Stephen Leo Bing (b. March 31, 1965) is an American real estate developer, film producer, and philanthropist. March 31 is the 90th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (91st in leap years), with 275 days remaining. ... 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ...

Biography

At the age of 18, Bing inherited an estimated $600 million from his grandfather, Leo S. Bing, who had made his fortune in New York real estate in the 1920s. Just how big Bing's fortune is now is unclear. The Los Angeles Business Journal in May 2006 estimated his family's worth at $900 million, coming in at No. 42 in that publication's list of Wealthiest Angelenos: L.A.'s 50 Richest American City Business Journals is an American newspaper chain based in Charlotte, North Carolina. ...

Entertainment industry

Bing has enjoyed notable success in filmmaking, though his directorial debut, Every Breath, went straight to video. His other, more notable projects include writing Kangaroo Jack and producing Get Carter. Bing reportedly invested $80 million in The Polar Express, an animated film featuring the voice of Tom Hanks, which earned $285 million globally and was one of the year's top box office successes.[1][2] Every Breath may refer Every Breath, a song by Tracy Bonham from her 1996 album The Burdens of Being Upright. ... Kangaroo Jack is a buddy-action movie produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, starring Jerry OConnell, Anthony Anderson, Christopher Walken and Estella Warren. ... Get Carter is a 2000 remake of the classic 1971 Michael Caine crime thriller, this time with Sylvester Stallone in the role of Jack Carter, and directed by Stephen Kay. ... The Polar Express is a 2004 feature film based on the childrens book of the same title by Chris Van Allsburg. ... Thomas Tom Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is a two-time Academy Award-winning American film actor, Emmy winning director, voice-over artist and movie producer who starred in family-friendly and screwball comedies before achieving notable success as a dramatic actor in well written plum roles in Philadelphia...

Bing is currently the executive producer of Santa Croce ([3]) and the named writer and producer on a forthcoming feature film, Why Men Shouldn't Marry.[4]. He is also the producer of 2007`s Beowulf. Beowulf is a 2007 fantasy film directed by Robert Zemeckis. ...

Bing also financed the independently released Jerry Lee Lewis album, Last Man Standing. Jerry Lee Lewis (born September 29, 1935), also known by the nickname The Killer, is an American rock and roll and country music singer, songwriter, and pianist. ... Last Man Standing is an album released by rock legend Jerry Lee Lewis in September, 2006. ...

Politics

Bing is among the nation's leading donors to environmental causes. According to filings of public campaign contributions, the Democratic Party has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of his wealth. The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States; the other being the Republican Party. ...

Beginning with a $500 contribution in 1993 to support Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., in his bid for re-election, Bing has contributed more than $10.7 million at the federal level to the Democratic Party and its candidates, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Frank Raleigh Lautenberg (born January 23, 1924) is a businessman and Democratic Party politician. ... The Center for Responsive Politics is a non-partisan, non-profit research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics, and the effect of money on elections and public policy. ...

The biggest checks were written in 2002 when he gave a total of $8.2 million to the Democratic National Party. But he also has given to specific candidates, including Al Gore, Hillary Rodham Clinton, John Kerry, Nancy Pelosi and Dianne Feinstein. Albert Arnold Gore, Jr. ... Hillary Rodham Clinton (born Hillary Diane Rodham on October 26, 1947) is the Biggest loser/retard these united states have seen from New York. ... Al Gore (born December 11, 1943) is a Vietnam Veteran and the junior United States Senator from Massachusetts. ... Nancy Patricia Pelosi or The Lioness (born Nancy Patricia DAlesandro on March 26, 1940) is currently the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and is the first woman to hold that position. ... Dianne Goldman Berman Feinstein (born June 22, 1933) is currently the Democratic senior U.S. Senator from California, an office she has held since 1992. ...

