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article__ntent-hear"><div data-ttid="ContentHearContaer" class="ContentHearContaer-cGKRbE knDxNq"><div class="ContentHearHedAccredatnWrapper-GFiQf cDNVlV"><div data-ttid="ContentHearTleBlockWrapper" class="ContentHearTleBlockWrapper-cjmSKp ikebRK"><div data-ttid="ContentHearRubric" class="ContentHearRubricBlock-LmpbT hjnEYM"><div data-ttid="ContentHearRubricDateBlock" class="ContentHearRubricDateBlock-kAQcZP fTFWxD"><div class="RubricWrapper-dKmCNX iJOI bric ContentHearRubricContaer-eTudtt edKnIL"><a class="RubricLk-gRWSOU kImecF bric__lk" href="/news/polics"><span class="RubricName-fVtemz cLxcNi">Polics</span></a></div></div><div class="RubricWrapper-dKmCNX iJOI bric ContentHearRubricIssueDate-CuIT fFtVss"><span class="RubricName-fVtemz cLxcNi">Febary 2012 Issue</span></div></div><h1 data-ttid="ContentHearHed" class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ ContentHearHed-NCyCC iUEiRd khNpd gydgrM">The Meang of Mt</h1><span class="ContentHearContentDivir-liIxwf eicslv"></span></div><div class="ContentHearAccredatn-lfctVB etVsnJ ntent-hear__accredatn" data-ttid="ContentHearAccredatn"><div class="ContentHearDek-bIqFFZ fYeNbg">Mt Romney has long been a ont-nner for the G.O.P. nomatn—even if no one really knows who he is. Diggg to the ndidate’s rerd as a Mormon lear, his bs als at Ba Capal, and that famo r trip wh the fay dog strapped to the roof, Michael Kranish and Stt Helman pierce the Mt bubble an adaptatn om their new book, <em>The Real Romney,</em> to fd that the ntradictns, qutn marks, and ambivalence go eper than his polics.</div><div class="ContentHearByle-kmPyCa emiglw"><div class="ContentHearByleContent-dpPmNn DRFq"><div data-ttid="BylWrapper" class="BylWrapper-KIudk irTIfE byl ContentHearByl-cZqgyJ bHLeKI"><p class="ByleWrapper-jWHrLH jqYyWD byle byl__byle" data-ttid="ByleWrapper" emProp="thor" emType="><span emProp="name" class="ByleNamWrapper-jbHncj fuDQVo"><span data-ttid="ByleName" class="ByleName-kwmrLn cYaBaU byle__name"><span class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ BylePreamble-iJolpQ iUEiRd bIbWCO gnILss byle__preamble">By </span><a class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ BaseLk-eNWuiM ByleLk-gEnFiw iUEiRd kIEUAJ lddgzd eErqIx byle__name-lk button" href="/ntributor/stt-helman">Stt Helman</a></span> and <span data-ttid="ByleName" class="ByleName-kwmrLn cYaBaU byle__name"><a class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ BaseLk-eNWuiM ByleLk-gEnFiw iUEiRd kIEUAJ lddgzd eErqIx byle__name-lk button" href="/ntributor/michael-kranish">Michael Kranish</a></span></span></p><p class="ByleWrapper-jWHrLH jqYyWD byle byl__byle" data-ttid="ByleWrapper" emProp="thor" emType="><span emProp="name" class="ByleNamWrapper-jbHncj fuDQVo"><span data-ttid="ByleName" class="ByleName-kwmrLn cYaBaU byle__name"><span class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ BylePreamble-iJolpQ iUEiRd bIbWCO gnILss byle__preamble">Illtratn by </span><a class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ BaseLk-eNWuiM ByleLk-gEnFiw iUEiRd kIEUAJ lddgzd eErqIx byle__name-lk button" href="/ntributor/andre-rrilho">André Carrilho</a></span></span></p></div><time data-ttid="ContentHearPublishDate" dateTime="2012-01-04T00:00:00-05:00" class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ ContentHearPublishDate-eIBicG iUEiRd bSlZUC cmPkTr">January 4, 2012</time></div></div></div></div><div class="ContentHearLeadAsset-hGbumP cAlrhp lead-asset ContentHearLeadAssetWrapper-hfXHEc bjtV lead-asset--width-small" data-ttid="ContentHearLeadAsset"><figure class="ContentHearLeadAssetContent-kOfYSG dRGWbI"><div class="ContentHearLeadAssetContentMedia-bLEIpi jjhWdS lead-asset__ntent__photo"><span class="SpanWrapper-umhxW jvZaPI rponsive-asset ContentHearRponsiveAsset-bREgIb cZenhb"><div data-tt="aspect-rat-ntaer" class="AspectRatContaer-bJHpJz bArQcd"><div class="aspect-rat--overlay-ntaer"><picture class="RponsiveImagePicture-cWuUZO dUOtEa ContentHearRponsiveAsset-bREgIb cZenhb rponsive-image"><source media="(max-width: 767px)" srcSet=" 120w, 240w, 320w, 640w, 960w" siz="100vw"/><source media="(m-width: 768px)" srcSet=" 120w, 240w, 320w, 640w, 960w, 1280w, 1600w, 1920w, 2240w" siz="100vw"/><img alt="Image may nta Accsori Tie Accsory Head Face Human Person and Jaw" class="RponsiveImageContaer-eybHBd fptoWY rponsive-image__image" src="></picture></div></div></span></div></figure><div data-ttid="ContentHearLeadRailAnchor" class="ContentHearLeadRailAnchor-jYVcDc djtEof"></div></div></div></hear></div><div data-attribute-verso-pattern="article-body" class="ArticlePageContentBackGround-cNiFNN gVjmSM article-body__ntent"><div class="ActnBarWrapperContent-lasBkU cAHp"><div class="ActnBarWrapperComponent-cjwxLS bEeSLb"><div data-attr-viewport-monor="" class="ActnBarWrapper-dhxmQh izlawS viewport-monor-anchor"><button id="bookmark" aria-label="Save" class="ActnBarButton-dyFOZU foKBbl bookmark large-screen"><span class="ActnBarSendaryButtonPrimaryIn-isbvyN cAwccV bookmark-button-in"><svg class="in in-bookmark" width="24" height="24" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" xmlns="><tle>Save this story</tle><path class="in-bookmark-stroke" d="M11.7661 16.3228L4.5 20.1695V3.5H19.5V20.1695L12.2339 16.3228L12 16.199L11.7661 16.3228Z" 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grid-margs grid-ems-2 ArticlePageChunksGrid-hfxa bjczjj grid-layout--adrail narrow wi-adrail"><div class="GridItem-buujkM stRKV grid--em grid-layout__ntent"><div class="BodyWrapper-kufPGa lnwCqV body body__ntaer article__body" data-journey-hook="client-ntent" data-ttid="BodyWrapper"><div class="body__ner-ntaer"><p class="has-dropp"><em>Adapted om</em> <a data-offer-url=" class="external-lk" data-event-click="{"element":"ExternalLk","outgogURL":"" href=" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">The Real Romney</a>,<em>by Michael Kranish and Stt Helman, to be published this month by HarperColls; © 2012 by</em>The Boston Globe*.*</p><p class="has-dropp">Mt Romney’s privileged pedigree was mon knowledge to his classmat at Harvard Bs School and Harvard Law School, where he was simultaneoly enrolled 1971 through a jot-gree program. By that time, his father, Gee Romney, had n a major rporatn (Amerin Motors), been elected three tim as Michigan’s ernor, sought the princy, and been appoted to Print Nixon’s Cabet. Dpe strongly remblg the elr Romney—the full head of strikgly dark hair, square jaw, dazzlg se—Mt did ltle to draw attentn to his parentage. The only ht was Gee’s fad gold ials on a beat-up old briefse that Mt rried around.</p><p class="paywall">In tth, Mt cherished his father’s example and enavored to follow . Gee beme more than jt a mentor to his youngt son. He was a pathfr, showg the way of their Mormon fah through the thickets of polics and bs, home life, and character. Through his achievements and mistak, Gee had btowed many lsons, and Mt soaked them up. “His whole life,” said John Wright, a close fay iend, “was followg a pattern which had been laid out by his dad.” So wh his wife, Ann, as a partner and his father as an spiratn, Mt set out to build a fay, a reer, and a place the church that he loved.</p><div class="Contaer-bkChBi byNLHx"></div><p class="paywall">The Romneys’ Mormon fah, as Mt and Ann began their life together, formed a ep foundatn. It lay unr nearly everythg—their acts of chary, their marriage, their parentg, their social liv, even their weekly schl. Their fay-centric liftyle was a choice; Mt and Ann plaly cherished time at home wh their children more than anythg. But was also a duty. Belongg to the Mormon Church meant acceptg a of nduct that placed supreme value on strong fai—strong heterosexual fai, which men and women often filled fed and tradnal rol. The Romneys have long ced a well-known Mormon credo popularized by the late church lear David O. McKay: “No other succs n pensate for failure the home.” They had arrived the Boston area wh one son, Taggart, and soon had a send, Matthew. Over the next , the Romneys would have three more boys: Joshua was born 1975, Benjam 1978, and then Craig 1981.