Are Rich Politicians Selfless Politicians? - The New York Times

There was an interesting article in today’s New York Times about rich politicians. Basically, “if a wealthy candidate wins, shares of his company often climb.”

Mara Faccio, an assistant professor of management at Vanderbilt University, looked at the cases of 109 capitalists and entrepreneurs who were elected to political office in 47 countries. She chose politicians in two categories: those who owned at least 10 percent of the shares of a publicly traded company (which many economists consider a controlling interest), and those who had been chief executive, president or vice president of such a company.

In a paper published in March in The American Economic Review, Ms. Faccio reported that the politicians’ companies experienced a 2.3 percent increase in their share prices, on average, around the time of their electoral victories. If a politician entered the executive branch of government, the effect was larger — up to a 12 percent lift for companies associated with new presidents, prime ministers and other top officials.

I know I’m getting a little ahead of myself but… Could a Pete Ricketts victory in November mean a huge payday for Pete and his father Joe?