100,000 to the American Enterprise Institute.

In August 2013, Salon reported that Singer had donated $3.6 million to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

Israel

In May 2008 Singer visited Israel as part of President George W. Bush's special delegation to Israel's 60th anniversary celebrations.

Christian Zionism

SInger's Paul E. Singer Foundation is a core funder of the Philos Project, a Christian Zionist organisation based in New York.

Singer is reported to be the largest Jewish funder of Covenant Journey an organisation which facilitates trips to Israel:

A Covenant Journey tour of Israel is unlike any other, as it is designed specifically to motivate its participants to discover and affirm their Christian identity through an experiential journey and educational experience of Biblical, historic, and modern Israel, providing participants with the ability to advocate for Israel upon their return.

Iran

Singer is a major donor to The Israel Project, described by journalist Eli Clifton as 'one of the shrillest opponents of diplomacy with Iran'. In February 2015, Clifton reported that between October 2012 and September 2013 Singer and Richard Perry accounted for more than one-third of The Israel Project's total revenue.

Singer also sits on the board of the neoconservative Republican Jewish Coalition and has donated $3.6 million to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies which has advocated for 'crippling sanctions; and airstrikes against Iran. Singer has also donated to the American Enterprise Insitute which, as Eli Clifton reports, 'perpetually decry Iran diplomacy in tandem with calls for more hawkish measures.'

Criticism of the Federal Reserve

At the World Economic Forum in January 2015 Singer accused the US Federal Reserve of fostering economic inequality through quantitive easing:

On Wednesday during a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Singer continued his attack on the Fed’s policies. He said that the Fed’s quantitative easing bond buying program has been the main driver of income inequality and is exacerbating social instability around the world.

“Inequality is a function of the government’s policies,” said Singer. “There is no question that QE is adding to it.”

Singer admitted that while the U.S. has experienced inequality before, but he said that the players involved in the past were different. He argued that the fact that current inequality is being driven by a rise in investment is clear evidence that the Fed is responsible.

Opposition to Financial Regulation

Singer supports the repeal of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act:

Among Elliott's allies is Rep. Scott Garrett, the New Jersey Republican who chairs the House subcommittee that oversees the Securities and Exchange Commission. Garrett has fought to slash the SEC budget and calls Dodd-Frank "unconstitutional." In 2010, Elliott executives ponied up nearly $200,000 for two campaign committees that helped Garrett and also boosted his stature with fellow Republicans; a large chunk of one of the committees' funds went to assist other members. Singer and other Elliott execs have also opened their wallets wide for Cantor, who has led efforts to protect a massive tax break, known as carried interest, that allows hedge funders to pay very low capital-gains rates on their income.

Swift Boat Veterans for Truth

During the 2004 presidential election campaign cycle Singer raised Wall Street funds for the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, the organisation that attacked presidential hopeful John Kerry's war record in Vietnam.

California Voting System

In September 2007, Singer was revealed to be the sole donor to Take Initiative America, an organisation created to promote a proposed ballot measure that would shift California's winner-takes-all electoral college voting system to a system that likely benefit Republicans:

The Presidential Election Reform Act would have changed the winner-take-all election rules for the 55 electoral votes in Democratic-leaning California. It would have required the electoral votes to be distributed based on the popular vote winner in each congressional district. Many political observers said that would probably have provided an unexpected windfall for Republicans - perhaps as many electoral votes as could be gained in a major state such as Ohio or Pennsylvania - and possibly changed the outcome of the 2008 presidential election.

Since Singer was intimately involved in Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign Democrats accused the Giuliani campaign of money laundering and seeking to effect the outcome of the presidential election:

"This puts this money-laundering operation right inside the Giuliani campaign ... with Rudy's top donor and his closest confidants," said Chris Lehane, a Democratic strategist and spokesman for Californians for Fair Election Reform, which fought the GOP-backed ballot measure.

"Federal election law is clear. If you're a presidential candidate, you or your agents can't direct money to a campaign that impacts the presidential campaign ... and there's no better way to rig the campaign than to impact the electoral college system."

Affiliations

• Manhattan Institute - Chairman of the Board

• Elliott Management Corporation - Founder and President

• Paul E. Singer Foundation - Founder

• Commentary Magazine - Board Member

• Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs - former Board Member

• Republican Jewish Coalition - Board Member