Wynn donates $7M in stock to undisclosed recipient
Steve Wynn, the Las Vegas casino owner and new Republican National Committee finance director, gave away nearly $7 million in company stock in December to an undisclosed recipient.
The Wynn Family Limited Partnership disposed of 72,851 shares on Dec. 13, Securities and Exchange Commission documents show. The disposal was listed as “a charitable gift.” Shares closed that day at $93.50.
The gift came a month before President Donald Trump’s inauguration, which raised a record $90 million from donors. Wynn was among a group of 25 individuals chosen by Trump on Nov. 15 to help organize his inauguration.
Wynn Las Vegas spokesman Michael Weaver did not return requests to comment on whether the stock was donated to help fund Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration or for other purposes.
Bob Biersack, a senior fellow at the Center for Responsive Politics in Washington, D.C., and a 30-year veteran of the Federal Elections Commission, said he saw no reason why a U.S. citizen could not donate stock to political organizations.
“There generally isn’t a difference between stock or other assets and a more ‘normal’ cash contribution,” Biersack said in an email response.
Wynn, 75, on Tuesday was named finance chairman of the Republican National Committee. He will be charged with helping the party raise money for the 2018 mid-term election.
Wynn had given millions of dollars to Crossroads GPS, a Super PAC co-founded by Karl Rove to support Republican candidates, Politico reported in 2012.
He has also donated tens of millions of dollars to nonpolitical causes over the years, including to the University of Iowa and the Animal Foundation.
In an interview with the Review-Journal in June, 2012, Wynn said he gave away $20 million over the previous year, including to the United Way of Southern Nevada. He didn’t disclose how much he gave to political causes.
Wynn owns 12.1 million shares, or 12 percent, of Wynn’s Resorts. The stake is worth about $1.2 billion based on Wednesday’s closing share price of $97.86.
Contact Todd Prince at 702-383-0386 or tprince@reviewjournal.com. Follow @toddprincetv on Twitter.
