Sandra H. Payson
March 5, 2001 Sandra Payson is the only Democratic donor in a wealthy and otherwise Republican family. Her mother, the late Joan Whitney Payson, co-founded the New York Mets with George Herbert Walker Jr. Walker, an uncle of former President George Bush, helped fund his nephew's entry into the oil business in the 1950s. Once in office, Bush returned the favor by nominating Walker's son and his own first cousin, John Walker Jr., to a judgeship on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. The younger Walker is now considered likely to be nominated to fill the next vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court by his first cousin once removed -- President George W. Bush. Payson is the granddaughter of Payne Whitney, who ranked as the third-richest man in America when he died in 1927. The Payne Whitney family is known for their interests in real estate, horse breeding, and art. Payson's mother was co-owner of Greentree Stud, a horse breeding and racing business, and Payson owned a 129-acre farm in Malta, New York. Her late husband, William Blair Meyer, was a New York real estate developer. Payson wrote a $250,000 check to the Democratic National Committee and gave $1,000 to Hillary Clinton and Al Gore -- perhaps by way of a belated thank-you for an invitation to a White House tea in 1996. Two of her relatives join her on the Mother Jones 400: her cousin Marylou Whitney (No. 176, $266,000) and her nephew John Payson (No. 357, $165,850). -- Suzanne Boothby | | |
