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Malibu Mafia
The "Malibu Mafia" was an informal group of wealthy American Jewish men who donated money to liberal and progressive causes and politicians during 1960s–1990s. Associated with the beach city of Malibu, California, the group included economist Stanley Sheinbaum, Warner Bros. chairman Ted Ashley, television producer Norman Lear, and four businessmen: Harold Willens, Leopold Wyler, Miles L. Rubin and Max Palevsky. Founded in opposition to the Vietnam War, the group often met at Willens' beachfront house on Malibu Colony Road, and also in Sheinbaum's home in Westwood, Los Angeles, where he held a regular political salon with liberal participants, especially from the film and television industries of Greater Los Angeles. The Malibu Mafia were known for funding the failed George McGovern 1972 presidential campaign, the legal defense of Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg, the successful 1973 campaign by African-American politician Tom Bradley to become the mayor of Los Angeles, the 1978 salvaging of the progressive magazine The Nation, the Nuclear Freeze campaign of the 1980s, and the Israel–Palestine negotiations that yielded the Oslo Accords in 1993.
The first publication of the term "Malibu Mafia" was in Newsweek magazine in 1978: Sheinbaum was quoted complaining about the inexperience of Hamilton Jordan. The moniker was applied to the wealthy men by the media, not by themselves. Actors Paul Newman and Warren Beatty were associated peripherally with the Malibu Mafia, as was singer and Malibu resident Barbra Streisand. Television writer Albert "Al" Ruben (known for The Defenders and more) argued positions to the left of Sheinbaum.
The group was not always cohesive; they often acted individually and occasionally worked at cross purposes. The Malibu Mafia was the more liberal and idealistic challenger to the 1960s–1990s fundraising efforts of Jewish political donor Lew Wasserman, chairman of MCA, whose views have been characterized as centrist and pragmatic. In the late 1970s as the Malibu Mafia peaked, Jane Fonda and Tom Hayden headed an informal group of younger liberal donors and activists called "The Network". In the 1980s, Streisand joined with Fonda and other well-connected women to found the Hollywood Women's Political Committee, a nonprofit organization which funded many liberal causes.
Activist "Ping" Ferry called Sheinbaum to help gather funds for the legal defense of Daniel Ellsberg who had released the Pentagon Papers which demonstrated that the US government had lied about the expansion of the Vietnam War. Ellsberg was being tried for conspiracy, espionage, and theft of government property, and was facing a possible prison sentence of 115 years. Sheinbaum gave Ellsberg $900,000 over two years to help with his defense, which cost $50,000 to $70,000 per month. One of the fundraising parties was a private concert by Barbra Streisand at which more than $50,000 was raised. Accompanied by Marvin Hamlisch leading a piano trio, Streisand took song requests for $1,000 to $3,000 each.
Palevsky gave $319,000 to Senator George McGovern in early 1972 when his campaign had run out of cash. Rubin gave $150,000 — his first political contribution. Subsequent campaign finance reforms put a stop to such large donations.
In 1973, the group backed Tom Bradley's second run for mayor of Los Angeles. Bradley had briefly led the 1969 contest against incumbent Sam Yorty, but Yorty regained momentum and won. During his term, Yorty was deeply distracted with his own ambitions to higher office, and Palevsky decided to back Bradley's second attempt. Palevsky headed a finance committee that was the largest donor to Bradley. (A young Gray Davis assisted Palevsky on the committee, and would himself see funding from Palevsky during his political career.) Bradley won the race to become the first African-American mayor of one of the most populated US cities.
In 1975, five members of the Malibu Mafia (without Palevsky) met in Malibu to discuss the problems created by Big Oil. They determined to fight for more democratic control of United States energy policy. They formed the Energy Action Committee (EAC), initially funded with $500,000. Early in 1976, Paul Newman and his wife Joanne Woodward served as the voices of the EAC in Washington D.C. According to The New York Times, the EAC was formed "to prevent deregulation of natural gas prices and to propel through Congress legislation to break up the big oil companies into separate producing, refining and marketing entities."
In 1978, Sheinbaum and Lear led the Malibu Mafia in underwriting the struggling progressive magazine The Nation, organized under publisher Hamilton Fish as silent partners. Each donor promised $5,000 annually to keep the perennially unprofitable publication in print.
