Obama taps Chicago's John W. Rogers Jr to chair President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability

Chicago Sun-Times ^ | October 13, 2010 | Lynn Sweet

[maggief]

WASHINGTON---President Obama tapped Chicagoan John W. Rogers Jr. to chair the new President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability--an outstanding choice given the years Rogers has worked in finance--and most important in these times, financial literacy, a special interest of Rogers.

HOW ROGERS FITS IN THE OBAMA WORLD: Rogers is a key figure in the Obama saga. When the basketball playing Chicago native was at Princeton, he helped recruit Craig Robinson--Michelle Obama's brother--to the school. Robinson wrote in his memoir, "A Game of Character," that Rogers, as captain of Princeton's basketball team has "irrepressible energy level and enthusiasm."

Mrs. Obama followed her brother to Princeton. Rogers is also a long-time friend of Valerie Jarrett, the senior White House advisor--they grew up down the street from each other in Chicago. Rogers married and divorced Desiree Rogers, the former White House Social Secretary.

[maggief]

The inner circle is getting smaller.

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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703321004575427683838043258.html

Obama Pal Campaigns for Own Firm

[arkady_renko]

Oh, Lynn. Get up off of your knees before Michelle gets jealous. Why don’t you just get a job in the White House and make it official like Linda Douglas did?

[Neverforget01]

Another bureaucracy? This is unbelievable.

President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability(12 People)

The Council will provide advice to the President on promoting and enhancing financial literacy and capability among the American people. This effort is important to help keep America competitive and assist the American people in understanding and addressing financial matters, which contributes to our national financial stability. The Council has been tasked with a number of charges, including advising the President on: financial education efforts; promoting financial products and services that are beneficial to consumers, especially low- and moderate-income consumers; and promoting understanding of effective use of such products and services. (bold mine)

[Liz]

Obama taps Chicago's John W. Rogers Jr to chair President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability

John Rogers is divorced from ousted WH social secy Desiree Rogers (one child). He is now remarried.

In 1994, Time featured John Rogers as one of its 50 leaders under 40. On February 23, 2008, Rogers, owner of Ariel Capital Management, and one of Obama's chief fundraiser, became the first African-American winner of a Woodrow Wilson Award for his service to the Princeton alumni community, the Chicago community, the African American community and the financial community.

(Ex-WH czar, commie Van Jones, just got a one-year joint appointment as a distinguished visiting fellow at Princeton's Center for African American Studies and Woodrow Wilson School of Public and Int Affairs, where he will teach a seminar on environmental and economic policy).

Rogers is co-chairman of Jesse Jackson's annual Wall Street Project minority conference (AKA The Annual Shakedown), chairman of the Chicago Urban League, a member of four corporate boards and was a leading campaigner for Princeton basketball legend and United States Senator Bill Bradley's 2000 United States presidential campaign.

Three of the boards he serves on are Fortune 500 companies: McDonald's, Aon Corporation, and Exelon Corporation.

(Obama’s chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, helped create Exelon. when Emanuel was at the investment bank Wasserstein Perella (now Dresdner Kleinwort). In his 2-year career there Emanuel earned $16.2 million, according to congressional disclosures. His biggest deal was the Exelon merger. David Axelrod was Exelon's PR man.

Emanuel e-mailed Exelon's John Rowe on the eve of the House vote on global warming legislation and asked that he reach out to some uncommitted Democrats. “We are proud to be the President’s utility,” says Elizabeth Moler, Exelon’s chief lobbyist. “It’s nice for John to be able to go to the White House and they know his name.”

Rogers is a trustee of the University of Chicago. He has served numerous civic, educational and arts organizations as a director or trustee, including the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, the Oprah Winfrey Foundation and the Chicago Symphony.

At Princeton, he was a trustee of the University from 1990 to 1994 and more recently has served as a member of the Association of Black Princeton Alumni (ABPA) and the Princeton Varsity Club board of directors, as well as the Alumni Schools Committee. He has been an advocate for greater diversity in upper-level corporate positions.

In the early 1990s, Rogers served as a fundraising leader in Project Vote voter registration efforts led by President Barack Obama (aided by ACORN).

(There was criticism of the financial ties and close cooperation between President Obama's campaign and ACORN and its sister organizations Citizens Services Inc. and Project Vote. The groups came under fire during the campaign after probes into possible voter fraud in a series of presidential battleground states, including Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, New Mexico and Nevada. ACORN and its affiliates are currently the target of at least 14 lawsuits related to voter fraud in the 2008 election and a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act complaint filed by former ACORN members.)

Rogers He was part of the inner circle of the Barack Obama presidential campaign.He is a long-time Obama associate who serves as the co-chair of Obama's Illinois finance committee and who has been a major Democrat fundraiser.

He served along with Bill Daley, Pat Ryan, Penny Pritzker and Julianna Smoot on Barack Obama's 2009 presidential inauguration committee.

Rogers website makes sure we understand that Rogers' Ariel Fund is NOT affiliated, associated nor in any way related to Ariel Fund Ltd, the hedge fund controlled by J. Ezra Merkin; Gabriel Capital LP fund; GMAC LLC; Cerberus Capital Management LP......... or any other feeder funds controlled by J. Ezra Merkin that were used by Bernard Madoff in his alleged Ponzi scheme.

SOURCE http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2010/0118/americas-best-company-10-exelon-utility-tax-carbon-windfall.html)

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Ousted WH social secy Desiree Rogers.

Has to be the ugliest dress in existence. Looks like she was doing the dishes and forgot to take off her apron. And those saggy boobs---and flat tire midriff. Needs lipo.........and a trip to a good dress shop.

