Texas oil tycoon Syed Jaid Anwar has emerged as the biggest donor of oil and gas to candidates and political parties during this midterm election period.
Mr. Anwar, the founder of Midland Energy, has donated more than $1.7 million to Texas Republicans, particularly Gov. Greg Abbott, who is expected to easily win re-election in next Tuesday's election. That's nearly double the amount Mr. Anwar last offered, according to the National Institute on Political Finance, a Montana-based nonprofit that tracks state-level campaign spending.
“If you're blessed, share it,” Anwar said in a phone interview.
The number of oil tycoons who made their fortunes in the U.S. shale fracking boom and became major political donors has increased in recent years. Since 2010, eight of these billionaires have donated more than $40 million of his money to state-level political campaigns (energy wireAugust 13).
Political experts say oil businessmen tend to invest heavily in national elections because that's where they can secure seats. State energy and environmental regulators oversee exploration and development on private land, and local and state drilling bans could threaten the industry's expansion.
But the wealthy could quickly become national players, said Pete Quist, the institute's director of research. “Mr. Anwar has jumped into the presidential race in recent cycles, particularly by donating to single-candidate supers.” [political action committees],” He said.
Anwar also boasts a close friendship with former President George W. Bush, who calls him “J. Daddy.” Bush used to live in Midland, Texas, and the two were connected through Don Evans, Bush's 2000 campaign chairman and Bush's former secretary of commerce, who also has deep ties to the Texas energy industry.
“I have a lot of respect for that family,” Anwar said of the Bush family.
In 2016, Anwar donated $500,000 to a PAC supporting Jeb Bush's presidential campaign. This cycle, he donated $50,000 to Jeb's son, George P. Bush, the Texas land commissioner seeking re-election.
Mr. Anwar says he identifies with traditional conservative political values around self-determination and free markets. So when President Trump secured the Republican nomination for president in the spring of 2016, Mr. Anwar appeared on Pakistani television to declare his surprise.
Now, he believes Trump has done a “decent job.”
“I think he has some good ideas,” he said. “I don't like his tweets,” he said, defending President Trump's position to close the U.S. border to foreign asylum seekers. What a mess it would be if that happened.” An immigrant himself, he said, “I'm in favor of legal immigration.''
He also expressed doubts about climate change. “I'm no expert,” he said. “We need to protect the environment, but [but] We can't go back to the Stone Age and ride horses. ”
He wouldn't oppose renewable energy if it was profitable. “Let us compete in the free market,” he said. “Let's see if they win.”
“We were very lucky.”
Mr. Anwar has kept a low profile among members of the Texas Republican Party. Several members of the state's Republican Executive Committee said by phone that they had never heard of Mr. Anwar. Others said they knew him but refused to talk about him.
Anwar was born in Karachi, Pakistan, where he was raised by a single mother who worked as a telephone operator. His grandparents helped pay for him to attend a private high school. All the rich kids there wanted to go to America. Eventually, Anwar bought a one-way ticket to Wyoming, where he attended college and studied petroleum engineering. Soon, he found work in the oil fields of Texas, traveling back and forth between Houston, Amarillo, and Pampa.
He left a steady job to start an oil drilling business in 1984, and his company grew from three to 28 employees. He and his wife Vicky Anwar have his two children, who will grow up to work in the family business.
In the 1980s and '90s, he accumulated several oil leases in the Permian Basin of West Texas. Oil prices were at rock bottom, and oil giants like Exxon Mobil and Texaco were selling assets during mergers and consolidations.
But he happened to pass by Saudi Arabia's oil minister, Ali al-Naimi, who told him, “Take my word for it. By the early 2000s, it's going to be over $20.”
Mr. Anwar took this to heart and began purchasing assets in the Permian region ahead of other companies. “We are very lucky,” he said. “The basin is booming. It's having a huge impact on our bottom line.”
Mr. Anwar said he had no interest in politics until 10 years ago, when prices rose and the recent boom-bust cycle took hold. he had no money. Although he is not a registered Republican, he has always supported capitalism and rejected what he calls socialism. “I've seen places where there are people who are dependent on socialism,” he said.
He has made large donations to public universities and charities over the years. The morning Hurricane Harvey hit, he wrote a check for $50,000 to the Islamic Society of Greater Houston. He has donated to many influential conservatives, from members of the Texas Railroad Commission to state district court judges and governors. His donations this time ranged from $1,000 to $250,000, according to state records.
At the top of the list of recipients was Mr. Abbott, who gave more than $1 million in checks and airfare. When asked, Anwar simply said he supports a free market approach. ”[Texas] “You wouldn’t believe how lucky we are to have a Republican governor,” he said.
The Texas Tribune reported last year that Mr. Anwar ranks first on a list of donors who have given hundreds of thousands of dollars to Gov. Abbott. In 2015, Mr. Abbott appointed Mr. Anwar to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
Mr. Anwar also donated this cycle to the campaigns of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar, and state Reps. Angela Paxton and Kel Seliger, all Republicans.
Occasionally, he has donated to politicians outside of Texas, and on rare occasions to Democrats. He has donated about $5,000 this year to Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey and Sen. Maisie Hirono of Hawaii, according to the National Institute on Money and Politics. He is not opposed to supporting the Democratic Party “if they have the same philosophy as me.”
Regarding the 2020 presidential election, Anwar said it is too early to say who he will support. He donated to President Trump's PAC prior to 2016, but declined to say how much.
In fact, he expressed surprise that he had donated so much this cycle. “I was shocked,” he said.