</p><p class="has-dropp paywall">To Mt, the special one the hoe was Ann, wh her wi se, piercg ey, and steadyg domtic prence. And woe was the boy who fot . Tagg said there was one le that was simply not breakable: “We were not allowed to say anythg negative about my mother, talk back to her, do anythg that would not be rpectful of her.” On Mother’s Day, their home would be agrant wh lilacs, Ann’s favore flowers. Tagg didn’t get back then, but he me to unrstand. From the begng, Mt had put Ann on a pestal and kept her there. “When they were datg,” Tagg said, “he felt like she was way better than him and he was really lucky to have this tch. He really genuely still feels that way.” What mak his parents’ relatnship work, he said, is their distct characters: Mt is driven first by reason, while Ann operat more on emotn. “She helps him see there’s stuff beyond the logic; he helps her see that there’s more than jt stct and feelg,” Tagg said. Mt and Ann’s relatnship would grow and change as their fay entered the public eye. But she has remaed his chief unselor and nfidante, the one person who n lead Mt to a fal cisn. Though she did not necsarily offer tailed put on every bs al, iends said, she weighed on jt about everythg else. “Mt’s not gog to do somethg that they don’t feel good about together,” said Mt’s sister Jane. Tagg said they lled their mom “the great Mt stabilizer.” Ann would later be mocked for her claim that she and Mt had never had an argument durg their marriage, which sound prepostero to the ears of many married mortals. Tagg said ’s not that his parents never disagree. “I know there are thgs that she says that he don’t agree wh sometim, and I see him kd of be his tongue. But I know that they go and discs private. He don’t ever ntradict my mother public.” Friends of the Romneys’ back up that acunt, sayg they nnot rell Mt ever raisg his voice toward Ann. Nowhere was Ann’s special stat more evint than on long fay r trips. Mt imposed strict l: they would stop only for gas, and that was the only chance to get food or e the rtroom. Wh one exceptn, Tagg explaed. “As soon as my mom says, ‘I thk I need to go to the bathroom,’ he pulls over stantly and don’t pla. ‘Anythg for you, Ann.’” On one famo road trip, though, wasn’t Ann who forced Mt off the highway. The statn of this journey, the summer of 1983, was his parents’ ttage, on the Canadian shor of Lake Huron. The whe Chevy statn wagon wh the wood panelg was overstuffed wh sus, suppli, and sons when Mt climbed behd the wheel to beg the 12-hour fay trek om Boston to Ontar. As wh most ventur his life, he had left ltle to chance, mappg out the route and planng each stop. Before begng the drive, Mt put Seam, the fay’s hulkg Irish setter, a dog rrier and attached to the statn wagon’s roof rack. He had improvised a wdshield for the rrier to make the ri more fortable for the dog.</p><p class="paywall">Then Mt put his sons on notice: there would be pre-termed stops for gas, and that was . Tagg was manerg the way-back of the wagon, keepg his ey fixed out the rear wdow, when he glimpsed the first sign of trouble. “Dad!” he yelled. “Gross!” A brown liquid was drippg down the rear wdow, payback om an Irish setter who’d been ridg on the roof the wd for hours. As the rt of the boys joed the howls of disgt, Mt olly pulled off the highway and to a service statn. There he borrowed a hose, washed down Seam and the r, then hopped back onto the road wh the dog still on the roof. It was a preview of a tra he would grow famo for bs: emotn-ee crisis management. But the story would trail him years later on the natnal polil stage, where the name Seam would bee shorthand for Romney’s ldly clil approach to problem solvg.</p><div class="AdWrapper-dQtivb fZrssQ ad ad---ntent"><div class="ad__slot ad__slot---ntent" data-no-id="xcfgsc"></div></div><p class="paywall">The Book of Mt</p><p class="has-dropp paywall">If Romney is exceedgly fortable around fay and close iends, he’s much ls so around those he don’t know well, drawg a boundary that’s difficult to traverse. It’s a strict social orr— and them—that has put -workers, polil ais, sual acquatanc, and others his profsnal circl, even people who have worked wh or known him for years, outsi the bubble. As a rult, he has numero admirers but, by several acunts, not a long list of close pals. “He’s very engagg and charmg a small group of iends he’s fortable wh,” said one former ai. “When he’s wh people he don’t know, he gets more formal. And if ’s a polil thg where he don’t know anybody, he has a mask.” For those outsi the ner circle, Romney across as all bs. Colleagu at work or polil staffers are there to do a job, not to bond. “Mt is always the star,” said one Massachetts Republin. “And everybody else is a b player.” He has ltle patience for idle chatter or small talk, ltle tert mglg at cktail parti, at social functns, or even the crowd hallway. He is not fed by, and do not crave, sual social teractn, often displayg ltle sire to know who people are and what mak them tick. “He wasn’t overly terted people’s personal tails or their kids or spo or team buildg or their reer path,” said another former ai. “It was all very iendly but not very ep.” Or, as one fellow Republin put , “He has that visible wall between ‘me’ and ‘you.’” Referrg to the time later when Romney was ernor of Massachetts, a Democratic lawmaker rells, “You remember Richard Nixon and the imperial princy? Well, this was the imperial ernor.” There were the rop that often curtailed accs to Romney and his chambers. The elevator settgs rtricted accs to his office. The tape on the floor told people exactly where to stand durg events. This was the ntrolled environment that Romney created. His orb was his own. “We always would talk about how, among the legislators, he had no ia what our nam were—none,” the lawmaker said, “bee he was so far removed om the day-to-day operatns of state ernment.”</p><p class="has-dropp paywall">This sense of tachment is a functn partly of his fah, which has s own tight social muny that most outsirs don’t see. Ined, the stori of Romney’s humany and warmth e mostly om people who know him as a fellow Mormon. His abstentn om drkg also mak parti and other alhol-fueled functns distctly ls appealg. He is the anthis of the gregar pol wh a highball one hand and a cigar his mouth. Romney’s disfort around strangers would later bee more than jt a cursy; would be an impediment on the mpaign trail. Lackg an easy rapport wh voters, he would e across as aloof, even off-puttg. “A lot of is he is patrician. He jt is. He has lived a charmed life,” said one former ai. “It is a big challenge that he has, nnectg to folks who haven’t swum the same rarefied waters that he has.” His growg wealth, the eper he got to his reer, only wined the disnnect. Even as he began shoulrg more rponsibily at work, Romney would assume several learship posns the Mormon Church. But he uld handle . “Mt,” said Kem Gardner, a fellow church official om this perd, “jt had the pacy to keep all the balls up the air.” Or, as Tagg put , “Compared to my dad, everyone’s lazy.” Helen Claire Sievers, who served a church learship posn unr Romney, got a glimpse of his work habs durg weekend b trips to the Mormon temple near Washgton, D.C. Church groups would leave late on a Friday, drive all night, and arrive early on Saturday morng. Then they’d spend all day Saturday temple ssns before turng around and drivg home, to be back by Sunday morng. It was a gelg erary, Sievers said, so everyone ed the time on the b to sleep or read quietly. Everyone but Romney. “Mt was always workg. His light was on,” she said.</p><p class="has-dropp paywall">Mormon ngregatns, typilly groups of 400 to 500 people, are known as wards, and their boundari are termed by geography. Wards, along wh smaller ngregatns known as branch, are anized to stak. Th a stake, ak to a Catholic dce, is a llectn of wards and branch a cy or regn. Unlike Prottants or Catholics, Mormons do not choose the ngregatns to which they belong. It pends entirely on where they live. In another parture om many other fahs, Mormons do not have paid full-time clergy. Members good standg take turns servg learship rol. They are expected to perform their eccliastil duti on top of reer and fay rponsibili. Those lled to serve as stake prints and bishops, or lears of lol wards, are fully empowered as agents of the church, and they rry great thory over their domas. Mt Romney first took on a major church role around 1977, when he was lled to be a unselor to Gordon Williams, then the print of the Boston stake. Romney was sentially an adviser and puty to Williams, helpg oversee area ngregatns. His appotment was somewhat unual that unselors at that level have typilly been bishops of their lol wards first. But Romney, who was only about 30 years old, was emed to posss learship quali beyond his years. Romney’s rponsibili only grew om there; he would go on to serve as bishop and then as stake print, overseeg about a dozen ngregatns wh close to 4,000 members altogether. Those posns the church amounted to his biggt learship tt yet, exposg him to personal and stutnal cris, human tragedi, immigrant cultur, social forc, and anizatnal challeng that he had never before enuntered.