Paul Singer

Paul Singer is the founder of hedge fund Elliott Associates. [cite web
title = Elliott Management Corporation Company Profile
publisher = Yahoo! Finance
url = http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/110/110749.html
accessdate = 2007-07-18 ]

Formed in 1977, Elliott is one of the oldest hedge funds under continuous management. Singer started the firm as a convertible arbitrage trader, but following the 1987 market crash moved into activist investing, including distressed debt. Today, Elliott has more than $9.5 billion of capital under management and has generated a compound net return of approximately 14 percent per year over the last 30 years. [http://www.elliottassociatesprofile.com/ Elliot's Activist Chief has no time for cheats but denounces aggressive tactics] , "Financial Times", April 10, 2006, accessed September 29, 2007]

A small portion of Elliott’s distressed securities trading has been in sovereign debt, most recently Argentina and Congo-Brazzaville. Elliott is well-known for its investment in the distressed debt of Peru. In 1995, Elliott bought $20 million face value of defaulted Peruvian bank debt. After extensive and costly litigation and numerous attempts by Elliott to settle, the Court awarded $58 million to Elliott, including past due interest. More recently, Elliott has exposed rampant corruption in Congo-Brazzaville in its efforts to enforce judgments totaling more than $100 million in defaulted bank debt. [ [http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=3863 The Debt Frenzy] , "Foreign Policy", July/August 2007] [ [http://www.mywire.com/pubs/ForeignPolicy/2007/07/01/3812158 The Debt Frenzy] , MyWire, July 1, 2007]

Singer is a graduate of the Harvard Law School and worked as a lawyer at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Real Estate before starting Elliott. On a personal level, Singer has been active in Republican Party politics and was a major contributor to George W. Bush's presidential campaigns. [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/25/business/25hedge.html Hedge Fund Chiefs, With Cash, Join Political Fray] , "New York Times", January 25, 2007] More recently, Singer and Elliott employees were major contributors to Rudolph Giuliani's 2008 presidential run. [ [http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=a4zgFCkfsvcM&refer=us Romney Attracts More of Bush's Top Donors Than Rivals (Update2)] , Bloomberg.com, July 20, 2007]

In 2007, Singer provided $175,000 to initially finance the petition drive for a proposed California initiative to apportion the state's 55 electoral votes by congressional district instead of winner-take-all. At least 19 of the state's 53 congressional districts could be expected to vote for a GOP presidential candidate, enough to change the national results in a close election. [Andrew Malcom, [http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2007/09/breaking-news-g.html "Giuliani fundraiser was mystery initiative backer"] , "Los Angeles Times", November 28, 2007]

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