Sandra Wagenfeld and Francine Goldstein (No. 259, $208,000) -- known to Bill Clinton as "Sandra and Fran" -- are housemates and business partners at Aviation Products Management, where Wagenfeld is president and Goldstein is director of external affairs. Though the pair have long given to Democrats, they more than doubled their contributions during the last election cycle, giving a combined $521,850 to the party and its candidates. One of the greatest beneficiaries of their largesse was Hillary Clinton.

When her husband died in 1996, Wagenfeld inherited interests in three aviation companies worth $119 million. In addition to running Aviation Products, she is an officer of ABS Partnership, a little-known, privately held company to which Goldstein is often linked in press reports. The firm makes "hush kits," muffler systems that help older jets meet current international noise standards.

The disputed EU regulation, scheduled to take effect for American companies in 2002, bans new registrations of hush-kitted planes in Europe. European officials say the ban is meant to "freeze the current number of noisy aircraft that are particularly environment-unfriendly." The Clinton administration claimed the Europeans were hurting American firms in an attempt to boost European jet manufacturers.

Before filing the complaint, President Clinton tried lobbying European officials to scrap the rule. On October 27, 1999, Wagenfeld and Goldstein each wrote a $50,000 check earmarked for Hillary's Senate bid -- reportedly her campaign's largest contribution to that point. That same day, according to U.S. News and World Report, President Clinton met in the Oval Office with Romano Prodi, president of the European Union's chief policy-making body, to ask him to reconsider the hush-kit ban. The president continued to pursue the matter, but the EU refused to budge. In March of last year, the administration finally abandoned its attempts at diplomacy and filed a formal complaint with the international aviation group, which is chartered by the United Nations.

White House spokesmen denied any connection between the complaint and campaign contributions from Wagenfeld and Goldstein, saying the administration viewed the rules as "unfair trade practices." Wagenfeld told reporters she's "just a good Democrat," and that she never discussed the regulation with the Clintons. She and Goldstein, she added, "want to help good Democrats get elected."

If Hillary Clinton is a good Democrat, then Wagenfeld and Goldstein succeeded. In addition to what they gave outright, the partners also encouraged other wealthy New Englanders to open their wallets. They hosted a June 1999 luncheon that raised $400,000 for the Democratic National Committee, and held a roundtable discussion featuring Hillary Clinton, who won what proved to be the most expensive Senate seat in the election.

President Clinton voiced his appreciation to the women during a fundraiser at the women's $4.7 million estate. "I want to say a special word of thanks to Fran and Sandra," he told the assembled donors, "for being so wonderful to Hillary."