Virginia James

Last updated
Virginia James
Born
Passaic, New Jersey
Alma mater Columbia University
OccupationInvestor

Virginia James, also known as Virginia Manheimer [1] and Virginia Gilder, [2] [3] is a self-employed investor and conservative donor.

Contents

Personal life and education

James grew up in Passaic, New Jersey and Levittown, Pennsylvania. While working as a secretary on Wall Street, she met her husband, Richard Gilder. [2] The couple divorced in 1994. [4] James lives in Lambertville, New Jersey. [5] James graduated from Columbia University. [2]

Political activity

James is Chairwoman of the Empire Foundation for Policy Research, founder of A Brighter Choice (ABC) Scholarships, and a member of the board of the Foundation for Education Reform and Accessibility. [6] James and her ex-husband helped found the Empire Foundation, a conservative think tank, in 1991. [2] James is a supporter of school vouchers. In 1996, James offered to pay for 90% of the private school tuition for any student of Giffen Memorial, an Albany primary school. [4]

James is a co-founder of The Club for Growth, [7] to which she donated $700,000 in 2008. [1] James is on the leadership council of the Club for Growth. [8] James donated $1 million in 2014, $500,000 in 2013, $1.2 million in 2012, and $350,000 in 2010 to the Club for Growth Action. [3] [9] James has also donated to George Pataki, [2] Ted Cruz, Richard Mourdock, [10] and Steve Lonegan. [11] James was a major supporter of Let Freedom Ring, John Templeton, Jr.'s organization that opposed the election of Barack Obama in 2008. [1] James donated $200,000 to Women Speak Out PAC, a project of the Susan B. Anthony List that opposed the re-election of Barack Obama. [12] James donated $400,000 to All Children Matter, Dick Devos's school voucher advocacy group. [13]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Evans, Will (3 November 2008). "Big Bucks Let Freedom Ring". NPR. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Rosewicz, Barbara. "Ms. Gilder's Excellent Experiment". Council on Foundations. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
  3. 1 2 Cooper, Kent (20 March 2014). "Club for Growth Action Gets $1 Million Donation". Roll Call. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  4. 1 2 Dao, James (29 September 1997). "How to Make a Poor School Change; A Well-Financed Exodus of Students Is Countered by a Flurry of Fixing". New York Times. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
  5. ↑ Yang, Jia Lynn (11 October 2013). "Here's who pays the bills for Ted Cruz's crusade". Washington Post. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
  6. ↑ "Board of Trustees". Foundation for Education Reform and Accessibility. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
  7. ↑ Burton, Cynthia (28 October 2004). "'Soft money' flows to campaigns A handful of wealthy individuals in N.J. and Pa. have contributed millions to the so-called "527" groups". Philly.com. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
  8. ↑ Bravender, Robin (20 February 2012). "Club for Growth super PAC raises $1.5M". Politico. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
  9. ↑ Cooper, Kent (20 September 2013). "Super PAC Has $500,000 Donor". Roll Call. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
  10. ↑ Schouten, Fredreka (25 September 2013). "10 people heavily fund conservative anti-tax super PAC". USA Today. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
  11. ↑ Rizzo, Salvador (14 October 2013). "Booker raises 8 times more cash than Lonegan in U.S. Senate race". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
  12. ↑ "Super PAC: Women Speak Out PAC". New York Times. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
  13. ↑ "All Children Matter Fined for Illegally Funneling Campaign Money". Wisconsin Education Association Council. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
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