OPIC-backed investments are shrouded in secrecy — and for good reason: Many of the funds appear to be cash cows for the politically well-connected. A look at the people who run them reveals a high-finance jobs program for Washington players, including a former speechwriter, a campaign manager, and a White House staffer. And, of course, big political contributors are well-represented.
Dirk Ziff is co-chair of Ziff Bros. Investments, which manages a $150 million South Asia fund that received OPIC loan guarantees. Ziff, a prominent Democratic donor, was No. 6 on the Mother Jones 400.
John Lugar is Sen. Richard Lugar’s (R-Ind.) son. His South America Private Equity fund, which has received $100 million in loan guarantees from OPIC, stopped accepting investments in 1995.
Bernard Aronson is chairman of ACON Investments, which runs the OPIC-supported Newbridge Andean fund. He was an assistant secretary of state under Bush and a speechwriter for Carter.