</p><p class="paywall">The Church of J Christ of Latter-Day Sats is far more than a form of Sunday worship. It is a of ethics that owns on homosexualy, out-of-wedlock births, and abortn and forbids pre-maral sex. It offers a robt, effective social safety , pable of credible feats of chary, support, and service, particularly when s own members are trouble. And works hard to create muny, a built- work of iends who often share valu and a worldview. For many Mormons, the all-enpassg nature of their fah, as an extensn of their spirual liv, is what mak belongg to the church so wonrful, so warm, even as s sulary n set members apart om society.</p><div data-attr-viewport-monor="le-recirc" class="le-recirc-wrapper le-recirc-observer-target-1 viewport-monor-anchor"></div><p class="paywall">But a dichotomy exists wh the Mormon Church, which holds that one is eher or out; there is ltle or no tolerance for those, like so-lled feteria Catholics, who pick and choose what doctr to follow. And Mormonism, if one is , a lot is expected, cludg thg 10 percent of one’s e, participatg regularly church activi, meetg high moral expectatns, and acceptg Mormon doctre—cludg many ncepts, such as the belief that J will le om Missouri his Send Comg, that n unter to those of other Christian fahs. That rigidy n be difficult to abi for those who love the fah but chafe at s strictur or qutn s teachgs and cultural habs. For one, Mormonism is male-domated—women n serve only certa learship rol and never as bishops or stake prints. The church also mak a number of firm value judgments, typilly prohibg sgle or divorced men om leadg wards and stak, for example, and not lookg kdly upon sgle parenthood.</p><p class="paywall">The portra of Romney that emerg om those he led and served wh the church is of a lear who was pulled between Mormonism’s nservative re views and practic and the mands om some quarters wh the Boston stake for a more elastic, more open-md applitn of church doctre. Romney was forced to strike a balance between those lol expectatns and the dictat out of Salt Lake Cy. Some believe that he artfully renciled the two, praisg him as an novative and genero lear who was willg to make acmodatns, such as givg women expand rponsibily, and who was always there for church members tim of need. To others, he was the product of a hibound, patriarchal Mormon culture, flexible and sensive lite suatns and dismissive of those who didn’t share his perspective.</p><p class="has-dropp paywall">In the sprg of 1993, Helen Claire Sievers performed a b of shuttle diplomacy to rolve a thorny problem nontg church lears Boston: rentment among progrsive Mormon women at their subservient stat wh the church. Sievers was active an anizatn of liberal women lled Exponent II, which published a perdil. The group had been chewg over the challeng of beg a woman the male-led fah. So Sievers went to Romney, who was stake print, wh a proposal. “I said, ‘Why don’t you have a meetg and have an open fom and let women talk to you?’” she relled. The ia was that, although there were many church l that stake prints and bishops uld not change, they did have some leeway to do thgs their own way.</p><p class="paywall">Romney wasn’t sure about holdg such a meetg, but he ultimately agreed to . Sievers went back to the Exponent II group and said they should be realistic and not mand thgs Romney uld never liver, such as allowg women to hold the prithood. On the day of the meetg, about 250 women filled the pews of the Belmont Chapel. After an openg song, prayer, and some hoekeepg ems, the floor was open. Women began proposg chang that would clu them more the life of the church. In the end, the group me up wh some 70 suggtns—om lettg women speak after men church to puttg changg tabl men’s bathrooms—as Romney and one of his unselors listened and took reful not.</p><p class="paywall">Romney was sentially willg to grant any requt he uldn’t see a reason to reject. “Pretty much, he said y to everythg that I would have said y to, and I’m kd of a liberal Mormon,” Sievers said. “I was pretty imprsed.” (Ann Romney was not nsired to be sympathetic to the agatn of liberal women wh the stake. She was ved to social events sponsored by Exponent II but did not attend. She was, the words of one member, unrstood to be “not that kd of woman.”)</p><p class="paywall">Romney’s learship was not so rosy for everyone, though. As both bishop and stake print, he at tim clashed wh women he felt strayed too far om church beliefs and practice. To them, he lacked the empathy and urage that they had known other lears, puttg the church first even at tim of great personal vulnerabily. Peggie Hay had joed the church as a teenager along wh her mother and siblgs. They’d had a difficult life. Mormonism offered the sereny and stabily her mother craved. “It was,” Hay said, “the answer to everythg.” Her fay, though poorer than many of the well-off members, felt accepted wh the fah. Everyone was so nice. The church provid emotnal and, at tim, fancial support. As a teenager, Hay babysat for Mt and Ann Romney and other upl the ward. Then Hay’s mother abptly moved the fay to Salt Lake Cy for Hay’s senr year of high school. Rtls and unhappy, Hay moved to Los Angel once she turned 18. She got married, had a dghter, and then got divorced shortly after. But she remaed part of the church.</p><p class="has-dropp paywall">By 1983, Hay was 23 and back the Boston area, raisg a 3-year-old dghter on her own and workg as a nurse’s ai. Then she got pregnant aga. Sgle motherhood was no piic, but Hay said she had wanted a send child and wasn’t upset at the news. “I kd of felt like I uld do ,” she said. “And I wanted to.” By that pot Mt Romney, the man whose kids Hay ed to watch, was, as bishop of her ward, her church lear. But didn’t feel so formal at first. She earned some money while she was pregnant anizg the Romneys’ basement. The Romneys also arranged for her to do odd jobs for other church members, who knew she need the sh. “Mt was really good to . He did a lot for ,” Hay said. Then Romney lled Hay one wter day and said he wanted to e over and talk. He arrived at her apartment Somerville, a nse, largely workg-class cy jt north of Boston. They chchatted for a few mut. Then Romney said somethg about the church’s adoptn agency. Hay ially thought she mt have misunrstood. But Romney’s tent beme apparent: he was urgg her to give up her soon-to-be-born son for adoptn, sayg that was what the church wanted. Ined, the church enurag adoptn s where “a succsful marriage is unlikely.”</p><p class="paywall">Hay was eply sulted. She told him she would never surrenr her child. Sure, her life wasn’t exactly the picture of Rockwellian harmony, but she felt she was on a path to stabily. In that moment, she also felt timidated. Here was Romney, who held great power as her church lear and was the head of a wealthy, proment Belmont fay, stg her grty apartment makg grave mands. “And then he says, ‘Well, this is what the church wants you to do, and if you don’t, then you uld be exmunited for failg to follow the learship of the church,’ ” Hay relled. It was a ser threat. At that pot Hay still valued her place wh the Mormon Church. “This is not playg around,” she said. “This is not like ‘You don’t get to take Communn.’ This is like ‘You will not be saved. You will never see the face of God.’ ” Romney would later ny that he had threatened Hay wh exmunitn, but Hay said his msage was crystal clear: “Give up your son or give up your God.”