Most of Bing's campaign contributions in the 2006 election cycle went towards Proposition 87, a California initiative that sought to raise $4 billion in oil production tax to help develop alternative fuels. He also supported a few key races in other parts of the country as Democrats fought to win back control of Congress. They included Democratic challenger Bob Casey, Jr. in Pennsylvania, who unseated conservative GOP incumbent Sen. Rick Santorum, and Tammy Duckworth in Illinois, a Democratic Congressional hopeful and an Army National Guard major who lost her legs in Iraq two years ago, who went on to lose to State Sen. Peter Roskam. California Proposition 87 is a proposition on the ballot for California voters for the November 7, 2006 general election, officially titled If passed, the proposition would a establish a $4 billion program with goal to reduce petroleum consumption by 25%, with research and production incentives for alternative energy, alternative energy... Robert Patrick Casey, Jr. ... “Santorum” redirects here. ... Tammy Duckworth Ladda Tammy Duckworth (born March 12, 1968) is a U.S. Army Major and Iraq War veteran from the U.S. state of Illinois. ...

Excluding Prop. 87 contributions, in California Bing has written $7.8 million worth of checks since 2000, according to the California secretary of state. He spent $4.25 million in 2005 in a successful effort to defeat Prop. 77, a redistricting initiative sponsored by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Other beneficiaries include the California Democratic Party ($640,172); Gov. Gray Davis ($675,000); and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, whose campaign received $750 in 2004. Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (German pronunciation (IPA): ) (born on July 30, 1947) is an Austrian-American bodybuilder, actor and an American politician, currently serving as the 38th Governor of California. ... Joseph Graham Davis Jr. ... Gavin Christopher Newsom (born October 10, 1967) is the 42nd Mayor of San Francisco, California. ...

The result is that despite Bing's low-key personality, he wields considerable clout within the hierarchy of the Democratic Party.

Personal life

Bing has attracted attention for dating some of the world's most beautiful women and his high-profile lawsuits.

In 2001, he became British tabloid fodder after model and actress Elizabeth Hurley announced she was pregnant and claimed Bing was the father of the baby. He filed a lawsuit in England to establish his paternity, with a later DNA test proving paternity. Bing claims he always said if the child was proved to be his he would make generous provision for him and has done so ever since. London's Daily Mail said that Hurley and her friends referred to Bing as "Bing Laden". 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Elizabeth Jane Hurley (b. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London (de facto) Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2006 est. ... The Daily Mail is a British, tabloid newspaper, first published in 1896. ...

Separately but also in 2001, Bing's name appeared in the news when he sued billionaire Kirk Kerkorian for invasion of privacy. Bing alleged that Kerkorian's private investigators took Bing's dental floss out of his trash to collect his DNA. At the time, Kerkorian was in a legal fight with his ex-wife Lisa Bonder, a former professional tennis player, over the amount of child support he would pay, with the billionaire reportedly suspecting Bing to be the father of the child. After Bing was proved by DNA test to be the father of Bonder's child, Bing and Kerkorian settled their dispute out of court. 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Kirk Kerkorian (born June 6, 1917) is an American billionaire, and president/CEO of Tracinda Corporation, his private holding company based in Beverly Hills, California. ...

On April 12, 2007, The New York Times reported that Bing paid Los Angeles private investigator Anthony Pellicano at least $335,000 between June 2000 and August 2002. The Times published excerpts from audiotapes of Pellicano in April and May 2002 in which he allegedly said he was "working for" and "consulting for" Bing in discussions about Hurley and her pregnancy with the press. A lawyer for Bing, Martin Singer, called Pellicano's statement "an absolute lie." The Daily Mail reportedly paid a "substantial" settlement to Bing in 2003 after Pellicano's sworn declaration that he had "never been engaged by Mr. Bing nor his attorney Mr. Martin Singer to investigate anyone on Mr. Bing’s behalf, including Ms. Hurley."[5] Pellicano was indicted (on February 6, 2006 in Los Angeles) on 110 counts of racketeering and conspiracy, wiretapping, witness tampering, identity theft and destruction of evidence. Six other Pellicano associates were also charged in a case scheduled to go to trial on August 22, 2007. Anthony Pellicano (born March 22, 1944, in Chicago, Illinois) is a former high-profile Los Angeles private investigator who recently served a sentence in federal prison for illegal possession of explosives and who was arrested on February 4, 2006, on unlawful wiretapping and racketeering charges. ... The Daily Mail is a British, tabloid newspaper, first published in 1896. ...

External links

• Steve Bing at the Internet Movie Database