Want to become President Obama's Ambassador to Luxembourg? Then you better have raised $3million for his re-election campaign

Pay to play: Vogue magazine editor Anna Wintour is one of Obama's best fundraisers and has been rumored to be considered for the prestigious Ambassadorship to Britain

It's long been known that a president chooses his top donors for the most desirable foreign posts as a unspoken reward for their efforts.
But a new study has quantified exactly how much it costs for such prestigious ambassadorships and found the priciest post to be in Luxembourg, which is valued at $3 million in direct contributions to President Obama's campaign.
The research takes into account how much donors brought into the campaign as well as factors on the nations such as desirability, safety, and location to determine a theoretical amount needed to be considered for a job.
Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of Vogue magazine, was the president's fourth-biggest 'bundler' for his 2012 re-election, according to the New York Times.

 

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Wintour, who hosted fundraising dinners at the homes of Sex And The City star Sarah Jessica Parker and movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, was actively involved in the campaign and has been rumored to be a contender for the prestigious Ambassador to Great Britain.
The researchers' data backs this up. Wintour, 63, raised over $2.5 million for Obama in 2012 and the study suggests the 'value' of the British Ambassadorship is between $650,000 and $2.3 million.
The study, by Johannes W. Fedderke and Dennis C. Jett of Penn State, found the theoretical prices for each job, not a calculation of how much an actual ambassador 'paid' for the gig, the New York Times noted.
For Portugal, the researchers determined someone who contributed $602,686 would be in line for the gig.

OBAMA'S TOP 10 DONORS FOR 2012

NAME                                      AMOUNT RAISED                        OCCUPATION/ORGANIZATION

Andrew Tobias                         $4,080,220                                 Writer
Azita Raji                                 $3,151,647                                  Retired
Michael Kempner                    $3,096,882                                  Chief executive MWW Group
Anna Wintour                          $2,682,001                                  Editor-in-Chief    Vogue
Jane Stetson                           $2,433,975                                  Democratic National Committee
Michael Smith                         $2,381,100                                  Michael Smith Interior Design
Denise Bauer                          $2,360,300                                  Homemaker   
Frank White Jr.                       $2,343,649                                   Executive   
Matthew Barzun                     $2,312,509                                   Obama for America
Steve and Allison Spinner      $2,274,175                                   Self

When other factors, such as a country's tourist trade is taken into account, then France and Monaco are the new leaders, with the level of personal contributions at $6.2 million and bundled contributions at $4.4 million, the Times said.
The prices vary depending on what factors are emphasized over others, but the authors conclude that positions in desirable locations, such as Western Europe, North America and the Caribbean typically go to those who raised significant funds.

Thanks again: Obama meets with movie mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg at a fundraiser. Katzenberg raised over $6 million for the president in his two races for the White House

The study found that political ambassadors who had made campaign contributions of $550,000 had a 90 percent chance of being posted to a country in Western Europe.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2272038/Want-President-Obamas-Ambassador-Luxembourg-Then-better-raised-3-million-election-campaign.html#ixzz2JiFt9B6t
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