</p><p class="paywall">Not long after, Hay gave birth to a son. She named him Dane. At ne months old, Dane need ser, and risky, surgery. The bon his head were fed together, rtrictg the growth of his bra, and would need to be separated. Hay was sred. She sought emotnal and spirual support om the church once aga. Lookg past their unfortable nversatn before Dane’s birth, she lled Romney and asked him to e to the hospal to nfer a blsg on her baby. Hay was expectg him. Instead, two people she didn’t know showed up. She was cshed. “I need him,” she said. “It was very signifint that he didn’t e.” Stg there the hospal, Hay cid she was fished wh the Mormon Church. The cisn was easy, yet she ma wh a heavy heart. To this day, she remas grateful to Romney and others the church for all they did for her fay. But she shudrs at what they were askg her to do return, pecially when she pulls out pictur of Dane, now a 27-year-old electrician Salt Lake Cy. “There’s my baby,” she said.</p><p class="has-dropp paywall">In the fall of 1990, Exponent II published s journal an unsigned say by a married woman who, havg already borne five children, had found herself some years earlier facg an unplanned sixth pregnancy. She uldn’t bear the thought of another child and was ntemplatg abortn. But the Mormon Church mak few exceptns to perm women to end a pregnancy. Church lears have said that abortn n be jtified s of rape or ct, when the health of the mother is serly threatened, or when the fet will surely not survive beyond birth. And even those circumstanc “do not tomatilly jtify an abortn,” acrdg to church policy.</p><p class="paywall">Then the woman’s doctors disvered she had a ser blood clot her pelvis. She thought ially that would be her way out—of urse she would have to get an abortn. But the doctors, she said, ultimately told her that, wh some risk to her life, she might be able to liver a full-term baby, whose chance of survival they put at 50 percent. One day the hospal, her bishop—later intified as Romney, though she did not name him the piece—paid her a vis. He told her about his nephew who had Down syndrome and what a blsg had turned out to be for their fay. “As your bishop,” she said he told her, “my ncern is wh the child.” The woman wrote, “Here I—a baptized, endowed, dited worker, and the-payer the church—lay helpls, hurt, and ightened, tryg to mata my psychologil equilibrium, and his ncern was for the eight-week possibily my utes—not for me!”</p><div data-attr-viewport-monor="le-recirc" class="le-recirc-wrapper le-recirc-observer-target-2 viewport-monor-anchor"></div><p class="paywall">Romney would later ntend that he uldn’t rell the cint, sayg, “I don’t have any memory of what she is referrg to, although I certaly n’t say uld not have been me.” Romney acknowledged havg unseled Mormon women not to have abortns except exceptnal s, acrdance wh church l. The woman told Romney, she wrote, that her stake print, a doctor, had already told her, “Of urse, you should have this abortn and then rever om the blood clot and take re of the healthy children you already have.” Romney, she said, fired back, “I don’t believe you. He wouldn’t say that. I’m gog to ll him.” And then he left. The woman said that she went on to have the abortn and never regretted . “What I do feel bad about,” she wrote, “is that at a time when I would have appreciated nurturg and support om spirual lears and iends, I got judgment, cricism, prejudicial advice, and rejectn.”</p><p class="has-dropp paywall">One woman who had been active the Exponent II anizatn was Judy Dhku, a longtime scholar of global polics at Suffolk Universy Boston. At one pot while Romney was stake print, Dhku wanted to vis the temple outsi Washgton to take out endowments, a sacred re that ms Mormons to a lifetime of fahfulns to the church. She had never entered a temple before and was thrilled at the chance to affirm her ditn to a fah she’d grown up wh and grown to love. Earlier her life, templ had been off lims to Mormons who, like Dhku, were married to non-Mormons. Now that le had changed, and she was eager to go. But first she need permissn om her bishop and stake print.</p><p class="paywall">After what she scribed as a “lovely terview” wh her bishop and after speakg wh one of Romney’s unselors, she went to see Romney. She wasn’t sure what to expect. Dpe Romney’s willgns to allow some chang 1993, he and Dhku had clashed over the church’s treatment of women. “He says somethg like ‘I spect, if you’ve gotten through both of the terviews, there’s nothg I n do to keep you om gog to the temple,’ ” Dhku relled. “I said, ‘Well, why would you want to keep me om gog to the temple?’ ” Romney’s answer, Dhku said, was bg. “He said, ‘Well, Judy, I jt don’t unrstand why you stay the church.’ ” She asked him whether he wanted her to really answer that qutn. “And he said, ‘No, actually. I don’t unrstand , but I also don’t re. I don’t re why you do. But I n tell you one thg: you’re not my kd of Mormon.’ ” Wh that, Dhku said, he dismissively signed her remendatn to vis the temple and let her go. Dhku was eply hurt. Though she and Romney had had their differenc, he was still her spirual lear. She had hoped he would be exced at her yearng to vis the temple. “I’m g to you as a member of the church, sentially expectg you to say, ‘I’m happy for you,’ ” Dhku said. Instead, “I jt felt kicked the stomach.”</p><p class="paywall">The Ba of Mt’s Campaign</p><p class="has-dropp paywall">By the time Mt Romney walked to the Fanil Hall offic of his mentor and boss, Bill Ba, the sprg of 1983, the 36-year-old was already a bs-nsultg star, veted by clients for his analytil ol. He was, as people had said of him sce childhood, mature beyond his years and anized to a flt. Everythg he took on was thought through advance, down to the smallt tail; he was rarely taken by surprise. This day, however, would be an exceptn. Bill Ba, the founr of Ba & Company, one of the natn’s premier nsultg outfs, had a stunng proposn: he was prepared to entst an entirely new venture to the strikg young man seated before him.</p><p class="paywall">From the moment they’d first met, Bill Ba had seen somethg special, somethg he knew, Mt Romney. Ined, he had seen someone he knew when he terviewed Romney for a job 1977: Mt’s father. “I remember [Gee] as print of Amerin Motors when he was fightg the gas guzzlers and makg funny ads So when I saw Mt, I stantly saw Gee Romney. He don’t look exactly like his dad did, but he very strongly rembl his father.” Beyond appearanc, Mt had an air of great promise about him. He seemed brilliant but not cky. All of the partners were imprsed, and some were jealo. More than one partner told Ba, “This guy is gog to be print of the Uned Stat someday.”</p><p class="paywall">The Ba Way, as beme known, was tensely analytil and data-driven, a qualy shared wh some other firms’ methods. But Bill Ba had e up wh the ia of workg for jt one client per dtry and votg Ba & Company entirely to that pany, wh a strict vow of nfintialy. From the start Romney was perfectly adapted to the Ba Way and beme a voted disciple. Patient analysis and attentn to nuance were what drove him. For six years, he lved to numero unfaiar pani, learned what ma them work, sped out the petn, and then prented his fdgs. An creasg number of clients preferred Romney over more senr partners. He was plaly a star, and Ba treated him as a kd of prce regent at the firm, a favored son. Jt the man for the big move he now had md.</p><p class="paywall">And so Ba ma his pch: Up to that pot, Ba & Company uld watch s clients prosper only om a distance, takg handsome fe but not directly sharg profs. Ba’s epiphany was that he would create a new enterprise that would vt pani and share their growth, rather than jt advise them.</p><p class="has-dropp paywall">Startg almost immediately, Ba proposed, Romney would bee the head of a new pany to be lled Ba Capal. Wh seed money om Bill Ba and other partners at the nsultg firm, Ba Capal would raise tens of lns of dollars, vt start-ups and troubled bs, apply Ba’s brand of management advice, and then rell the revalized pani or sell their shar to the public at a prof. It sound excg, darg, new. It would be Romney’s first chance to n his own firm and, potentially, to make a killg. It was an offer few young men a hurry uld refe.