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
Eric Schmidt	John Kerry, Chuck Schumer, Ron Wyden, Al Gore, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee - Contributions, George W Bush, Democratic National Committee, DNC Non-Federal Unincorporated Association Account, Democratic Executive Committee of Florida
Joseph A Power Jr	Chris Dodd, John Kerry, Chuck Schumer, Ron Wyden, Al Gore, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee - Contributions, Democratic National Committee, Gary Peters, Richard Blumenthal
Regina Rogers	John Cornyn, Sheila Jackson-Lee, John Kerry, Nicholas V Lampson, John McCain, Ron Wyden, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee - Contributions, George W Bush, Bill White
Jann Wenner	Chris Dodd, John Kerry, John McCain, Chuck Schumer, George John Mitchell, Al Gore, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee - Contributions, Democratic National Committee, Gary Peters
Susan K Hess	Chris Dodd, John Kerry, John McCain, Chuck Schumer, Al Gore, George W Bush, Democratic National Committee, Democratic Executive Committee of Florida, Bill White
Howard Gottlieb	John Kerry, Nicholas V Lampson, Chuck Schumer, Ron Wyden, Al Gore, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee - Contributions, Democratic National Committee, Gary Peters, Paul Tsongas
Peter G. Kelly	Chris Dodd, John Kerry, John McCain, Chuck Schumer, Ron Wyden, George John Mitchell, Al Gore, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee - Contributions, Democratic National Committee
Max Palevsky	Chris Dodd, John Kerry, Nicholas V Lampson, John McCain, Chuck Schumer, Robert Wexler, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee - Contributions, Democratic National Committee, Democratic Executive Committee of Florida
Scott J Atlas	Raymond Eugene Green, Sheila Jackson-Lee, John Kerry, Nicholas V Lampson, Al Gore, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee - Contributions, Democratic National Committee, Michael Peter Skelly, Bill White
A Alfred Taubman	John Kerry, John McCain, Chuck Schumer, Ron Wyden, Al Gore, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee - Contributions, George W Bush, Democratic National Committee, Gary Peters
Jack Scarola	Chris Dodd, Alcee Lamar Hastings, John Kerry, Tim Mahoney, Robert Wexler, George W Bush, Gary Peters, Carol A Roberts, Lois Frankel
Alicia W Smith	Chris Dodd, John Kerry, Chuck Schumer, Robert Wexler, Ron Wyden, Al Gore, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee - Contributions, Democratic National Committee, Richard Blumenthal
Richard J Phelps	John Kerry, Nicholas V Lampson, Tim Mahoney, John McCain, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee - Contributions, George W Bush, Democratic National Committee, Democratic Executive Committee of Florida, Lois Frankel
Bill Gates	John Cornyn, John McCain, Chuck Schumer, Robert Wexler, Ron Wyden, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee - Contributions, George W Bush, Democratic National Committee, Holding Onto Oregon's Priorities
James E Smith	John Cornyn, Chris Dodd, John Kerry, John McCain, Chuck Schumer, George John Mitchell, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee - Contributions, George W Bush, Democratic National Committee
Martin Geller	Alcee Lamar Hastings, John McCain, Chuck Schumer, Peter R Deutsch, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee - Contributions, George W Bush, Democratic National Committee, Gary Peters, Richard Blumenthal
Anne Wexler	Earl Blumenauer, Chris Dodd, John Kerry, Chuck Schumer, Ron Wyden, George John Mitchell, Al Gore, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee - Contributions, Democratic National Committee
Albert B Ratner	Chris Dodd, John Kerry, John McCain, Chuck Schumer, Ron Wyden, Al Gore, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee - Contributions, George W Bush, Democratic National Committee
Nina Rosenwald	Chris Dodd, John Kerry, John McCain, Chuck Schumer, Ron Wyden, Al Gore, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee - Contributions, George W Bush, Democratic National Committee
Mellody Hobson	Chris Dodd, John Kerry, Nicholas V Lampson, Chuck Schumer, Ron Wyden, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee - Contributions, George W Bush, Democratic National Committee, Gary Peters

Donor

Common Recipients

Eric Schmidt

John Kerry, Chuck Schumer, Ron Wyden, Al Gore, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee - Contributions, George W Bush, Democratic National Committee, DNC Non-Federal Unincorporated Association Account, Democratic Executive Committee of Florida

Joseph A Power Jr

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

Regina Rogers

John Cornyn, Sheila Jackson-Lee, John Kerry, Nicholas V Lampson, John McCain, Ron Wyden, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee - Contributions, George W Bush, Bill White

Jann Wenner

Chris Dodd, John Kerry, John McCain, Chuck Schumer, George John Mitchell, Al Gore, Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee - Contributions, Democratic National Committee, Gary Peters

Susan K Hess

Chris Dodd, John Kerry, John McCain, Chuck Schumer, Al Gore, George W Bush, Democratic National Committee, Democratic Executive Committee of Florida, Bill White