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Ronald Burkle

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Ronald Wayne Burkle (b. November 12, 1952, in Pomona, California) is an American business magnate. Listed on Forbes magazine's 400 and known as a major political fundraiser, his present net worth is estimated at $3.5 billion.[1]

Burkle got his start in the supermarket business as a bag boy at his father's grocery store. He later dropped out of college and founded Yucaipa Companies, a private equity firm[2] which invests in retail, manufacturing, and distribution.

Burkle has served as Chairman of the Board and controlling shareholder of numerous companies, including Alliance Entertainment[3], Golden State Foods, Dominick's, Fred Meyer, Ralphs, and Food4Less. He is currently a member of the board of Occidental Petroleum Corporation[4], KB Home[5], and Yahoo![6]

Burkle is a well-known Democratic supporter and fundraiser who has raised more than $1,000,000 for the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign. Bill Clinton is employed by The Yucaipa Companies to help identify possible investment opportunities.[7] He has supported California State Treasurer Phil Angelides and employed former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, both of whom are former California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) board members, but has also made contributions to California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.[8] Robert Novak reported in June 2007 that 98 percent of Burkle's $1.5 million political contributions to date have gone to Democrats.[9] Burkle helped finance Al Gore's cable Current TV network.[10]

Burkle is also known for a tussle with the New York Post which tagged him the "Billionaire Party Boy".

Pittsburgh Penguins

He is part owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins[11] National Hockey League team, although his current share is unknown. He co-owns the franchise with Penguins legend Mario Lemieux. The Penguins won the Stanley Cup in 2009.

U.S. President Barack Obama welcomed the Pittsburgh Penguins to the White House on September 10, 2009[12] and celebrated the Stanley Cup champions for their performance on and off the ice.Joining Obama on stage were Bylsma, Orpik, Guerin, defensemen Mark Eaton and Alex Goligoski; majority co-owner Ron Burkle; team president David Morehouse; and general manager Ray Shero. Local and state officials in attendance were Senators Arlen Specter and Robert Casey Jr. and Representatives Mike Doyle, Jason Altmire, Tim Murphy, Chris Carney and Glenn Thompson. Also attending was Agricultural Secretary Tom Vilsack, a Pennsylvania native.

Wild Oats

Wild Oats Markets was an operator of natural foods stores and farmers' markets in North America. Burkle started buying Wild Oats stock in February 2005. By the time Whole Foods Market, a natural-foods grocer, agreed to pay $565 million for Wild Oats, Burkle was the largest shareholder of Wild Oats.[13]

Golden State Foods

Burkle sold his majority stake in supplier Golden State Foods to St. Louis-based Wetterau Associates for about $110 million. Golden State, one of McDonald's biggest suppliers, operates 11 distribution centers in the United States and abroad and two U.S. processing plants.[14]

Follieri and the Vati-Con Scandal

On April 30 2008, a Delaware judge dismissed Burkle's lawsuit against Raffaello Follieri, ex-boyfriend of actress Anne Hathaway, after he agreed to repay Burkle more than $1.3 million Burkle loaned him, a small amount of the money Burkle lost in the Vati-Con Scandal.[15]

Investments & transactions

Burkle's investments and transactions include:

Payola Scandal

In April 2006, Burkle accused New York Post columnist Jared Paul Stern of attempting to extort money from him in exchange for stopping the publication of stories in Page Six, the paper's gossip column, about his private life.[16] Burkle secretly videotaped two private meetings between himself and Stern, with the second meeting orchestrated and monitored by the FBI. Stern allegedly asked Burkle for a $220,000 investment in his clothing business in exchange for better coverage. Stern was subsequently fired by the Post.[17]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Forbes Billionaire Bac amberrrr! helors". forbes.com. 2008-04-08. Retrieved 2007-10-01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); line feed character in |title= at position 34 (help)
  2. ^ "The Complete Ron Burkle". The New York Observer. 2006-04-12. Retrieved 2007-10-01. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ "#112 Ronald Burkle". Forbes 400. Retrieved 2007-10-01.
  4. ^ "board of directors". Occidental Petroleum Corporation. Retrieved 2007-10-01.
  5. ^ "Ronald W Burkle". Forbes. Retrieved 2007-10-01.
  6. ^ "Board of Directors". Yahoo!. Retrieved 2007-10-01.
  7. ^ The Rise Of Ron Burkle - Forbes.com
  8. ^ Murdoch Donates $250K to Schwarzenegger
  9. ^ #117 Ronald Burkle - Forbes.com
  10. ^ Newspapers may have an angel / Billionaire Burkle emerges as possible buyer, union says
  11. ^ Solomon, Deborah (2007-03-18). "Questions for Ron Burkle: Friend of Bill and Hill". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-10-01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ "President Needles Crosby".
  13. ^ "Ronald Burkle Harvests His Wild Oats". 2007-02-22.
  14. ^ "Burkle sells 51% stake in Golden State Foods". 2004-02-16.
  15. ^ "Side Dish". 2008-04-30.
  16. ^ "HOW HE MADE HIS MOVE. Shaking down a billionaire". 2006-04-09.
  17. ^ "Joe Tacopina To Testify About Bernie Kerik's Liesh".

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