</p><p class="paywall">Yet Romney stunned his boss by dog jt that. He explaed to Ba that he didn’t want to risk his posn, earngs, and reputatn on an experiment. He found the offer appealg but didn’t want to make the cisn a “light or flippant manner.” So Ba sweetened the pot. He guaranteed that if the experiment failed Romney would get his old job and salary back, pl any rais he would have earned durg his absence. Still, Romney worried about the impact on his reputatn if he proved unable to do the job. Aga the pot was sweetened. Ba promised that, if necsary, he would craft a ver story sayg that Romney’s return to Ba & Company was need due to his value as a nsultant. “So,” Ba explaed, “there was no profsnal or fancial risk.” This time Romney said y.</p><p class="paywall">Th began Romney’s 15-year odyssey at Ba Capal. Boastg about those years when nng for senator, ernor, or print, Romney would ually talk about how he had helped create jobs at new or unrperformg pani, and would claim that he had learned how jobs and bs e and go. He’d typilly mentn a few well-known pani which he and his partners had vted, such as Stapl. But the full story of his years at Ba Capal is far more plited and has rarely been closely sctized. Romney was volved about a hundred als, many of which have received ltle notice bee the pani volved were privately held and not hoehold nam. The most thorough analysis of Romney’s performance om a private solicatn for vtment Ba Capal’s funds wrten by the Wall Street firm Dtsche Bank. The pany examed 68 major als that had taken place on Romney’s watch. Of those, Ba had lost money or broken even on 33. Overall, though, the numbers were stunng: Ba was nearly doublg s vtors’ money annually, givg one of the bt track rerds the bs.</p><p class="has-dropp paywall">Romney was, by nature, eply risk-averse a bs based on risk. He worried about losg the money of his partners and his outsi vtors—not to mentn his own savgs. “He was troubled when we didn’t vt fast enough; he was troubled when we ma an vtment,” said Ba partner Coleman Andrews. Sortg through possible vtments, Romney met weekly wh his young partners, phg them for eper analysis and more data and givg himself the fal vote on whether to go forward. They operated more like a group of bankers refully guardg their sh than an aggrsive firm eager to embrace giant als. Some partners spected that Romney always had one eye on his polil future. “I always wonred about Mt, whether he was ncerned about the blemish om a bs perspective or om a personal and polil perspective,” one partner said years later. The partner nclud that was the latter. Whereas most entreprenrs accepted failure as an herent part of the game, the partner said, Romney worried that a sgle flop would brg disgrace. Every lculatn had to be ma wh re.</p><p class="paywall">Dpe some ial stggl, 1986 would prove to be a pivotal year for Romney. It started wh a most unlikely al. A former supermarket executive, Thomas Stemberg, was tryg to sell venture palists on what seemed like a most ia: a cheaper way to sell paper clips, pens, and other office suppli. The enterprise that would bee the superstore Stapl at first met wh skepticism. Small and midsize bs at the time bought most of their suppli om lol statners, often at signifint markups. Few people saw the prof-marg potential sellg such homely goods at disunt and massive volume. But Stemberg was nvced and hired an vtment banker to help raise money. Romney eventually heard Stemberg’s pch, and he and his partners dug to Stemberg’s projectns. They lled lawyers, acuntants, and sr of bs owners the Boston area to query them on how much they spent on suppli and whether they’d be willg to shop at a large new store. The partners ially nclud that Stemberg was overtimatg the market. “Look,” Stemberg told Romney, “your mistake is that the guys you lled thk they know what they spend, but they don’t.” Romney and Ba Capal went back to the bs and tallied up voic. Stemberg’s asssment that this was a hidn giant of a market seemed right after all.</p><div data-attr-viewport-monor="le-recirc" class="le-recirc-wrapper le-recirc-observer-target-3 viewport-monor-anchor"></div><p class="paywall">Romney hadn’t stumbled on Stapl on his own. A partner at another Boston firm, Bsemer Venture Partners, had ved him to the first meetg wh Stemberg. But after that, he took the lead; he fally had his hands on what looked like a promisg start-up. Ba Capal vted $650,000 to help Stapl open s first store, Brighton, Massachetts, May 1986. In all, vted about $2.5 ln the pany. Three years later, 1989, Stapl sold shar to the public, when was jt barely turng a prof, and Ba reaped more than $13 ln. It was a big succs at the time. Yet was very most pared wh later Ba als that reached to the hundreds of lns of dollars.</p><p class="has-dropp paywall">For years Romney would ce the Stapl vtment as proof that he had helped create thoands of jobs. And is te that his foright vtg Stapl helped a major enterprise lift off. But neher Romney nor Ba directly ran the bs, though Romney was active on s board. At the ial public offerg, Stapl was a firm of 24 stor and 1,100 full- and part-time jobs. Its boom years were still to e. Romney rigned his seat on the board of directors 2001 preparatn for his n for ernor. A later, the pany had more than 2,200 stor and 89,000 employe.</p><p class="paywall">Asssg claims about job creatn is hard. Stapl grew hugely, but the gas were offset, at least partially, by loss elsewhere: smaller, mom-and-pop statnery stor and suppliers were beg squeezed, and some went out of bs entirely. Ultimately, Romney would approvgly ll Stapl “a classic ‘tegory killer,’ like Toys R Us.” Stapl steamrolled the petn, unrcuttg pric and sellg large quanti. When asked about his job-creatn claim durg the 1994 Senate mpaign—that he had helped create 10,000 jobs at var pani (a claim he expand durg his 2012 printial mpaign to havg “helped to create tens of thoands” of jobs)—Romney rpond wh a reful hedge. He emphasized that he always ed the word “helped” and didn’t take full cred for the jobs. “That’s why I’m always very reful to e the words ‘help create,’ ” he acknowledged. “Ba Capal, or Mt Romney, ‘helped create’ over 10,000 jobs. I don’t take cred for the jobs at Stapl. I helped create the jobs at Stapl.”</p><p class="paywall">Howard Anrson, a profsor at M.I.T.’s Sloan School of Management and a former entreprenr who has vted wh Ba, put more plaly: “What you really nnot do is claim every job was bee of your good judgment,” he said. “You’re not really nng those anizatns. You’re fancg ; you’re offerg your judgment and your advice. I thk you n only really claim cred for the jobs of the pany that you ran.”</p><p class="has-dropp paywall">The same year Romney vted Stapl—diggg to a te start-up—he also ked the biggt transactn, by far, that Ba Capal had put together until then. And wh this $200 ln al, he wad full-on to the high-stak fancial arena of the time: leveraged buyouts, or LBOs. Whereas a venture-pal al bet on a new bs, pursug an LBO meant borrowg huge sums of money to buy an tablished pany, typilly saddlg the target wh big bts. The goal was to me value that others had missed, to quickly improve profabily by cuttg sts and often jobs, and then to sell.</p><p class="paywall">Inially, Romney thought that puttg money to young firms “would be jt as good as acquirg an existg pany and tryg to make better.” But he found that “there’s a lot greater risk a start-up than there is acquirg an existg pany.” He was much more fortable an environment where the issue wasn’t whether an ia would pan out but whether the numbers worked. He knew himself, knew that his powers ran ls to the creative than to the analytil; he was not at heart an entreprenr. Perhaps that was what led him to ph the Pse button at the outset wh Bill Ba. But he now felt ready to take on much bigger fancial risks, mostly by makg leveraged bets on existg pani, whose market was known and whose bs plans he uld parse and master.</p><p class="paywall">Billns of dollars were beg ma the field of leveraged buyouts the roarg 80s, and Romney was fully the game, ntug to ratchet up his favored strategy. On the mpaign trail 2011, Romney said his work had “led me to bee very eply volved helpg other bs, om start-ups to large pani that were gog through tough tim. Sometim I was succsful and we were able to help create jobs, other tim I wasn’t. I learned how Ameri pet wh other pani other untri, what works the real world and what don’t.” It was a vague summary of what was a very ntroversial type of bs. In his 2004 tobgraphy, <em>Turnaround,</em> Romney put more bluntly: “I never actually ran one of our vtments; that was left to management.” He explaed that his strategy was to “vt the unrperformg pani, g the equivalent of a mortgage to leverage up our vtment. Then we would go to work to help management make their bs more succsful.”