THE NEW BILLIONAIRE POLITICAL ACTIVIST.

The article reports on the financial influence of J. Joe Ricketts, founder of the brokerage TD Ameritrade, on the 2012 U.S. presidential election. It discusses his $10 million campaign to unseat U.S. President Barack Obama through his super political action committee (PAC), Ending Spending Action Fund, and his belief that the federal government should cut spending and taxes in order to deal with the debt crisis. The author indicates that under U.S. campaign-finance law, corporations may independently donate to political candidates or groups, such as Americans for Tax Reform. Other topics include Ricketts' founding of what was brokerage First Omaha Securities and the political activism of his children, Laura, J. Peter, and Todd Ricketts.