Romney gains support of top Wall Street donor

Mitt Romney landed the endorsement and fundraising support of a top Republican donor, according to a Bloomberg report released on Monday.
 
Stephen Schwarzman, the chairman of the world’s largest private equity firm, Blackstone Group, will host a fundraiser at his Park Avenue apartment next month for the former Massachusetts governor, according to the report.
 

The endorsement will likely connect Romney to other wealthy donors on Wall Street, and is a sign that some of the most influential members of the financial industry are beginning to view him as the eventual GOP nominee.
 
Romney has already raised far more cash than his Republican rivals, outpacing the next closest candidate, Rick Perry, by $15 million through the end of September.
 
In 2008, the Obama campaign took in a significant haul from Wall Street and the financial industry, but has struggled to repeat that success in the latest cycle.
 
The Bloomberg report also noted that about 100 former donors to President Obama, primarily from Wall Street, have given to the Romney 2012 campaign, and that one of Obama’s biggest 2008 supporters, David Heller of Goldman Sachs, will not be fundraising for Obama in 2012.

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