</p><p class="has-dropp paywall">Romney’s phrase, “leverage up,” provis the key to unrstandg this most profable stage of his bs reer. While puttg relatively ltle money on the table, Ba uld strike a al g largely bt. That generally meant that the pany beg acquired had to borrow huge sums. But there was no guarantee that target pani would be able to repay their bts. At Ba, the goal was to buy bs that were stagnatg as subsidiari of large rporatns and grow them or shake them up to burnish their performance. Bee many of the pani were troubled, or at least were gog to be heavily bted after Ba bought them, their bonds would be nsired lower-gra, or “junk.” That meant they would have to pay higher tert on the bonds, like a strapped cred-rd holr facg a higher rate than a person who pays off purchas more quickly. High-yieldg junk bonds were appealg to vtors willg to take on risk exchange for big payouts. But they also reprented a big bet: if the pani didn’t generate large profs or uld not sell their stock to the public, some would be crippled by the bt layered on them by the buyout firms.</p><p class="paywall">The arne doma of rporate buyouts and junk-bond fancg had entered the public nscns at the time, and not always a posive way. Ivan Boky, a Wall Street arbragr who often bought the stock of takeover targets, was charged wh sir tradg and featured on the ver of <em>Time</em>magaze as “Ivan the Terrible.” Shortly after Romney began workg on leveraged als, a movie lled <em>Wall Street</em> opened. It featured the fictnal rporate rair Gordon Gekko, who jtified his behavr by clarg, “I am not a stroyer of pani. I am a liberator of them! … Greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right. Greed works. Greed clarifi, cuts through, and ptur the sence of the evolutnary spir.”</p><p class="paywall">Romney, of urse, never said that greed is good, and there was nothg of Gekko his mor or style. But he bought to the broar ethic of the LBO kgs, who believed that through the aggrsive e of leverage and skilled management they uld quickly remake unrperformg enterpris. Romney scribed himself as driven by a re enomic credo, that palism is a form of “creative stctn.” This theory, poed the 1940s by the enomist Joseph Schumpeter and later touted by former Feral Rerve Board chairman Alan Greenspan, holds that bs mt exist a state of ceasels revolutn. A thrivg enomy chang om wh, Schumpeter wrote his landmark book, <em>Capalism, Socialism and Democracy,</em> “csantly stroyg the old one, csantly creatg a new one.” But as even the theory’s proponents acknowledged, such stctn uld bankpt pani, upendg liv and muni, and raise qutns about society’s role softeng some of the harsher nsequenc.</p><p class="has-dropp paywall">Romney, for his part, ntrasted the palistic benefs of creative stctn wh what happened ntrolled enomi, which jobs might be protected but productivy and petivens falters. Far better, Romney wrote his book <em>No Apology,</em> “for ernments to stand asi and allow the creative stctn herent a ee enomy.” He acknowledged that is “unqutnably strsful—on workers, managers, owners, bankers, suppliers, ctomers, and the muni that surround the affected bs.” But was necsary to rebuild a moribund pany and enomy. It was a pot of view he would stick wh years ahead. Ined, he wrote a 2008 op-ed piece for <em>The New York Tim</em> opposg a feral bailout for tomakers that the newspaper headled, let tro go bankpt. His advice went unheed, and his predictn that “you n kiss the Amerin tomotive dtry goodbye” if got a bailout has not e te.</p><p class="paywall">Thanks to a highly leveraged but succsful takeover and turnaround of a wheel-rim maker, Accuri, Ba Capal beme a hot property. So much money poured to Romney’s send vtment fund that the firm had to turn away vtors. Romney set out to raise $80 ln and received offers totalg $150 ln. The partners settled on $105 ln, half of om wealthy ctomers of a New York bank. Durg a break at a photo shoot for a brochure to attract vtors, the Ba partners playfully posed for a photo that showed them flh wh sh. They clutched $10 and $20 bills, stuffed them to their pockets, and even clenched them their grng teeth. Romney tucked a bill between his striped tie and his buttoned su jacket. Everythg was different now.</p><div data-attr-viewport-monor="le-recirc" class="le-recirc-wrapper le-recirc-observer-target-4 viewport-monor-anchor"></div><p class="paywall">Valley of the LBO Kgs</p><p class="has-dropp paywall">It was time for another road show, but the days of solicg prospects for srce sh obscure lol were mostly over. This time Romney and his partners head to Beverly Hills, California. Arrivg at the tersectn of Roo Drive and Wilshire Boulevard, they head to the office of Michael Milken, the nny and ntroversial junk-bond kg, at his pany, Drexel Burnham Lambert. Romney knew Milken was able to fd buyers for the high-yield, high-risk bonds that were ccial to the succs of many leveraged-buyout als. At the time of Romney’s vis, was wily known that Drexel and Milken were unr vtigatn by the Securi and Exchange Commissn. But Drexel was still the big player the junk-bond bs, and Romney need the fancg.</p><p class="paywall">Romney had e to Drexel to obta fancg for the $300 ln purchase of two Texas partment-store chas, Bealls and Palais Royal, to form Specialty Retailers, Inc. On September 7, 1988, two months after Ba hired Drexel to issue junk bonds to fance the al, the S.E.C. filed a plat agast Drexel and Milken for sir tradg. Romney had to ci whether to close a al wh a pany ensnared a growg clash wh regulators. The old Romney might well have backed off; the newly assertive, embolned Mt cid to prs ahead.</p><p class="paywall">Romney’s al wh Drexel turned out well for both him and Ba Capal, which put $10 ln to the retailer and fanced most of the rt of the $300 ln al wh junk bonds. The newly nstuted pany, later known as Stage Stor, refoced 1989 on s small-town, small-partment-store roots. Seven years later, October 1996, the pany succsfully sold shar to the public at $16 a share. By the followg year, the stock had climbed to a high of nearly $53, and Ba Capal and a number of s officers and directors sold a large part of their holdgs. Ba ma a $175 ln ga by 1997. It was one of the most profable leveraged buyouts of the era.</p><p class="paywall">Romney sold at jt the right time. Shar plunged value the next year amid clg sal at the stor. The partment-store pany filed for Chapter 11 bankptcy protectn 2000, stgglg wh $600 ln bt, and a reanized pany emerged the followg year. So end the story of a al that Romney would not be likely to ce on the mpaign trail: the highly leveraged purchase, fanced wh junk bonds om a firm that beme famo for s fancial practic, of a partment-store pany that had subsequently gone to bankptcy. But on the Ba balance sheet, and on Romney’s, was a huge w.</p><p class="has-dropp paywall">Not every al worked out so well for Romney and his vtors. Ba vted $4 ln a pany lled Handbag Holdgs, which sold pocketbooks and other accsori. When a major ctomer stopped buyg, the pany failed and 200 jobs were lost. Ba vted $2.1 ln a bathroom-fixtur pany lled PPM and lost nearly all of . An vtment a pany lled Motherre Stor also didn’t pan out; the firm had elimated a hundred jobs by the time Ba dumped . Fellow Ba partner Robert Whe said Ba lost s $1 ln and blamed “a difficult retail environment.”</p><p class="paywall">In some s, Ba Capal’s alternative strategy of buyg to pani also end trouble. In 1993, Ba bought GST Steel, a maker of steel-wire rods, and later more than doubled s $24 ln vtment. The pany borrowed heavily to mornize plants Kansas Cy and North Carola—and to pay out divinds to Ba. But foreign petn creased and steel pric fell. GST Steel filed for bankptcy and shut down s money-losg Kansas Cy plant, throwg some 750 employe out of work. Unn workers there blamed Ba, then and now, for g the pany, upendg their liv, and vastatg the muny.