Bankers were biggest donors to Obama

BARACK OBAMA owes Wall Street bankers a debt of gratitude for generous campaign donations as he ponders how to cope with a financial…

BARACK OBAMA owes Wall Street bankers a debt of gratitude for generous campaign donations as he ponders how to cope with a financial crisis that poses challenges over government aid and regulation for the banking industry.

Staff at banks, Silicon Valley technology firms and universities topped the list of contributors to Obama's record treasure chest of $640 million (€503 million).

Goldman Sachs was linked to more donations than any other company, as its employees and their families provided $847,207 to the successful Democratic candidate's fundraising machine.

People associated with JP Morgan provided $581,460 and donors linked to Citigroup gave $581,216, according to figures culled from public disclosures.

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Top fundraisers for Obama included the chairman of Swiss bank UBS's American arm, Robert Wolf, who generated more than $500,000 for the campaign. Bankers typically gave more to Obama than to his rival, John McCain.

Those linked to Goldman Sachs, for example, only gave $228,695 to the Republican. A Goldman Sachs spokeswoman declined to comment.

In Silicon Valley, people linked to Microsoft and Google contributed a combined $1.4 million to Obama's campaign, while McCain, a self-confessed technophobe, secured virtually nothing.

The famously liberal University of California proved more financially significant than any company as its employees, members and their families gave $909,203 to Obama's campaign. - (Guardian service)