Elliott B. Broidy (born 1956 or 1957) is an American businessman and Republican political fundraiser. From 2005 to 2008,he served as finance chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC). He was deputy finance chairman of the RNC from 2017 to 2018.
Raised in Westwood,Los Angeles,Broidy is the son of Sherman G. Broidy (1924–2014),an educator and property developer,and Dorothy Horowitz,a nurse.[2] He is Jewish.[3]
Broidy says he put himself through the University of Southern California "working as a commercial salmon fisherman" and that he "saved $10,000 and bought an East Los Angeles laundromat that he visited almost every day."[4] Broidy graduated from USC where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting and finance.[5] He was a Certified Public Accountant from 1982 to 1993.[6][7]
Career
Business
Broidy began his career in finance at Arthur Andersen in the tax department. One of his clients,Glen Bell,the founder of Taco Bell,hired him to manage his personal investments. He was the managing director at Bell Enterprises from 1982 to 1991.[4] In 1991,he founded Broidy Capital Management,an investment firm,serving as its chairman and chief executive officer.[5][6][8]
In the early 2000s,he established Markstone Capital Partners which invested in Israeli firms. Broidy met with Benjamin Netanyahu,who was finance minister of Israel at the time.[4] He raised $800 million for Markstone primarily with close cooperation of elected managers of government workers' pension funds in California,New York,and other states,as well as the city of Los Angeles which he was on the board of trustees for the Los Angeles Fire and Police Pension fund.[4][9] Around 2014,after Markstone co-founder Amir Kess was killed in an accident in which he was hit by a car while riding his bicycle to work,Markstone closed.[10][11]
While in operation,Markstone's lead investor was the New York State Common Pension Fund.[5][6][12] The pension fund invested $250 million with Markstone.[13] In 2009,after falling under investigation by then New York attorney general Andrew Cuomo,Broidy entered a plea deal which resulted in a misdemeanor after having been charged with providing excess gratuity to the former New York State Comptroller.[9][14][15][13][16] Broidy had provided gratuities to New York State pension authorities. The gratuities included luxury trips to Israel and an undisclosed investment in a film produced by the brother of the chief investment officer of the New York State Retirement Fund.[13][17] As part of the plea deal,Broidy paid $18 million in restitution of management fees paid by the state. Broidy later resigned from the chairmanship of Markstone.[9]
Broidy served as chairman of ESI Holdings,an event management firm. He served as commissioner and chairman of the Alternative Investment Committee of the Los Angeles City Fire and Police Pension Fund from 2002 to 2009.[5][6][9]
Circinus LLC
In 2014,Broidy purchased the Virginia-based OSINT services provider Circinus LLC,which provided services to the United States and other governments. In October 2017,Broidy met at the White House with Jared Kushner and then with President Donald Trump to discuss Circinus. Broidy felt that the President was "extremely enthusiastic" about the firm potentially signing a contract with the United Arab Emirates (UAE).[4] Broidy also suggested to the President that he should fire United States Secretary of StateRex Tillerson.[18][19] By 2018,Circinus reportedly obtained defense contracts worth more than $200 million from the UAE.[20][21]
In March 2018,Broidy filed a lawsuit against Qatar,alleging that Qatar's government hacked his emails and launched a smear campaign in order to discredit him because he was viewed "as an impediment to their plan to improve the country's standing in Washington."[22] In May 2018,the lawsuit named Mohammed bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani,brother of the Emir of Qatar,and his associate Ahmed Al-Rumaihi,as orchestrating Qatar's cyber warfare campaign against Broidy.[23][24] Broidy accused UN diplomat Jamal Benomar of being a secret Qatari agent and filed suit for the hacking. In the case,Broidy Capital Management LLC v. Jamal Benomar,it was determined that Jamal Benomar (of Qatar) had diplomatic immunity that prevented him from facing litigation and the appellate court dismissed the case.[25][26]
