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Federal Market Intelligence for Small Business |
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Set-Aside Alert news analysis:From wrestling to riches, Linda McMahon named to head SBAAfter helming WWE with husband, two failed US Senate racesPresident-elect Donald Trump’s choice to run the Small Business Administration is Linda McMahon, a successful business woman and entrepreneur, donor of millions of dollars to support Trump, and a former U.S. Senate candidate in Connecticut. McMahon will help foster job creation and reduce “burdensome regulations,” Trump said in a statement on his Facebook page. McMahon tweeted in response that she was honored to be advocating for small businesses and entrepreneurs. McMahon and Trump Linda McMahon and her husband have been connected with Trump for nearly three decades, holding several wrestling tournaments at Trump properties in the late 1980s. She told the Associated Press that Trump was “a loyal, loyal friend.” Linda McMahon donated $7 million to support Trump’s presidential campaign, according to CBS News. She and her husband also were the largest donors to the Trump Foundation, giving $5 million between 2007 and 2009, making them the largest outside donors to the foundation, according to the Washington Post. WWF and WWE Linda McMahon was raised in a Baptist family in North Carolina and at 17 married Vince McMahon, the son of Vincent J. McMahon, owner of the World Wrestling Federation regional wrestling circuit The McMahon couple both graduated from East Carolina University, and Vince joined his father’s business. “Pain and embarrassment” But they lost money in several business ventures and were broke, had to give up their house and car, and filed for bankruptcy. “Pain and embarrassment” is how Linda McMahon described that time in a 2009 interview. But within a couple of years they were able to purchase a sports coliseum and franchise near Boston. In 1982, Vince bought the WWF from his father for an undisclosed sum. Phenomenal success The couple experienced phenomenal success in growing the WWF from one of many regional sport franchises into a huge international entertainment brand. They outmaneuvered many competitors along the way. The company was renamed World Wrestling Entertainment in 2002. Vince McMahon’s net worth was $1.19 billion this year and Linda McMahon personally owns $84 million in WWE stock, according to Forbes. Linda McMahon became president in 1993, and CEO from 1997 to 2007. She reportedly was responsible for areas including DVD marketing, international distribution rights, corporate responsibility efforts and human resources. But while she shares credit for WWE’s success, she has been criticized for the excesses and sleaze in the wrestling industry, including steroid abuse, premature deaths and skits featuring blood and distasteful themes such as necrophilia. U.S. Senate races The seamy side of wrestling was believed to have contributed to Linda McMahon’s losses as the GOP candidate in the U.S. Senate races in Connecticut, in 2010 and again in 2012. She spent $100 million on the two Senate races. Her Democratic opponents spent less than $10 million each. GOP and charity donor In addition to their donations to support Trump’s campaign and foundation, Linda McMahon and her husband have a reputation as top donors to the Republican Party. They also give to a few selected charities, including the Close Up Foundation, a nonprofit that brings students to Washington DC to learn about government. She served on the Connecticut Board of Education for a little over a year starting in 2009. Linda McMahon helped to organize Women's Leadership Live, an organization hosting annual conferences and other events.
More information:
Trump Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/DonaldTrump/?fref=ts
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