LittleSis: Leslie Alexander

Leslie Alexander is a true self-made billionaire. He dropped out of Brooklyn Law School at age 21 after his father died and headed to Wall Street to help provide for his mother. He found he was pretty good at investing, and after finishing his law degree he went back to trading bonds -- this time for himself. In 1993, he shelled out $85 million to buy the Houston Rockets. Good timing: Hakeem Olajuwon led the team to NBA titles in the next two seasons. In 2017 Tilman Fertitta agreed to purchase the Houston Rockets for a record $2.2 billion. Alexander first landed on the Forbes 400 in 2006 thanks to his stake in student loan securitizer First Marblehead, though the Rockets proved to be his best investment. In June 2016 First Marblehead was acquired by FP Resources for $5.05 per share, less than 1% of its 2006 peak price. Outside of business, Alexander is an animal lover; he funds a horse sanctuary in Middleburg,Virginia named after his mother, Evelyn.

Donor	Common Recipients
James A Ratner	Chris Dodd, John Kerry, Chuck Schumer, Ron Wyden, Al Gore, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee - Contributions, George W Bush, Democratic National Committee, Democratic Executive Committee of Florida
Jill Erika Braufman	Chris Dodd, John Kerry, Nicholas V Lampson, Chuck Schumer, Ron Wyden, Al Gore, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee - Contributions, Democratic National Committee, Richard Blumenthal
Morton Leon Mandel	John Kerry, Ron Wyden, George John Mitchell, Al Gore, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee - Contributions, Democratic National Committee, DNC Non-Federal Unincorporated Association Account, Democratic Executive Committee of Florida, Lois Frankel
Martin A Russo	Chris Dodd, Sam Farr, John Kerry, Chuck Schumer, Ron Wyden, Peter R Deutsch, George John Mitchell, Al Gore, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee - Contributions
BettyLu Saltzman	John Kerry, Chuck Schumer, Ron Wyden, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee - Contributions, Democratic National Committee, Democratic Executive Committee of Florida, Gary Peters, Paul Tsongas, Richard Blumenthal
Ronald L Platt	Chris Dodd, Alcee Lamar Hastings, John Kerry, Chuck Schumer, Robert Wexler, Ron Wyden, Al Gore, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee - Contributions, Democratic National Committee
David E. Shaw	Chris Dodd, John Kerry, Chuck Schumer, Ron Wyden, Al Gore, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee - Contributions, Democratic National Committee, DNC Non-Federal Unincorporated Association Account, Gary Peters
Craig Effron	John Kerry, John McCain, Chuck Schumer, Robert Wexler, Ron Wyden, Al Gore, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee - Contributions, George W Bush, Democratic National Committee
Richard Slifka	Chris Dodd, John Kerry, Chuck Schumer, Ron Wyden, George John Mitchell, Al Gore, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee - Contributions, Democratic National Committee, Democratic Executive Committee of Florida
William L Mack	Chris Dodd, Tim Mahoney, John McCain, Chuck Schumer, Ron Wyden, George John Mitchell, Al Gore, George W Bush, Democratic National Committee
Lawrence J Stupski	Sam Farr, John Kerry, Nicholas V Lampson, Chuck Schumer, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee - Contributions, George W Bush, Democratic National Committee, DNC Non-Federal Unincorporated Association Account, Democratic Executive Committee of Florida
Lew Wasserman	Chris Dodd, John Kerry, John McCain, Chuck Schumer, Ron Wyden, George John Mitchell, Al Gore, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee - Contributions, DNC Non-Federal Unincorporated Association Account
Peter Malkin	Chris Dodd, John Kerry, John McCain, Chuck Schumer, Al Gore, Sedgwick William Green, Democratic National Committee, Lois Frankel, Richard Blumenthal
Morton Funger	John Kerry, Tim Mahoney, Ron Wyden, Al Gore, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee - Contributions, George W Bush, Democratic National Committee, DNC Non-Federal Unincorporated Association Account, Gary Peters
Woody Kaplan	Chris Dodd, John Kerry, Chuck Schumer, Ron Wyden, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee - Contributions, Democratic National Committee, DNC Non-Federal Unincorporated Association Account, Gary Peters, Richard Blumenthal
Adam R Rose	John Kerry, Chuck Schumer, Ron Wyden, Al Gore, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee - Contributions, Democratic National Committee, DNC Non-Federal Unincorporated Association Account, Democratic Executive Committee of Florida, Roger F Kahn
Leonard Litwin	Chris Dodd, John McCain, Chuck Schumer, Ron Wyden, Al Gore, Sedgwick William Green, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee - Contributions, George W Bush, Democratic National Committee
Edgar Bronfman Sr	Chris Dodd, John Kerry, Nicholas V Lampson, John McCain, Chuck Schumer, Ron Wyden, George John Mitchell, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee - Contributions, Democratic National Committee
Alan C Fox	Chris Dodd, John Kerry, Nicholas V Lampson, Chuck Schumer, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee - Contributions, Democratic National Committee, Gary Peters, Bill White, Lois Frankel
Anthony R Chase	Chris Dodd, Sheila Jackson-Lee, Nicholas V Lampson, Al Gore, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee - Contributions, George W Bush, Democratic National Committee, Bill White, Carroll G Robinson

Donor

Common Recipients

James A Ratner

Chris Dodd, John Kerry, Chuck Schumer, Ron Wyden, Al Gore, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee - Contributions, George W Bush, Democratic National Committee, Democratic Executive Committee of Florida

Jill Erika Braufman

Chris Dodd, John Kerry, Nicholas V Lampson, Chuck Schumer, Ron Wyden, Al Gore, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee - Contributions, Democratic National Committee, Richard Blumenthal

Morton Leon Mandel

John Kerry, Ron Wyden, George John Mitchell, Al Gore, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee - Contributions, Democratic National Committee, DNC Non-Federal Unincorporated Association Account, Democratic Executive Committee of Florida, Lois Frankel

Martin A Russo

Chris Dodd, Sam Farr, John Kerry, Chuck Schumer, Ron Wyden, Peter R Deutsch, George John Mitchell, Al Gore, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee - Contributions

BettyLu Saltzman

John Kerry, Chuck Schumer, Ron Wyden, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee - Contributions, Democratic National Committee, Democratic Executive Committee of Florida, Gary Peters, Paul Tsongas, Richard Blumenthal