Spending Millions to Save Billions. The why is easy - here's the how much we gain:
How much does it take? Net worth vs lobbying expenditures:*
| Family | Family Business | Number of Years in Which Business Has Lobbied on the Estate Tax since 1998 | Approx. Net Worth | Total Lobbying Expenditures Since 1998 | Approx. Estate Tax* | Return on Investment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blelthen | Seattle Times Co. | 6 | $650.0 million | $600,000 | $253.9 million | 42217% |
| Cox | Cox Enterprises | 8 | $24.8 billion | $9.5 million | $9.7 billion | 102005% |
| DeVos & Van Andel Families | Alticor Inc. | 8 | $3.4 billion | $420,000 | $1.3 billion | 309424% |
| Dorrance | Campbell Soup | 2 | $6.5 billion | $20,000 | $2.5 billion | 12499900% |
| Johnson | BET, LJH Development | 2 | $700.0 million | $10,000 | $273.4 million | 2733900% |
| Koch | Koch Industries | 7 | $24.0 billion | $3.6 million | $9.4 billion | 261011% |
| Mars | Mars Inc. | 8 | $30.0 billion | $9.5 million | $11.7 billion | 123058% |
| Mayer | Captiva Resources | 1 | $118 million | $20,000 | $46.4 million | 231900% |
| Nordstrom | Nordstrom Inc. | 1 | $2.1 billion | $200,000 | $826.5 million | 413150% |
| Sobrato | Sobrato Development | 1 | $2.0 billion | $20,000 | $780.4 million | 3901900% |
| Stephens | Stephens Group | 7 | $795.7 million | $1.2 million | $310.7 million | 25792% |
| Timken | Timken Co. | 4 | $201.5 million | $700,000 | $79 million | 11186% |
| Walton** | Wal-Mart, Walton Enterprises | 4 | $83.7 billion | $600,000 | $32.7 billion | 5449900% |
| 4.5 (average) | $178,965,200,000 | $26,390,000 | $77,155,400,00 |
* Source: Public Citizen analysis of lobbying disclosure records filed with the Secretary of the Senate. ** The Walton family has financed its estate tax lobbying effort through Walton Enterprises, a family company that holds about 40% of Wal-Mart’s stock.
For more information and detailed, per family worth and expenditures,
please see: Public Citizen’s Congress Watch & United for a Fair Economy: Spending Millions to Save Billions
http://www.faireconomy.org/reports/2006/EstateTaxFinal.pdf
$600,000.00
http://BillionairesForBush.com