In 2016,Broidy served as a vice chairman of the Trump Victory Committee,a joint fundraising committee between the Donald Trump campaign and the RNC.[32] In addition,he served as a vice-chairman of the Presidential Inaugural Committee.[33] In April 2017,Broidy was named one of three national deputy finance chairmen of the RNC,along with Trump's lawyer Michael Cohen and the businessman Louis DeJoy.[34][35]
In March 2017,Broidy met with the former deputy head of China's Ministry of Public Security to discuss the extradition of Guo Wengui.[36] Wengui was later arrested for defrauding followers and investors.[37]
In April 2017,Broidy was appointed as deputy finance chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC).[31]
On April 13,2018,The Wall Street Journal reported that Broidy had a sexual relationship with Playboy PlaymateShera Bechard.[38][39] Broidy soon after resigned as deputy finance chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC).[31][40] Payments intending to retain privacy about the relationship were arranged for and made by Michael Cohen.[40][41][42][43][31] In response to the Journal article,Broidy issued a statement acknowledging that he had had a "consensual relationship with a Playboy Playmate",that Cohen had contacted him after being approached by the woman's attorney,Keith M. Davidson,and that Broidy had then hired Cohen to work out a non-disclosure agreement.[44][45][46] Broidy's lawyer,Chris Clark,stated that Broidy will withhold forthcoming payments to Bechard due to an alleged breach of the non-disclosure agreement on her part.[47] On July 6,2018,Bechard filed a lawsuit against Broidy and the attorney Michael Avenatti,in relation to the cessation of the settlement payments.[48][49][50]
In 2019,Broidy filed lawsuits accusing a former CIA officer,Kevin Chalker,and three lobbyists of aiding Qatar in hacking and distributing his communications to damage his reputation. Broidy alleged that Chalker's firm,Global Risk Advisors,carried out the hack for Qatar,but Chalker,whose company was contracted for 2022 FIFA World Cup security,denied involvement. A separate lawsuit targeted lobbyists Nick Muzin,Joey Allaham,and Gregory Howard,claiming they disseminated the hacked information to undermine Broidy's political influence. All denied involvement.[51] In 2023,Broidy withdrew claims against Allaham,who admitted knowledge of the hack but denied participation. By April 2024,Broidy dropped both lawsuits following a settlement.[51][52]
In 2020,Broidy plead guilty for failure to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) for his work on behalf of a Malaysian individual.[53] On January 19,2021,Broidy was granted a full pardon by President Donald J. Trump.[54]
In June 2020,a 112-page legal filing was submitted by Broidy in a federal court in New York,in which he accused Qatar of paying tens of millions of dollars to Global Risk Advisors (GRA),including its chief executive Kevin Chalker,for years to hack,surveil,and silence American citizens who criticized Qatar.[55]
Trump pardon for Elliott Broidy,and 26 other individuals,on January 19,2021
Following the publication of several negative stories arising from the hack carried out by the state of Qatar,Broidy resigned from several of these boards and philanthropic appointments.[31][45]
Films
Broidy was the executive producer of two independent films:Sugar and Snake &Mongoose,both released in 2013.[57]
Personal life
Broidy is married to Robin Rosenzweig,a former senior executive of 20th Century Fox.[58] The couple have three children.[8]
Broidy collects and restores rare and high-end automobiles,including models by Ferrari,Lamborghini,and according to a report by the Los Angeles Times,Broidy was inspired by 1960s-era fictional British spy,James Bond,and specifically collected and restored an Aston Martin DB5,which as of 2023 was,"undergoing a full nut-and-bolt restoration". Broidy also is said to own an Aston Martin V8 Vantage Le Mans V600.[60] The Aston Martin Le Mans V600 is reportedly one of only 40 models ever made as part of a special run made to mark the 40th anniversary of the 1959 Aston Martin win of the 24-hour Le Mans race in France.[60]
↑ Rothfeld, Michael; Palazzolo, Joe (July 1, 2018). "Top GOP Fundraiser to Stop Hush Payments Over Affair". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on July 1, 2018. Retrieved July 2, 2018. Now Mr. Broidy, who worked on the RNC with Mr. Cohen, will withhold the third installment of $200,000 that was due Sunday, in response to an alleged breach of the nondisclosure agreement, according to Chris Clark, a lawyer for Mr. Broidy.
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