In some rarefied circles, Haim Saban was already well-known as one of Southern California's political scene-stealers. A parade of senators--and even a couple of presidents--have made their way to the door of Saban's neo-French chateau in gated Beverly Park.
Saban is a member of a small but potent coterie of Hollywood rainmakers the Democratic Party counts on to raise millions for candidates and campaigns. But on Thursday, it was revealed that Saban gave the Democratic National Committee $7 million--among the largest gifts ever received by a major national party.
When Saban informed Democratic Party Chairman Terry McAuliffe of the sum he would donate, McAuliffe told him: "You're the man!" Saban recalled Friday.
And in a way, he is. Saban's political gifts--and his ability to get others to give too--have built a high-profile platform for a cartoon baron whose fortune rests on "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers" and "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles."
Saban still likes to call himself a "cartoon schlepper."
But late last year, Saban was made capital campaign chairman of a DNC effort to raise $32 million to build a new party headquarters in Washington. Last month, he was named to the University of California Board of Regents by Gov. Gray Davis, whom Saban and Saban Entertainment have given more than $600,000 since 1987.
Saban links his political activism to his concern for such issues as education, Middle East peace, social justice and abortion rights.
"I have a passion about what's going on in the world," said Saban, an unpretentious man with thick black hair and a gym-toned physique who looks much younger than his 57 years.
"I'm a concerned person," he said, with a light Israeli accent. "Whatever I can be helpful with, I'd like to be helpful with."
"I never want to see a woman's right to choose go away," he said. "I want to see a universal health care system."
Campaign finance reform, of course, could soon drastically change the rules of the game that have allowed Saban and his enterprises to donate $2 million to Democratic causes since 1999, according to records.
"I am all for campaign reform," Saban said. But for now, "The law today is the law today."
And the law today has turned Saban's 90210 ZIP Code into a fund-raising hot spot where political contributions rose from $2 million in the 1994 election cycle to $6.2 million in the 2000 cycle. It's a hefty take, considering the average ZIP Code yielded just under $9,000, according to the Center for Political Responsiveness.
