The Remarkable, Conflicted Ricketts Family (and Their Political Money)
Joe Ricketts, owner of the Chicago Cubs, Ameritrade, etc., is the very wealthy man who wants to spend $10 million on ads portraying President Obama as a leftist radical influenced by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. But as families tend to be, the Ricketts (and their money) are not always on the same page. Here's a look at Joe Ricketts and his politically powerful kids.
.Joe Ricketts, owner of the Chicago Cubs, Ameritrade, etc., is the very wealthy man who wants to spend $10 million on ads portraying President Obama as a leftist radical influenced by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. But as families tend to be, the Ricketts (and their money) are not always on the same page. Here's a look at Joe Ricketts and his politically powerful kids.
Name: Joe Ricketts
Name: Pete Ricketts
Relationship: Son
Lives in: Omaha
Occupation: Chief operating officer of Ameritrade, co-owner of the Cubs.
Politics: Conservative
Political Money: Pete ran for Senate in Nebraska in 2006 and poured so much money into the election he triggered the "millionaire's amendment," which allows the opponents of self-financed candidates to raise larger sums from donors. (The Supreme Court struck down that law two years later.) Pete spent $12 million of his own money on the race and won just 36 percent of the vote -- even though there were only 570,000 registered Republican voters in a state with a population of just 1.7 million. Pete was running against Sen. Ben Nelson (who's retiring this year) and attacked him for something that eventually became a major Tea Party theme: ending earmarks. Pete also expressed an aversion to mean political attack ads, ironic, given his dad's love of them. At a debate in September 2006, Rickets said he took down his ads attacking Nelson, but "You, on the other hand, continued to put out ads that were basically lies."
The loss didn't drive Pete from politics. In the last three election cycles, he's donated at least $60,700 to Republican causes. He runs a Nebraska think tank called the Platte Institute.
Name: Laura Ricketts
Relationship: Daughter
Lives in: Chicago
Occupation: Worked at an environmental consulting firm and as a corporate lawyer. A LGBT activist, she's the first openly gay co-owner of a major sports team. She founded Ecotravel.com, though the website does not appear to be operating at the moment.
Politics: Laura is the family's liberal. She's an advocate for gay rights and serves on the board of directors Lambda Legal, a group that files lawsuits fighting discrimination. In explaining her background to the Chicago Reader in December, Laura detailed a familiar path to liberal politics. When she moved to Chicago from Omaha in 1985 to attend the University of Chicago, she felt "culture shock." She explained, "Once I settled down and got used to things like using public transportation, it didn't take long to love the city. I loved the diversity of it. I loved all the cultural options. The people here are sophisticated and intelligent, but also down to earth."
Political Money: According to the donor records from the Center for Responsive Politics, Ricketts started out small in donating political money, giving $250 to John Kerry in 2004 and $500 to the Democratic National Committee. Since then, she's started donating at much higher levels. In the last three election cycles, she's donated at least $293,406. (She did give $4,200 to her Republican brother Pete's Senate campaign in 2005.) This year, she's raised $456,631 for Obama so far. She introduced Obama at a Washington fundraiser in February, saying, the event was held "to show the president that the LGBT community stands strongly behind his reelection." She added, "I know the president stands with us."
Update: Laura issued a statement on the Wright ad, the Chicago Tribune reports: "All of my family members and I love this country and are passionate about doing what is right for the country. That love of country was instilled in us by my father. We have different political views on how to achieve what is best for the future of America, but we agree that each of us is entitled to our own views and our right to voice those views."
Name: Tom Ricketts
Relationship: Son
Lives in: Wilmette, Illinois
Occupation: Chairman of the Cubs, CEO of Incapital
Politics: Conservative
Political Money: He gave $49,450 to Republican causes in the last three election cycles, plus $15,000 to a baseball PAC.
Update: Tom issued a statement repudiating the Wright ad, saying, "As chairman of the Chicago Cubs, I repudiate any return to racially divisive issues in this year’s presidential campaign or in any setting — like my father has," the Chicago Tribune reports. "I shall have no further comment on this or any other election year political issue."
Name: Todd Rickets
Relationship: Son
Lives in: Chicago
Occupation: Co-owner of the Cubs
Politics: Conservative
Political Money: He's given $34,000 to Republican causes since 2008.