</p><p class="paywall">Then, 1994, Ba vted $27 ln as part of a al wh other firms to acquire Da Internatnal, a medil-diagnostics-equipment firm, om s parent pany, Baxter Internatnal. Ba ultimately ma nearly 10 tim s money, gettg back $230 ln. But Da wound up layg off more than 1,600 people and filed for bankptcy protectn 2002, amid cshg bt and risg tert rat. The pany, wh Ba charge, had borrowed heavily to do acquisns, accumulatg $1.6 billn bt by 2000. The pany cut benefs for some workers at the acquired firms and laid off others. When merged wh Behrg Diagnostics, a German pany, Da shut down three U.S. plants. At the same time, Da paid out $421 ln to Ba Capal’s vtors and vtg partners.</p><p class="has-dropp paywall">The amount of money now beg earned at Ba Capal was skyrocketg, and much of me om a handful of giant als. Durg Romney’s 15 years there, the firm vted about $260 ln s 10 top als and reaped a nearly $3 billn return. That was about three-quarters of s overall prof on roughly 100 transactns durg Romney’s tenure. In one of his most specific explanatns of how he ma his fortune, his tobgraphy, <em>Turnaround,</em> Romney wrote that most of the pani he vted were on that “no one has heard of—TRW’s cred servic, the Yellow Pag of Italy.” Those weren’t jt any two als. They were two of the most lucrative of Romney’s reer, and luck played a big part both. A mere seven weeks after buyg TRW, Romney and his partners flipped the pany. Ba’s $100 ln vtment returned at least $300 ln. The send al ced by Romney took longer but volved even more good timg and luck. It began wh a renowned Italian vtor named Phil Cuneo, who had the ia of buyg the Italian versn of the Yellow Pag. It seemed a solid vtment a firm wh a staid and stable bs mol. But mere months after closg the al, Cuneo and his Ba associat realized that they had acquired a pany that might benef om the surgg tert dot- bs; the Yellow Pag pany owned a Web-based directory that had the potential to be the Italian versn of Ameri Onle or Yahoo. In jt unr three years, September 2000, the partners sold the vtment, earng a wdfall that far exceed anyone’s ial expectatns. Ba’s $51.3 ln vtment the Italian Yellow Pag returned at least $1.17 billn, acrdg to a Romney associate faiar wh the al. There is no public documentatn of how the profs were distributed, but at that time at least 20 percent of the return would have gone to Ba Capal. Of that, Romney’s typil payout was then 5 to 10 percent. That means this one obscure al would have given him a prof of $11 ln to $22 ln. If Romney ma a si vtment the al, as was standard among Ba partners, he would have ma even larger gas. One Romney associate said Romney’s total prof uld have been as much as $40 ln. (A Romney spokman did not rpond to qutns about the al.)</p><p class="paywall">It was those kds of als that enabled Ba Capal to report the hight returns the bs the 1990s. Romney’s own worth would grow to at least $250 ln, and maybe much more, a trove that would enable him to foot a large part of the bill for his 2008 printial mpaign. Asked about a report that his wealth at one pot reached as high as $1 billn, Romney said, “I’m not gog to get to my worth. No timat whatsoever.”</p><p class="has-dropp paywall">For 15 years, Romney had been the bs of creative stctn and wealth creatn. But what about his claims of job creatn? Though Ba Capal surely helped expand some pani that had created jobs, the layoffs and closur at other firms would lead Romney’s polil opponents to say that he had amassed a fortune part by puttg people out of work. The lucrative als that ma Romney wealthy uld exact a st. Maximizg fancial return to vtors uld mean slashg jobs, closg plants, and movg productn overseas. It uld also mean clashg wh unn workers, servg on the board of a pany that ran afoul of feral laws, and loadg up already stgglg pani wh bt.</p><p class="paywall">There is a difference between pani n by buyout firms and those rooted their muni, acrdg to Ross Gtell, a profsor at the Universy of New Hampshire’s Whtemore School of Bs and Enomics. When to buyout firms, he said, “the objective is: Make money for vtors. It’s not to maximize jobs.” Romney, fact, had a fiduciary duty to vtors to make as much money as possible. Sometim everythg worked out perfectly; a change strategy might lead to st savgs and higher profs, and Ba shed . Sometim jobs were lost, and Ba shed or lost part or all of s vtment. In the end, Romney’s wners outweighed his losers on the Ba balance sheet. Marc Wolpow, a former Ba partner who worked wh Romney on many als, said the discsn at buyout pani typilly do not foc on whether jobs will be created. “It’s the oppose—what jobs we n cut,” Wolpow said. “Bee you had to document how you were gog to create value. Elimatg rndancy, or the elimatn of people, is a very valid way. Bs will die if you don’t do that. I thk the way Mt should expla is, if we didn’t buy the bs and impose efficienci on them, the market would have done wh disastro nsequenc.”</p></div></div></div><div class="GridItem-buujkM fVLMby grid--em grid-layout__asi"><div class="StickyBoxWrapper-jfYB kNleGZ sticky-box"><div class="StickyBoxPrimary-dzWDWL cdhYoN sticky-box__primary"><div class="Contaer-bkChBi byNLHx"></div><div class="AdWrapper-dQtivb fZrssQ ad ad--rail"><div class="ad__slot ad__slot--rail" data-no-id="gngp4"></div></div><div class="ConsumerMarketgUnThemedWrapper-iUTMTf jssHut nsumer-marketg-un nsumer-marketg-un--display-rail" role="prentatn" aria-hidn="te"><div class="nsumer-marketg-un__slot nsumer-marketg-un__slot--display-rail"></div><div class="journey-un"></div></div><div data-attr-viewport-monor="" class="RecircMostPopularWrapper-bRuGTi jkTTgR recirc-most-popular-wrapper viewport-monor-anchor"><div class="RecircMostPopularConter-jiViNn ktrplG recirc-most-popular-sparrow-trackg hi-asi-ad" 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summary-em__byle"><div class="summary-em__byle__ntent"><div data-ttid="BylWrapper" class="BylWrapper-KIudk irTIfE byl"><p class="ByleWrapper-jWHrLH iNSiTG byle byl__byle" data-ttid="ByleWrapper" emProp="thor" emType="><span emProp="name" class="ByleNamWrapper-jbHncj fuDQVo"><span data-ttid="ByleName" class="ByleName-kwmrLn cYaBaU byle__name"><span class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ BylePreamble-iJolpQ iUEiRd bIbWCO gnILss byle__preamble">By </span>Brt Hennemuth</span></span></p></div></div></div></div></div></div></li><li><div class="SummaryItemWrapper-iwvBff jnQVDN summary-em summary-em--has-borr summary-em--ARTICLE summary-em--no-in summary-em--text-align-left summary-em--layout-placement-si-by-si summary-em--layout-posn-image-left summary-em--layout-proportns-33-66 summary-em--si-by-si-align-center summary-em--si-by-si-image-right-mobile-false summary-em--standard RecircMostPopularSummaryItem-jQxxiw jkeAv" role="button" tabx="0"><div class="SummaryItemAssetContaer-gwhFFH VOyg summary-em__asset-ntaer"><a class="SummaryItemImageLk-dshqxb cPpCwE summary-em__image-lk summary-em-trackg__image-lk" href=" aria-hidn="te" tabx="-1" data-ponent-type="recirc-river" data-recirc-id="em-image-3" data-recirc-pattern="summary-em" target="_self"><span class="SpanWrapper-umhxW kGxnNB rponsive-asset SummaryItemRponsiveAsset-hjGIGg egpoQR summary-em__image"><div data-tt="aspect-rat-ntaer" class="AspectRatContaer-bJHpJz hlQxkn"><div class="aspect-rat--overlay-ntaer"><picture class="RponsiveImagePicture-cWuUZO dUOtEa SummaryItemRponsiveAsset-hjGIGg egpoQR summary-em__image rponsive-image"><noscript><source media="(max-width: 767px)" srcSet="" siz="100vw"/><source media="(m-width: 768px)" srcSet="" siz="100vw"/><img alt="“Dopey and Constutnally Dub”: Legal Experts Blast Judge Aileen Cannon’s Latt Pro-Tmp Rulgs" class="RponsiveImageContaer-eybHBd fptoWY rponsive-image__image" src="></noscript></picture></div></div></span></a></div><div class="SummaryItemContent-eiDYMl XMZX summary-em__ntent summary-em__ntent--no-bric"><a class="SummaryItemHedLk-civM fPFrPI summary-em-trackg__hed-lk summary-em__hed-lk" data-ponent-type="recirc-river" data-recirc-id="em-hed-3" data-recirc-pattern="summary-em" href=" target="_self"><div data-ttid="ClampWrapper" class="ClampWrapper-kZxfkB hTTNGO clamp SummaryItemHedBase-hiFYpQ hRVxvR summary-em__hed"><div class="ClampContent-hilPkr jVhSBH"><div class="SummaryItemHedTag-TWblf gxaOcP" data-ttid="SummaryItemHed">“Dopey and Constutnally Dub”: Legal Experts Blast Judge Aileen Cannon’s Latt Pro-Tmp Rulgs</div></div></div></a><div class="SummaryItemByleWrapper-boCfbi cuRXdL summary-em__byle-date-in"><div