ASSOCIATED PRESS: Bernie Moreno Isn’t The “Political Outsider” He Claims To Be
July 29, 2024
Associated Press: Senate Candidate Bernie Moreno Campaigns As An Outsider. His Wealthy Family Is Politically Connected
Columbus, OH – New reporting from the Associated Press finds that despite campaigning as a “political outsider and immigrant whose family built its way out of rudimentary beginnings,” Bernie Moreno has “deep political connections,” with close family members “recycl[ing] through senior government jobs,” along with enormous wealth that “goes back generations.” Moreno continues to face scrutiny for “gross[ly] exaggerat[ing]” his “riches-to-rags-to-riches” origin story which he has made the “signature pitch” of his campaign.
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Associated Press: Senate candidate Bernie Moreno campaigns as an outsider. His wealthy family is politically connected
Julie Carr Smyth and Joshua Goodman
July 28, 2024
- Bernie Moreno was ready with a quip when a radio host in his native Colombia asked why he would want to trade his successful professional and personal life in Ohio for the toils of the U.S. Senate.
- “Remember that my brother, Luis Alberto, just got out of politics — and there always needs to be a Moreno in politics,” he replied in Spanish during the 2021 interview. “Otherwise, what happens in the world, right?”
- The lighthearted response from Moreno, the Republican nominee for Senate in Ohio, hints at his family’s deep political connections in both the United States and Colombia. Those ties, combined with his family’s considerable wealth in their home country, are the backdrop to Moreno’s journey…
- “He comes from one of Colombia’s well-off families, whose wealth goes back generations and whose members recycle through senior government jobs,” said Philip Chicola, a retired U.S. diplomat who once worked closely with Moreno’s older brother.
- Moreno has pitched himself as a political outsider and immigrant whose family built its way out of rudimentary beginnings in the U.S. thanks to the American dream.
- Moreno built his fortune as a luxury car dealer and blockchain entrepreneur. If elected, he would be among the top eight wealthiest senators, based on the most recent data from the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, with an estimated net worth between $25.5 million and $105.7 million.
- [Chicola] called Bernie Moreno’s immigrant origin tale a “gross exaggeration.”
- Many of Luis Alberto Moreno’s connections in business stem from his time as president of the Washington-based Inter-American Development Bank [IDB]…
- Another brother, Roberto Moreno, is co-founder and president of Amarilo Construction, one of Colombia’s largest builders of affordable housing… corporate records show at least some of IDB’s funding going to banks that worked with Amarilo, and Bernie Moreno’s financial disclosures indicate he is heavily invested in a U.S. affiliate of the company.
- Bernie Moreno’s siblings and their spouses have donated more than $134,000 since 2021 to Bernie Moreno’s two Senate runs, campaign finance records show.
- Moreno’s campaign also received $2,900 in 2021 from Luis Andrade, his cousin.
- Last year, [Andrade] was banned from holding office for 15 years as a result of an administrative disciplinary proceeding, which is now being appealed. He also faces criminal charges.
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