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Malibu Mafia
The "Malibu Mafia" was an informal group of wealthy American Jewish men who donated money to liberal and progressive causes and politicians during 1960s–1990s. Associated with the beach city of Malibu, California, the group included economist Stanley Sheinbaum, Warner Bros. chairman Ted Ashley, television producer Norman Lear, and four businessmen: Harold Willens, Leopold Wyler, Miles L. Rubin and Max Palevsky. Founded in opposition to the Vietnam War, the group often met at Willens' beachfront house on Malibu Colony Road, and also in Sheinbaum's home in Westwood, Los Angeles, where he held a regular political salon with liberal participants, especially from the film and television industries of Greater Los Angeles. The Malibu Mafia were known for funding the failed George McGovern 1972 presidential campaign, the legal defense of Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg, the successful 1973 campaign by African-American politician Tom Bradley to become the mayor of Los Angeles, the 1978 salvaging of the progressive magazine The Nation, the Nuclear Freeze campaign of the 1980s, and the Israel–Palestine negotiations that yielded the Oslo Accords in 1993.
The first publication of the term "Malibu Mafia" was in Newsweek magazine in 1978: Sheinbaum was quoted complaining about the inexperience of Hamilton Jordan. The moniker was applied to the wealthy men by the media, not by themselves. Actors Paul Newman and Warren Beatty were associated peripherally with the Malibu Mafia, as was singer and Malibu resident Barbra Streisand. Television writer Albert "Al" Ruben (known for The Defenders and more) argued positions to the left of Sheinbaum.
The group was not always cohesive; they often acted individually and occasionally worked at cross purposes. The Malibu Mafia was the more liberal and idealistic challenger to the 1960s–1990s fundraising efforts of Jewish political donor Lew Wasserman, chairman of MCA, whose views have been characterized as centrist and pragmatic. In the late 1970s as the Malibu Mafia peaked, Jane Fonda and Tom Hayden headed an informal group of younger liberal donors and activists called "The Network". In the 1980s, Streisand joined with Fonda and other well-connected women to found the Hollywood Women's Political Committee, a nonprofit organization which funded many liberal causes.
Activist "Ping" Ferry called Sheinbaum to help gather funds for the legal defense of Daniel Ellsberg who had released the Pentagon Papers which demonstrated that the US government had lied about the expansion of the Vietnam War. Ellsberg was being tried for conspiracy, espionage, and theft of government property, and was facing a possible prison sentence of 115 years. Sheinbaum gave Ellsberg $900,000 over two years to help with his defense, which cost $50,000 to $70,000 per month. One of the fundraising parties was a private concert by Barbra Streisand at which more than $50,000 was raised. Accompanied by Marvin Hamlisch leading a piano trio, Streisand took song requests for $1,000 to $3,000 each.
Palevsky gave $319,000 to Senator George McGovern in early 1972 when his campaign had run out of cash. Rubin gave $150,000 — his first political contribution. Subsequent campaign finance reforms put a stop to such large donations.
In 1973, the group backed Tom Bradley's second run for mayor of Los Angeles. Bradley had briefly led the 1969 contest against incumbent Sam Yorty, but Yorty regained momentum and won. During his term, Yorty was deeply distracted with his own ambitions to higher office, and Palevsky decided to back Bradley's second attempt. Palevsky headed a finance committee that was the largest donor to Bradley. (A young Gray Davis assisted Palevsky on the committee, and would himself see funding from Palevsky during his political career.) Bradley won the race to become the first African-American mayor of one of the most populated US cities.
In 1975, five members of the Malibu Mafia (without Palevsky) met in Malibu to discuss the problems created by Big Oil. They determined to fight for more democratic control of United States energy policy. They formed the Energy Action Committee (EAC), initially funded with $500,000. Early in 1976, Paul Newman and his wife Joanne Woodward served as the voices of the EAC in Washington D.C. According to The New York Times, the EAC was formed "to prevent deregulation of natural gas prices and to propel through Congress legislation to break up the big oil companies into separate producing, refining and marketing entities."
In 1978, Sheinbaum and Lear led the Malibu Mafia in underwriting the struggling progressive magazine The Nation, organized under publisher Hamilton Fish as silent partners. Each donor promised $5,000 annually to keep the perennially unprofitable publication in print.