LOVE & MONEY FOR BANK BOSS
The Dimon exchange ...
Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMORgan Chase, who has been under fire since disclosing his company lost $2 billion-plus due to an “egregious mistake,” gave his wife a stock certificate on their 15th wedding anniversary — handing over one-third of his net worth because she “deserved” it.
Whatta guy!
The Ricketts file ...
pulled the plug on the plan.
The big question: What was Joe Ricketts thinking in the first place?
Foul ball? Has Joe Ricketts undone the work his son, Tom — who oversees the Cub franchise at Wrigley Field — been trying to accomplish: Getting Mayor Rahm Emanuel to finance a makeover of historic field through city tax incentives?
Strike One: Wasn’t it stupid to get on the wrong side of Mayor Emanuel, who is this/close to Obama? (Rahm was also the former U.S. Congressman representing the district that includes Wrigley Field.)
Strike Two: Isn’t it idiotic to antagonize Cubs fans who are huge Obama supporters?
Strike Three: Before Joe Ricketts decided to pull the plug on the proposed incendiary ads, Mayor Emanuel went ballistic and U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley, whose district includes Wrigley Field, told Sneed:
“I have nothing but disdain for what the [Ricketts] Superpac has in mind ... but I feel for that family,” said Quigley, who represents the Wrigley Field district.
“Joe’s daughter, Laura Ricketts, is a strong supporter of Obama and has gone overboard in her support of Democratic causes.
“I presume Tom feels the same Hey! Hey! Holy Cow! Is someone soft as a grape in the Ricketts tribe?
To wit: Shortly after a New York Times story broke that TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts, whose children own the Chicago Cubs, was planning to fund a GOP Superpac to bazooka President Barack Obama — he way as Laura. They’ve been good neighbors since they got here. And very generous. I feel it’s safe to assume they aren’t in agreement with what their father is doing,” he added.
“All I can say is you can’t pick your family members, and I’m sure they are feeling very helpless right now.
“We use public money for private economic development all the time,” said Quigley.
“It’s just sad when it gets caught up in family politics.”
Yer out? Laura Ricketts, who must be furious with her dad, issued a statement Thursday crediting her father for “instilling love of country ... but we agree that each of us is entitled to our own views and our right to voice those views.
“I am doing all that I can to help President Obama get re-elected because it is what I believe is best for America.”
Play ball? How about hardball.
A Jordan jot ...
Nuptial note: Still no details on Michael Jordan’s wedding plans despite the fact the hoops star got engaged at Christmas to longtime girlfriend/model, Yvette Prieto.
Francophile file ...
New French first lady Valerie Trierweiler, whose unwed status to newly elected French President Francois Hollande will make them the first such couple to occupy the Eylsee Palace, is a hard working journalist who:
was raised by a mother who was a cashier at an ice rink;
is “scared of losing my liberty and independence”;
and doesn’t like being followed by security.
Bon chance in Chicago.
This & that ...
... from here and there:
ZZZZZZZ: Baseballer Roger Clemens’ illegal steroids trial has become so tedious and boring, several jurors have been dismissed because they fell asleep.
Say whaaaa ...
Former President George W. Bush quickly slipped out of a rare visit to Washington, D.C., recently with this quote: “I actually found my freedom by leaving Washington.”
The Quinn bin ...
The Japanese fan brigade: Gov. Pat Quinn was lavished with gratitude last Friday for Illinois’ donation of 2,000 personal radiation detectors dispatched to Japan following the killer tsunami last year. Japan’s Consul General Okamura Yoshifumi, accompanied by several Japanese CEOS and business leaders, told Quinn the detectors are still in use. There ya go.