Robert Mercer

For other people named Robert or Bob Mercer, see Robert Mercer (disambiguation).
Robert Mercer
Born
Robert Leroy Mercer

(1946-07-11) July 11, 1946 (age 78)
San Jose, California, U.S.
EducationUniversity of New Mexico, Albuquerque (BS)
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (MS, PhD)
SpouseDiana Dean[1]
ChildrenRebekah, Jennifer, and Heather Sue

Robert Leroy Mercer (born July 11, 1946)[2] is an American hedge fund manager, computer scientist, and political donor. Mercer was an early artificial intelligence researcher and developer and is the former co-CEO of the hedge fund company Renaissance Technologies.[2][3][4]

Mercer played a controversial role in the campaign for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union, led by Dominic Cummings, with £3.9 million being spent on his data analytics and machine learning company AggregateIQ. [5] He has also been a major funder of organizations supporting right-wing political causes in the United States, such as Breitbart News,[6] the now-defunct Cambridge Analytica,[7] and Donald Trump's 2016 campaign for president.[8] He is the principal benefactor of the Make America Number 1 super PAC.[9]

In November 2017, Mercer announced he would step down from Renaissance Technologies and sell his stake in Breitbart News to his daughters.[10] He was the majority owner of SCL Group, a self-described "global elections management agency",[11] before it was dissolved in 2018.[3] In 2021, Mercer was involved in possibly the largest tax settlement in U.S. history, as he, James Simons, and other executives at the hedge fund Renaissance Technologies were ordered to pay as much as $7 billion to the IRS in back taxes.[12]

  1. ^ "Brides-To-Be". Albuquerque Journal. Albuquerque, New Mexico. May 25, 1967. p. 13.
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference CNBC was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Cadwalladr, Carole (17 May 2017). "The great British Brexit robbery: How our democracy was hijacked". The Guardian.
  4. ^ Boag, Keith. Mayer, Andre (ed.). "Reclusive U.S. billionaire Robert Mercer helped Trump win the presidency — but what does he really want?". CBC News. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2018-01-22.
  5. ^ Cadwalladr, Carole (May 7, 2017). "The great British Brexit robbery: how our democracy was hijacked". The Guardian. The article has a disclaimer stating: "This article is the subject of legal complaints on behalf of Cambridge Analytica LLC and SCL Elections Limited."
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Mider-20-1-2016 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Wylie, Christopher (2019-10-04). "How I Helped Hack Democracy". Intelligencer. Retrieved 2020-03-26.
  8. ^ Swan, Jonathan (17 August 2016). "Billionaire father and daughter linked to Trump shake-up". The Hill. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  9. ^ "Keep the Promise I/Make America Number 1 Contributors, 2016 cycle". OpenSecrets. 2016-11-18. Retrieved 2016-11-18.
  10. ^ "Billionaire Investor Robert Mercer To Step Down From Firm, Selling Stake In Breitbart". NPR. Retrieved 2017-11-03.
  11. ^ "SCL Group home page". 4 May 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-05-04. Retrieved 2021-07-31.
  12. ^ Rubin, Gregory Zuckerman and Richard (2021-09-02). "James Simons, Robert Mercer, Others at Renaissance to Pay Up to $7 Billion to Settle Tax Probe". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2021-09-02.