It's not Sheldon Adelson: Harold Clark Simmons has given $18.7M
(NEWSER) - Sheldon Adelson and Foster Friess have been in the spotlight as the billionaire backers of Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum, respectively, but one man has given more than either of them to the GOP's 2012 effort: Harold Clark Simmons. The difference is that Simmons, the 80-year-old Texas billionaire head of chemicals and metals conglomerate Contran Corp., isn't giving to one particular candidate—his MO is basically anyone but, in his words, "that socialist." The $18.7 million that Simmons, his wife, and his company have donated makes him the largest contributor of the election cycle so far, the Wall Street Journal reports in an extensive profile, and he plans to spend $36 million before America heads to the polls in November. More»
