Willett Advisors LLC
TypeLimited liability company
IndustryFamily office
Founded2010 (2010)
Founder
HeadquartersNew York City, New York, U.S.
Key people
Steven Rattner (Chairman & CEO)
AUMUS$25 billion (2020)[1]
Websitewillettadvisors.com
Footnotes / references
[2]

Willett Advisors LLC (Willett) is an investment firm based in New York City that serves as the family office of Bloomberg L.P. owner and former mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg. It is currently managed by Quadrangle Group co-founder Steven Rattner.

Background

In January 2008, it was reported that New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's extensive business interests were placed in "a sort of blind trust" with the Quadrangle Group, an investment group owned by his longtime friend Steven Rattner. This was speculated to be done because of Bloomberg's possible run for the presidency. Bloomberg would continue to have control of and access to certain investment decisions. In February 2009, when Rattner left Quadrangle to serve as leader advisor on the bailout of General Motors and Chrysler for the Obama administration, a report said Quadrangle would continue with its responsibilities for Bloomberg.[3][4][5]

In February 2010, after Quadrangle embroiled in a scandal involving a New York pension fund in 2009, Bloomberg decided to form his own investment firm, Willett Advisors which would be devoted solely to his interest and that of his charitable foundation. He then moved his fortune of $5 billion with Quadrangle into Willett. The relocation of his fortune was speculated to fund his future presidential run by being able to take bigger risks with investments. In April that year, it was reported that Rattner who had left the government in July 2009 was chosen to run and build Willett. Rattner was accused of being involved with Quadrangle's pension fund scandal and in December 2010, agreed to a settlement with Andrew Cuomo by paying $10 million and also accepting a five-year ban on appearing before state pension boards. He also agreed to a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission by paying $6.2 million and accepting a 2-year ban on any investment adviser or broker-dealer activities. Bloomberg nonetheless decided to stick with Rattner. Joining Rattner were twenty employees. Alice Ruth who had served as CIO of Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation was chosen to be CIO of Willett. The firm was based at the Stuyvesant Fish House alongside Bloomberg Philanthropies.[5][6][7][8][9]

In March 2017, Ruth stepped down from the position of CIO and was replaced by Brad Briner and Andrew Mulderry who would take over the public and private market investments respectively. Under her, Willett had largely invested with outside money managers, doing business with more than 100 of them in the previous year. Willett had recently started making some co-investments with its managers and finding its own deals as it was concerned over high fees and believed it could find attractive investments by itself.[10]

In February 2020, The Intercept reported that Willet has invested in oil and gas and it had invested in White Star Petroleum, a fracking firm that filed for bankruptcy protection. It also reported that Willet has invested through corporate entities with opaque names such as "10413 Investment Holdings LLC" and "20213 Investment Holdings," with no information about how the funds are used. Sycamore Partners had raised $136 million from three Bloomberg wealth funds associated with Willett Advisors.[11]

References

  1. ↑ Goldstein, Alexis (June 16, 2021). "25 Richest Americans Pay Few Taxes — Partly Thanks to the "Family Fund" Loophole". Truthout.
  2. ↑ "Willett Advisors (Willett Advisors) - Family Office, United States - SWFI". www.swfinstitute.org.
  3. ↑ Sorkin, Andrew Ross (January 16, 2008). "Bloomberg Chooses a Friend to Manage His Fortune". The New York Times. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  4. ↑ Sorkin, Michael J. de la Merced and Andrew Ross (February 23, 2009). "Rattner to Serve as Lead Adviser on Auto Bailout". DealBook. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  5. 1 2 Massing, Michael (February 21, 2020). "How Bloomberg's Money Manager Steven Rattner Shills for His Boss". The Intercept. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  6. ↑ Barbaro, Michael (April 21, 2010). "Bloomberg Said to Rely on Financier Under Fire". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  7. ↑ Story, Louise; Barbaro, Michael (February 20, 2010). "Bloomberg Shifts $5 Billion Out of Friend's Firm". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  8. ↑ Hughes, Zoe (January 5, 2013). "Quadrangle's Rattner, Margolis surface at Willett Advisors". Private Equity International. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  9. ↑ Lattman, Peter (October 15, 2010). "What It Means to Manage the Mayor's Money". DealBook. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  10. ↑ Chung, Juliet (March 7, 2017). "Michael Bloomberg's Money Manager Steps Down". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  11. ↑ Fang, Lee (February 24, 2020). "Bloomberg's Investment Portfolio Includes Bets on Private Equity, Fracking". The Intercept. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
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