Steve Bing
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Stephen Leo Bing (b. March 31, 1965) is a Jewish-American real estate developer, film producer, and philanthropist.
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[edit] Biography
At the age of 18, Bing inherited an estimated $600 million from his grandfather, Leo S. Bing, who had made his fortune in New York real estate in the 1920s. Just how big Bing's fortune is now is unclear, although the Los Angeles Business Journal in May 2006 estimated his family's worth at $900 million, coming in at No. 42 in that publication's list of 50 "Wealthiest Angelenos."
[edit] Film
Bing has enjoyed notable success in filmmaking, though his directorial debut, Every Breath, went straight to video. His other, more notable projects include writing Kangaroo Jack and producing Get Carter. Bing reportedly invested $80 million in The Polar Express, an animated film featuring the voice of Tom Hanks, which earned $285 million globally and was one of the year's top box office successes.[1][2]
Bing is currently the executive producer of Santa Croce ([3]) and the named writer and producer on a forthcoming feature film, Why Men Shouldn't Marry.[4]
Bing also financed the independently released Jerry Lee Lewis album, Last Man Standing.
[edit] Politics
Bing is among the nation's leading donors to environmental causes. According to filings of public campaign contributions, the Democratic Party has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of his wealth.
Beginning with a $500 contribution in 1993 to support Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., in his bid for re-election, Bing has contributed more than $10.7 million at the federal level to the Democratic Party and its candidates, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
The biggest checks were written in 2002 when he gave a total of $8.2 million to the Democratic National Party. But he also has given to specific candidates, including Al Gore, Hillary Rodham Clinton, John Kerry, Nancy Pelosi and Dianne Feinstein.
Most of Bing's campaign contributions in the 2006 election cycle went towards Proposition 87, a California initiative that sought to raise $4 billion in oil production tax to help develop alternative fuels. He also supported a few key races in other parts of the country as Democrats fought to win back control of Congress. They included Democratic challenger Bob Casey, Jr. in Pennsylvania, who unseated conservative GOP incumbent Sen. Rick Santorum, and Tammy Duckworth in Illinois, a Democratic Congressional hopeful and an Army National Guard major who lost her legs in Iraq two years ago, who went on to lose to State Sen. Peter Roskam.
Excluding Prop. 87 contributions, in California Bing has written $7.8 million worth of checks since 2000, according to the California secretary of state. He spent $4.25 million in 2005 in a successful effort to defeat Prop. 77, a redistricting initiative sponsored by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Other beneficiaries include the California Democratic Party ($640,172); Gov. Gray Davis ($675,000); and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, whose campaign received $750 in 2004.
The result is that despite Bing's low-key personality, he wields incredible clout within the hierarchy of the Democratic Party.
[edit] Personal life
Bing has attracted attention for dating some of the world's most beautiful women and his high-profile lawsuits.
In 2001, he became British tabloid fodder after model and actress Elizabeth Hurley announced she was pregnant and claimed Bing was the father of the baby. He filed a lawsuit in England to establish his paternity, with a later DNA test proving paternity.
Separately but also in 2001, Bing's name appeared in the news when he sued billionaire Kirk Kerkorian for invasion of privacy. Bing alleged that Kerkorian's private investigators took Bing's dental floss out of his trash to collect his DNA. At the time, Kerkorian was in a legal fight with his ex-wife Lisa Bonder over the amount of child support he would pay, and the billionaire reportedly suspected Bing to be the father of the child. After Bing was proved by DNA test to be the father on Bonders child, Bing and Kerkorian settled their dispute out of court.
