THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER: …Wolf’s family business – the Wolf Organization, a kitchen-cabinet design and distribution firm – has lost nearly half its value since the recession and the debt it took on in a leveraged buyout designed to pay a total of $60 million to Wolf and two of his cousins.
In reports to investors, the buyout fund that financed that deal, Boston-based Weston Presidio Fund V, says its investment in the Wolf Organization is worth just $22 million – a big drop from the $41 million Weston has invested in the company since 2006…
The fund’s partial buyout of Wolf’s firm benefited him and his two cousins, but it has been a loss so far for the fund’s investors, the largest of which is Pennsylvania’s underfunded State Employees Retirement System (SERS). SERS voted in December 2004 to invest $50 million in the fund, said SERS spokeswoman Pamela Hile. SERS had invested in previous Weston Presidio funds since 1998… (more)
EDITOR: Exactly the type of financial manipulator we don’t need in government. One more guy feeding at the public trough.
This guy is supposedly so successful, yet he had to borrow half of the $10 million to finance his campaign. Does he anticipate paying it back from his governor’s salary?
Really?! I read the entire article and completely fail to see the basis for your comment that he’s feeding at the public trough.
Sounds to me like he sold the company to a pack of greedy managers, unfamiliar with the business, and stupid enough to pay the full asking price. Then, he voluntarily steps in to get things back on track ( and save his remaining investment of course).
The alarming part to me is that the state pension fund has such a large stake in the investment.
I’m neither for or against Wolf at this point, but I don’t see anything out of order here.
Thanks for bringing the article to our attention.
EDITOR: Our point is that much of the money that he raised indirectly came from the state pension program. Please excuse our revulsion for those individuals who explore every possible device for feathering their own nests, with the results being that often others lose money.
What ever happened to earning money the old fashion way?
Do we really want someone as governor who is foolish enough to borrow $5 million to run for the office? Even if the person is scrupulously honest and of the highest integrity, it seems patently dumb and irresponsible.
One can safely assume with the above rebuttal that you could also be taking about PSP – a classic example of feeding at the public trough, reaping untold profits by doing so, and causing others (taxpayers. hoteliers, School District of Lancaster (just to name a few) to lose money.
Can anyone hold PSP responsible for this albatross?????
EDITOR: For some people, figuring out how to rip off their fellow citizens is a way of doing business.
“Do we really want someone as governor who is foolish enough to borrow $5 million to run for the office? Even if the person is scrupulously honest and of the highest integrity, it seems patently dumb and irresponsible.”
What’s $5 million to a multimillionaire?
And more importantly, who wants a candidate that owes his soul to out-of-state gas drilling corporations or state employee unions? I think we’ve seen how well those politicians have worked out for us taxpayers.
EDITOR: There are millionaires, plenty of them. There are centa-millionaires. There are billionaires. And there are multi billionaires. $5 million may not be that much to borrow for a campaign for a centa-millionaire, but it sure is for someone worth a small fraction of that amount which apparently is the situation with Wolf.
He distributes kitchen cabinets. He made some bucks through financial manipulations which were very self serving but he lauds as helping his employees.
He appears to be big talk as a ‘successful’ businessman but in fact wearing ‘short pants.’
Thank you for printing the Inquirer story re: Tom Wolf.It helped me to decide who not to vote for in the May primary.