Charles Wyly and Sam Wyly

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Charles J. Wyly Jr. and Sam Wyly, often referred to as the Wyly Brothers and the "Wyly coyotes", are two prominent Dallas, Texas, billionaire businessmen brothers well-known for bankrolling Republican candidates, as well as for funding the smear group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.

Controversy

Funding the Swift Boat Vets' Attack on John Kerry

John McCain

In May 2006, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) returned donations totalling $20,000 made by Charles and Sam Wyly, and other members of their family, to his political action committee Straight Talk America, Chris Cillizza reported in the Washington Post, May 25, 2006.

"The contributions drew notice because the two brothers bankrolled Republicans for Clean Air, a soft-money 527 group that attacked McCain for his environmental record during his 2000 presidential campaign—an attack that was widely interpreted as being motivated less by concern about pollution than an eagerness to help then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush, for whom the Wylys have been key backers. McCain is planning another presidential run in 2008."

Profiles

"Charles Wyly is co-founder and chairman of Michaels Stores, Inc., a publicly held company and the nation's foremost arts and crafts retailer operating over 1000 stores in 48 states and Canada.

"Upon receiving his business degree from Louisiana Tech University - where he was recently inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame - Charles embarked on a lengthy and distinguished career that took him to IBM, where he worked eight years, before joining his brother, Sam, at University Computing Company. He is co-founder of Sterling Software, Sterling Commerce, Earth Resources Company (an oil refining and mining company), and the BBonanza Steakhouse chain. More recently, he was a co-founder of Maverick Capital, which became a multibillion dollar hedge fund.

"His civic interests mirror his diversity as an entrepreneur. Mr. Wyly currently serves as chairman of the Communities Foundation of Texas. He is a member of The Salvation Army National Advisory Board, the past chairman and current member of the Dallas Salvation Army, and a member of the board of the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts, the Dallas Symphony, the Dallas Theater Center, the Cox School of Business, and the John Tower Center for Political Studies at Southern Methodist University. Through his leadership, two private Dallas schools built their permanent campuses.

"In addition to being a patron of the arts and an advocate of charity and education, he champions public policy that promotes strong economic growth while providing opportunities to achieve individual success. A dedicated public servant, he was appointed to the President's Advisory Council for Management Improvement and served the state of Texas as its founding chairman of the Texas High Speed Rail Authority." [1]

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