Co-host of Obama Hollywood fundraiser under SEC investigation
Getty Images
BY: Washington Free Beacon Staff - May 10, 2012 3:28 pm
President Obama’s record $15 million fundraiser tonight at the home of actor George Clooney is being co-hosted by DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg. In addition to being the largest single donor to the pro-Obama Super PAC Priorities USA at $2 million, Katzenberg’s company is currently under investigation by the SEC for allegedly bribing Chinese officials.
The SEC investigation comes just weeks after Katzenberg announced this February that DreamWorks had struck a $2 billion deal to open a studio in Shanghai under the Oriental Dreamworks brand. The China deal was inked in a ceremony that featured Katzenberg alongside Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, who stopped off in Los Angeles in February on his way back to China after a series of high-level meetings at the White House, including meetings with Obama.
Katzenberg joined Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the Chinese vice president for a meeting that led to the DreamWorks deal. In an interview with the Financial Times, Katzenberg said the deal required Xi’s personal approval in order to move forward.