[Liz]

Princeton alumni mag.

Together for the presidential campaign of Michelle Obama ’85’s husband — are, from left, John Rogers ’80, Sharon Fairley ’82 (the second Mrs Rogers), Mellody Hobson ’91 (sitting), Kevann Cooke ’82, and Dwight McBride ’90, at the offices of Ariel Capital Management, founded by Rogers.

[Neverforget01]

Thanks Liz.

I am afraid to ask who these other people are. More afraid to know how much we are paying for this crew.

Lorraine Cole, Vice Chair, President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability

· Roland A. Arteaga, Member, President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability

· Theodore Beck, Member, President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability

· John Hope Bryant, Member, President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability

· Samuel T. Jackson, Member, President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability

· Richard Ketchum, Member, President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability

· Beth Kobliner, Member, President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability

· Addison Barry Rand, Member, President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability

· Amy Rosen, Member, President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability

· Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, Member, President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability

· Kenneth Wade, Member, President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability

[TommyDale]

Obama tapped him? Where? LMAO!!

[Liz]

LOL——poor choice of words-—or was it?

[bgill]

Jarrett was just some gal in the neighborhood, don’cha know.

What's with all these people and their memoirs?

[Neverforget01]

The whole Council with bios:

President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts

[maggief]

Liz,

Check out the bios.

(Thanks, Nf01)

[STARWISE]

Oh yeah .. he’s as thick as thieves and thugs with -0.

And don’t forget he’s was married to and is either
divorcing or divorced from Sharon Fairley, of the
US Attorney (Fitzie) office in Chicago.

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/sharon-fairley/8/252/427

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/29/style/weddings-celebrations-sharon-fairley-john-rogers-jr.html

More info, including ShoreBank connections

http://209.157.64.200/focus/news/2574706/replies?c=42

~ ~ ~

8-14-10: Obama Pal Campaigns for Own Firm
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703321004575427683838043258.html

Excerpt:

Not only was the founder and chief executive of Ariel Investments LLC a key fund-raiser for Barack Obama, he also was part of the candidate’s inner circle, playing basketball with the soon-to-be-president on Election Day and donating his Chicago offices to President Obama’s transition team.

Now Mr. Rogers, 52 years old, must apply some of the political lessons he learned from Team Obama as he ventures out on a campaign to win back skeptical investors. His mutual-fund firm had been bleeding money for years, with assets under management plunging to just $4.75 billion on July 31 from $21.4 billion in 2004

~ ~ ~

So he’s scrambling for money, what deals will he be handed or make with the help of -0, friends and connections ?

[bert]

.......Oh yeah .. he’s as thick as thieves and thugs with.....

They are all thieves. The point of their new jobs is to discuss what to do with the loot. After that they will decide what they can steal tomorrow.

[Liz]

OK-—will do.

[Vaduz]

Obama tapped Chicagoan,new mwmber to the mob oops team.

[stephenjohnbanker]

President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability(12 People)

The Council will provide advice to the President on promoting and enhancing financial literacy and capability among the American people.

R O T F L M A O

[Neverforget01]

Seriously, no one could make this up. The real purpose of the Council is to figure out how to steal more from the haves to give to the have-nots.

Socialism reigns.

[stephenjohnbanker]

” The real purpose of the Council is to figure out how to steal more from the haves to give to the have-nots. “

They have stolen more than enough already. Start boiling the tar!

[CutePuppy]

Ariel Investments, LLC

200 East Randolph Dr., Ste. 2900
Chicago, IL 60601
Phone: 312-726-0140


Board Members

Title	Name
Chairman, CEO, and Chief Investment Officer	John W. Rogers Jr.
Vice Chairman, Director of Research	Charles K. Bobrinskoy
Board Member	William M. Lewis Jr.
Board Member	H. Carl McCall
Board Member	James Williams
Board Member	Bert N. Mitchell
EVP and Chief Marketing Officer, Mutual Funds and Board Member	Merrillyn J. Kosier
President and Board Member	Mellody Hobson
Board Member	James W. Compton
Board Member	Mario L. Baeza
Board Member	William C. Dietrich
Board Member	Royce N. Flippin Jr.
Board Member	John G. Guffey Jr.
Board Member	Christopher G. Kennedy

Ariel Investments, founded in 1983, is the first African American-owned money management firm in the US. The company serves individual and institutional investors through its three no-load mutual funds - the small/mid-cap Ariel Fund, the mid-cap Ariel Appreciation Fund, and the Ariel Focus Fund, a non-diversified, mid/large-cap fund. Ariel Investments also manages separate accounts for corporations, unions, public entities, and not-for-profit organizations. The company has $4.6 billion under management. Ariel Investments is 85%-owned by its employees, led by company founder and CEO John W. Rogers, Jr.

Ariel Investments is also on a social mission to promote investing to the minority community. Rogers helped create the Ariel Community Academy, a charter school in Chicago that teaches financial literacy and rewards students with investments in a college fund. President Mellody Hobson is a financial contributor on ABC's Good Morning America and has testified before Congress about barriers to saving in the minority community. She also partners with Charles Schwab every year for the Black Investor Survey and in 2007 organized the first Ariel-Schwab Black Investor Summit.

The investment company's stated "social mission" (but not the business model) is similar to that of the recently failed ShoreBank:
Feds seize ShoreBank - ShoreBank to be revitalized as Urban Partnership Bank - FR (by STARWISE) / Sun Times, by Sandra Guy, 2010 August 20