Steve Bing

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Stephen Leo Bing (b. March 31, 1965) is an American real estate developer, film producer, and philanthropist.

Contents

[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. 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 Wealthiest Angelenos: L.A.'s 50 Richest

[edit] Education

Bing attended the elite Los Angeles Harvard-Westlake private school. Before graduation, he'd written (with veteran sitcom writer Arthur Silver) his first screenplay, "Missing in Action." It became a Chuck Norris film that had a sequel.

Bing dropped out of Stanford University in his junior year to pursue Hollywood.

[edit] Entertainment industry

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]

He is also the financier of Robert Zemeckis' Beowulf (2007), and the producer/financier of Shine A Light, a Rolling Stones concert film directed by Martin Scorsese.

Bing also financed and produced the independently released Jerry Lee Lewis album, Last Man Standing, pulling together performers such as Bruce Springsteen, Mick Jagger, Jimmy Page, B.B. King, and Kid Rock to play alongside "The Killer".

[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.

Bing was reported to have given at least $49.5 million during the 2006 election cycle in support of Proposition 87, a California initiative which sought to raise $4 billion in oil production taxes to help develop alternative fuels.[3] Bing also supported several 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 is thought to wield considerable clout within the Democratic Party hierarchy.

[edit] Personal life

Bing has attracted attention for dating some of the world's most beautiful women, and for 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. Bing filed a lawsuit in England to establish his paternity, with a later DNA test proving paternity. Bing claims he always said if the child was proved to be his he would make generous provision for him and that he has done so ever since. London's Daily Mail said that Hurley and her friends referred to Bing as "Bing Laden".

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, a former professional tennis player, over the amount of child support he would pay, with the billionaire reportedly suspecting Bing (a previous boyfriend) to be the father of the child. After Bing was proved by DNA test to be the father of Bonder's child, Bing and Kerkorian settled their dispute out of court.

The paternity of Bonder's daughter was revealed thanks to the efforts of Anthony Pellicano, a Los Angeles private investigator (and wiretapper) hired by Kerkorian's lawyer,[1] and also a "friend" to Bing.[2] According to an FBI summary, Pellicano sometimes played Hollywood clients against each other, at one point asking financier (and Bing friend) Ron Burkle for a $100,000 to $250,000 shakedown in order not to be investigated by Michael Ovitz, another Pellicano client.[3] In a twist to the case, The New York Times reported payments of $335,000 by Bing to Pellicano between June 2000 and August 2002. According to excerpts of recorded calls, Pellicano bragged to Kerkorian's lawyer in April and May 2002 that he was "working for" and "consulting for" Bing in matters related to Elizabeth Hurley and her son's disputed paternity, which was then in the news. A lawyer for Bing, Martin Singer, called Pellicano's statement regarding Hurley "an absolute lie." (The Daily Mail reportedly paid a "substantial" settlement to Bing in 2003 after Pellicano's sworn statement that he had "never been engaged by Mr. Bing nor his attorney Mr. Martin Singer to investigate anyone on Mr. Bing’s behalf, including Ms. Hurley."[4]) Pellicano was indicted (on February 6, 2006 in Los Angeles) on 110 counts of racketeering and conspiracy, wiretapping, witness tampering, identity theft and destruction of evidence. Five other Pellicano associates are also charged in a case scheduled to go to trial on February 27, 2008.[5]

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Lawyer Gave Information To Kerkorian", New York Times, 2007-01-11. Retrieved on 2007-04-12. 
  2. ^ "Lawyer Gave Information To Kerkorian", Sunday Mirror, 2002-06-16. Retrieved on 2007-04-12. 
  3. ^ "Billionaire Reports a Shakedown in Hollywood", New York Times, 2006-04-20. Retrieved on 2007-04-12. 
  4. ^ "Hollywood Evidence Raises Questions", New York Times, 2007-04-12. Retrieved on 2007-04-12. 
  5. ^ "Judge delays Pellicano trial until '08", Los Angeles Times, 2007-05-22. Retrieved on 2007-05-23. 

[edit] External links