Lawrence Summers received over 5 million from D.E. Shaw

Anyone who thinks of Obama as some sort of radical out to change the power structure of America needs to do some research on the backgrounds of his top advisors. The same people
who made big profits from the greed that helped produce the present economic meltdown are now in charge of restarting and restructuring the economy. Summers has always struck me as a completely disgusting individual revealed by his famous memo re exporting pollution to Africa to some of his pronouncements while president of Harvard. How he ever became chief advisor to Obama is beyond me.
Summers is part and parcel of the Wall Street cabal that brought this disaster upon America and as one can see his punishment is millions in compensation and the job of chief economic advisor to that great agent of change Barack Obama. Meanwhile the public anger is diverted to the bonuses paid to AIG operatives!

<http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123879462053487927.html>
Summers Received Over $5 Million From D.E. Shaw
By JOHN D. MCKINNON and T.W. FARNAMWASHINGTON -- Top White House economic adviser Lawrence Summers received about $5.2 million over the past year in compensation from hedge fund D.E. Shaw, and also received hundreds of thousands of dollars in speaking fees from major financial institutions.A financial disclosure form released by the White House Friday afternoon shows that Mr. Summers made frequent appearances before Wall Street firms including JP Morgan, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers. He also received significant income from Harvard University and from investments, the form shows.In total, Mr. Summers made a total of about 40 speaking appearances to financial sector firms and other places, with fees totaling about $2.77 million. Fees ranged from $10,000 for a Yale University speech to $135,000 for an appearance paid for by Goldman Sachs & Co.The disclosure -- in a financial report that is required for federal office holders -- comes as Mr. Summers is involved in shaping the Obama administration's policy decisions on the financial meltdown as well as the broader recession. Among the many decisions the economic team has wrestled with has been whether to step up regulation of hedge funds, one of the most contentious subjects during a summit of world leaders this week. European nations pushed for tougher rules, while the Obama administration preferred a less stringent approach.Asked to comment, White House spokesman Ben LaBolt said that, "from the first days of the administration, we have bolstered accountability over banks" and made other rules changes to that " the influence of lobbyists is curbed, executive compensation is reined in, and firms are required to show how they will preserve or expand lending using government funds." He added: "Dr. Summers has been at the forefront of this administration's work to shore up our nation's financial system and to put in place a regulatory framework that will strengthen the financial system and its oversight -- all in an effort to help the families across America who have paid a very steep price for risky decisions made by Wall Street executives."A White House official added that the speeches "long pre-date Summers's work as an official of the Obama administration or even the Obama transition. He was not an adviser to or an employee of the firms that paid him to speak."Mr. Summers joined D.E. Shaw Group in late 2006 as a managing director. He helped develop strategies including new businesses and also helped evaluate investments for the New York firm, which oversees about $30 billion in assets, making it one of the biggest hedge-fund managers in the world. A D.E. Shaw spokeswoman couldn't be reached for comment.In at least one instance, Mr. Summers shed fees paid to him from a Wall Street firm that received federal funds. His form shows that he received a $45,000 speaking fee from Merrill Lynch on Nov. 12 -- about a week after Barack Obama won the election -- and that he donated the sum to charity.The White House official said that when Mr. Summers "became aware that Merrill Lynch would be accepting taxpayer funds through its merger with Bank of America, he attempted to cancel his appearance." The official added that "when he was unable, he elected to donate those funds to charity."Mr. Summers also received significant income from Harvard University, where he served until 2006 as president, and from investments, his disclosure form shows.In addition to the Summers form, the White House released financial disclosure material for other top aides.David Axelrod, the president's top political advisor, reported in his form that he will get $3 million over the next five years from the sale of his two media consulting firms, ASK Public Strategies, LLC and AKP&D Message and Media. In addition, Mr. Axelrod took a salary of $896,776 last year from AKP&D and reported $651,914 in partnership income from the two companies.In total, Mr. Axelrod reported assets valued between $6.9 million and $9.5 million. Mr. Axelrod's clients were mostly political campaigns, including those of Rep. Patrick Kennedy, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, and Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley. He also reported receiving money from large corporations such as AT&T Inc., Comcast Corp. and the nuclear energy company Exelon Corp.___________________________________