Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

Who Was at Romney's '47 Percent' Fundraiser?

Marc Leder, left, hosted a fundraiser for Mitt Romney at his Boca Raton home on May 17, 2012. Leder: Sun Capital Partners; Romney: Tina Fultz/Zuma

As Mother Jones reported yesterday, speaking at a private fundraiser in Florida this May, Mitt Romney expressed his disdain for 'the 47 percent' of Americans who are 'dependent upon government,' 'believe that they are victims,' and 'will vote for the president no matter what.' The event was held at the Boca Raton home of private equity manager Marc Leder, who has donated $225,000 to the pro-Romney super-PAC Restore Our Future and $63,330 to the Romney Victory PAC. Employees of his firm, Sun Capital Partners, have given more than $970,000 to the Romney campaign and its related PACs in this election cycle (including donations from spouses).

So who else was on hand for Romney's 'off the cuff' remarks at Leder's spread on May 17? According to the TC Palm, 150 people attended the $50,000-per-plate event. The guest list hasn't been made public, but some possible attendees can be picked out of campaign finance records.

A search for Florida-based donors brings up more than 30 people who gave $50,000 to the Romney Victory PAC between May 1 and May 17:

• Dixie Arthur Accountant ASAP Capital Partners Tampa
• Thomas D. Arthur Retired Tampa
• Robert M. Beall Chairman Beall's Inc Bradenton
• Douglas F. Berman Fund Manager HIG Capital Weston
• Timothy M. Bryan Chairman & CEO Galaxe Solutions Key Biscayne
• Mitchel A. Burns Chairman Emeritus Ryder System Miami
• Christopher Cline Executive Foresight Management Palm Beach Gardens
• Richard A. Corbett Real Estate Developer Concorde Companies Tampa
• Jeffrey Feingold CEO McNa Dental Plans Delray Beach
• James P. Gills Ophthalmologist St Luke's Cataract & Laser Institute Tarpon Springs
• F. Phillip Handy CEO Strategic Industries Winter Park
• Michael Hechberger COO Infinity Sales Group Boca Raton
• Gabe Hoffman Managing Member Of General Partner Cardens Capital Miami Beach
• Manuel Kadre Attorney Manuel Kadre Pa Coral Gables
• Jonathan I. Kislak Venture Capital Antares Capital Miami Shores
• Rafael Kravec Retired Bal Harbour
• Sidney W. Lassen Business Executive Sizeler Realty Palm Beach
• Lisa J. Leder Homemaker [Marc Leder's ex-wife] Boca Raton
• E. Barry Mansur Investments Mansur Realty Captiva
• Henry Mccance Venture Capital Greylock Partners Lake Wales
• Dr. Roger Medel Physician Mednax Inc Davie
• Manuel Medina CEO & President Medina Capital Partners Miami
• Thomas Neff Chairman Spencer Stuart North Palm Beach
• William D. Perez Senior Consultant Greenhill & Co Naples
• Randal L. Ringhaver Chairman & President Ring Power Corp Saint Augustine
• Raul Rodriguez CEO Clinical Medical Services Miami Lakes
• Brian D. Schwartz Private Equity HIG Capital Fort Lauderdale
• John H. Sykes Self-Employed Sykes Enterprises Tampa
• Ellen Teresi Publishing Executive Paisano Publications Fort Lauderdale
• Joseph Teresi Publisher/CEO Paisano Publications Fort Lauderdale
• Mrs. Anthony Traviesa Venture Capital V3 Partners Llp Tampa
• Robert Zangrillo Founder Dragon Global Management Miami Beach

A broader search for big Florida donors suggests some more contenders. For example, Bill Bain, the retired founder of Bain & Company and Bain Capital, who lives in Naples, gave $50,000 to the Romney campaign PAC on April 25, less than a month before the fundraiser. Might he have driven across the state to hear Romney talk in Boca Raton? Perhaps, but the Leder event was just one of several fundraising events Romney attended in Florida in this time period, including another in Boca the same day.

We'll update this post as we try to confirm these and any additional names. 119 Corn on MSNBC: Romney Caught on TapeWe're Still at War: Photo of the Day for September 18, 2012 Senior Editor Dave Gilson is a senior editor at Mother Jones. Read more of his stories, follow him on Twitter, or contact him at dgilson (at) motherjones (dot) com.