Former Vice President Joe Biden is heading back to Wall Street for two fundraisers Thursday, the day after he participates in a climate change town hall.
Biden has shown a willingness to court big money and corporate-linked donors, even as his campaign tries to distance him from lobbyists. His main rivals for the 2020 Democratic nomination, Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, have rejected hosting these kinds of top-dollar fundraisers.
Biden will be hosted on Thursday by real estate executive Jack Rosen and his wife, Phyllis, for a cocktail party, with tickets at $2,800, according to people with direct knowledge with the matter. Rosen is the CEO of Rosen Partners and president of the American Jewish Congress, a group dedicated to defending Jewish interests in the U.S. and abroad. A video of Rosen's accomplishments as the organization's leader has him pictured with Biden and former President Barack Obama.
The longtime real estate executive also has ties to Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman. In 2011, The Wall Street Journal reported that Fridman and Rosen were partnering to invest into U.S. properties worth $1 billion. Fridman and a few of his Eastern European business allies control Alfa Group, one of Russia's largest privately owned consortium. Rosen was named to the international advisory board of Altimo, the telecommunications investment arm of Alfa Group in 2007.
That same day, Biden will be heading to the home of investment banker David Solomon, the invitation says. Solomon is a partner at family run investment firm Hildred Capital Partners. Tickets for this event also go up to $2,800. The company website says it has an interest in private equity. Solomon's colleague Andrew Goldman, a co-host of the event, was once a senior advisor to Biden when he represented Delaware in the U.S. Senate. After working with Biden, he later co-founded Western LNG, a natural gas production and transportation company out of Houston, Texas. Biden was one of at least 18 candidates to pledge not to take campaign contributions from the fossil fuel industry.
During the town hall, Biden's senior advisor said that Goldman isn't a fossil fuel executive and not involved with the day to day operations of the company. She reiterated Biden is sticking to his pledge of not taking donations from leaders of the fossil fuel industry.
Rosen has contributed to other 2020 candidates, including Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, records show. Solomon has not given to any contender this year.
Rosen, Solomon and a spokesperson for the Biden campaign did not return requests for comment.
Biden previously visited New York in June for events that included a fundraising stop at the home of short seller Jim Chanos. The gatherings helped bring in at least $1 million, organizers said at the time. He finished the second quarter raising $21.5 million.
The night before the fundraising spree, Biden was in New York for a CNN town hall that focused on combating climate change. Ten presidential candidates will discuss the topic, including other top-tier contenders Warren, Sanders, Sen. Kamala Harris and South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg. Biden will also be taping an interview for "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert."
Biden, Harris and Buttigieg received the most money in the second quarter from executives at the big banks of Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and Bank of America.