class="SummaryItemBaseByle-fFbXkY gRtaxp summary-em__byle"><div class="summary-em__byle__ntent"><div data-ttid="BylWrapper" class="BylWrapper-KIudk irTIfE byl"><p class="ByleWrapper-jWHrLH iNSiTG byle byl__byle" data-ttid="ByleWrapper" emProp="thor" emType="><span emProp="name" class="ByleNamWrapper-jbHncj fuDQVo"><span 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class="ConsumerMarketgUnThemedWrapper-iUTMTf jssHut nsumer-marketg-un nsumer-marketg-un--paywall-le-barrier" role="prentatn" aria-live="pole" aria-hidn="te"><div class="nsumer-marketg-un__slot nsumer-marketg-un__slot--paywall-le-barrier"></div><div class="journey-un"></div></div></asi></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="GridWrapper-cAzTTK kHBDeH grid grid-margs grid-ems-2 ContentWrapperGrid-fvkmBv brYtrA grid-layout--adrail narrow wi-adrail"><div class="GridItem-buujkM stRKV grid--em grid-layout__ntent"><div class="body body__ntaer"><div class="ntaer ntaer--body"><div class="ntaer--body-ner"></div></div></div></div></div></div></article><div class="ContentFooterWrapper-jVNdRG dTJkpP ArticlePageContentFooterGrid-ccsXYy eMZRHU article-body__footer"><div class="ContentFooterContributorSpotlightWrapper-jglHff edmTAt"><sectn data-ttid="ContributorSpotlightContaer" class="ContributorSpotlightContaer-ccVxgz fwlOPD"><div class="ContributorSpotlightInnerContaer-elBox jSvXVx"><div class="ContributorSpotlightSgleColumn-idLiJU goRdaE"><sectn class="ContributorSpotlightSummaryGrid-jZdHDE hJMn"><div class="GridWrapper-cAzTTK hvFIAc grid grid-ems-2 ContributorSpotlightMaSectnGrid-kYVLYK gpZeIC"><div class="GridItem-buujkM eHLzLy grid--em"><div class="ContributorHearWrapper-cMHleS bnIcwz"><div class="ContributorGrid-fKcSKO fnuDrA"><div class="ContributorHearContent-gJdnVA cyzBPN"><div class="ContributorDenseHearWrapper-gwHjlj jdTgya"><div class="ContributorNameAndTleWrapper-jlSeaF ifAFdg"><h1 data-ttid="ContributorHearName" class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ ContributorHearName-fNrWXe iUEiRd cSfQOi clPwUE">Stt Helman</h1></div></div><a href="/ntributor/stt-helman" class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ BaseLk-eNWuiM ContributorHearSeeMoreLk-iRIKOz iUEiRd bJVYxx UDwfc gkcXuI">See More By Stt Helman <!-- -->»</a></div></div></div></div><div class="GridItem-buujkM eHLzLy grid--em"></div><div class="GridItem-buujkM kHPPIF grid--em"></div></div></sectn></div></div></sectn></div><div class="RowWrapper-UmqTg HEhan"><div class="GridWrapper-cAzTTK kHBDeH grid grid-margs grid-ems-2 grid-layout--adrail narrow wi-adrail"><div class="GridItem-buujkM stRKV grid--em grid-layout__ntent"></div></div></div><div data-ttid="ContentFooterBottom" class="ContentFooterBottom-jwWZfC kcbyiW"><div class="ntent-bottom-anchor"></div><div class="ConsumerMarketgUnThemedWrapper-iUTMTf jssHut nsumer-marketg-un nsumer-marketg-un--article-footer" role="prentatn" aria-hidn="te"><div class="nsumer-marketg-un__slot nsumer-marketg-un__slot--article-footer"></div><div class="journey-un"></div></div><div data-attr-viewport-monor="" class="recirc-list-wrapper viewport-monor-anchor"><div class="RowWrapper-UmqTg HEhan ContentFooterRelated-kEBiFe kVUuwq"><div class="GridWrapper-cAzTTK eRggVV grid grid-margs grid-ems-0 SummaryCollectnGridComponent-ktyEog bdTTVU summary-llectn-grid RecircListDefltOverlaySummaryCollectnGrid-AHJhY bEaXiL recirc-list__ems summary-llectn-grid--four-lumns summary-llectn-grid--TextBelowLeft"><div class="GridItem-buujkM kHPPIF grid--em"><div class="SummaryCollectnGridContent-eVUpRm gOErDJ"><div class="SectnTleRoot-dBGvdq gZGsZC SummaryCollectnGridSectnTle-fCmYwG izjbVn" data-ttid="SectnTle"><hear class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ SectnTleHed-dKqZet dxqEAa ktpdQe jttyjJ">Read More</hear></div><div class="SummaryCollectnGridItems-DZShR ctWPkx hi-read-more-ad" data-ttid="SummaryCollectnGridItems"><div class="SummaryItemWrapper-iwvBff jCBznZ summary-em summary-em--has-le summary-em--ARTICLE summary-em--no-in summary-em--text-align-left summary-em--layout-placement-text-below summary-em--layout-posn-image-left summary-em--layout-proportns-50-50 summary-em--si-by-si-align-center summary-em--si-by-si-image-right-mobile-false summary-em--standard SummaryCollectnGridSummaryItem-WColm ktxezM" role="button" tabx="0"><div class="SummaryItemAssetContaer-gwhFFH VOyg summary-em__asset-ntaer"><a class="SummaryItemImageLk-dshqxb cPpCwE summary-em__image-lk summary-em-trackg__image-lk" href=" aria-hidn="te" tabx="-1" data-ponent-type="recirc-river" data-recirc-id="em-image-1" data-recirc-pattern="summary-em" target="_self"><span class="SpanWrapper-umhxW kGxnNB rponsive-asset SummaryItemRponsiveAsset-hjGIGg bDvSkO summary-em__image"><div data-tt="aspect-rat-ntaer" class="AspectRatContaer-bJHpJz hlQxkn"><div class="aspect-rat--overlay-ntaer"><picture class="RponsiveImagePicture-cWuUZO dUOtEa SummaryItemRponsiveAsset-hjGIGg bDvSkO summary-em__image rponsive-image"><noscript><source media="(max-width: 767px)" srcSet="" siz="100vw"/><source media="(m-width: 768px)" srcSet="" siz="100vw"/><img alt="Exclive: Insi the S--tshow That Was the Tmp-Bin Transn" class="RponsiveImageContaer-eybHBd fptoWY rponsive-image__image" src="></noscript></picture></div></div></span></a></div><div class="SummaryItemContent-eiDYMl XMZX summary-em__ntent"><div class="RubricWrapper-dKmCNX hXRWeY bric bric--disvery SummaryItemRubric-dguGKN lapGFj summary-em__bric"><span class="RubricName-fVtemz cLxcNi">Polics</span></div><a class="SummaryItemHedLk-civM cxlTHI summary-em-trackg__hed-lk summary-em__hed-lk" data-ponent-type="recirc-river" data-recirc-id="em-hed-1" data-recirc-pattern="summary-em" href=" target="_self"><div data-ttid="ClampWrapper" class="ClampWrapper-kZxfkB hTTNGO clamp SummaryItemHedBase-hiFYpQ drYWLe summary-em__hed"><div class="ClampContent-hilPkr jVhSBH"><div class="SummaryItemHedTag-TWblf gxaOcP" data-ttid="SummaryItemHed">Exclive: Insi the S--tshow That Was the Tmp-Bin Transn</div></div></div></a><div class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ SummaryItemDek-CRfsi iUEiRd ijSOpT jDyfzW summary-em__k">New revelatns about how one Tmp staffer helped prerve the transfer of power—om the forthg book on the Bin Whe Hoe, <em>The Fight of His Life</em>.</div><div class="SummaryItemByleWrapper-boCfbi cuRXdL summary-em__byle-date-in"><div class="SummaryItemBaseByle-fFbXkY gRtaxp summary-em__byle"><div class="summary-em__byle__ntent"><div data-ttid="BylWrapper" class="BylWrapper-KIudk irTIfE byl"><p class="ByleWrapper-jWHrLH iNSiTG byle byl__byle" data-ttid="ByleWrapper" emProp="thor" emType="><span emProp="name" class="ByleNamWrapper-jbHncj fuDQVo"><span data-ttid="ByleName" class="ByleName-kwmrLn cYaBaU byle__name"><span class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ BylePreamble-iJolpQ iUEiRd bIbWCO gnILss byle__preamble">By </span>Chris Whipple</span></span></p></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="SummaryItemWrapper-iwvBff jCBznZ summary-em summary-em--has-le summary-em--ARTICLE summary-em--no-in summary-em--text-align-left summary-em--layout-placement-text-below summary-em--layout-posn-image-left summary-em--layout-proportns-50-50 summary-em--si-by-si-align-center summary-em--si-by-si-image-right-mobile-false summary-em--standard SummaryCollectnGridSummaryItem-WColm ktxezM" role="button" tabx="0"><div class="SummaryItemAssetContaer-gwhFFH VOyg summary-em__asset-ntaer"><a class="SummaryItemImageLk-dshqxb cPpCwE summary-em__image-lk summary-em-trackg__image-lk" href=" aria-hidn="te" tabx="-1" data-ponent-type="recirc-river" data-recirc-id="em-image-2" data-recirc-pattern="summary-em" target="_self"><span class="SpanWrapper-umhxW kGxnNB rponsive-asset SummaryItemRponsiveAsset-hjGIGg bDvSkO summary-em__image"><div data-tt="aspect-rat-ntaer" class="AspectRatContaer-bJHpJz hlQxkn"><div class="aspect-rat--overlay-ntaer"><picture class="RponsiveImagePicture-cWuUZO dUOtEa SummaryItemRponsiveAsset-hjGIGg bDvSkO summary-em__image rponsive-image"><noscript><source media="(max-width: 767px)" srcSet="" siz="100vw"/><source media="(m-width: 768px)" srcSet="" siz="100vw"/><img alt="Insi Ivanka Tmp and Jared Khner’s Gild Florida Paradise&-Far From Donald Tmp or 2024" class="RponsiveImageContaer-eybHBd fptoWY rponsive-image__image" src="></noscript></picture></div></div></span></a></div><div class="SummaryItemContent-eiDYMl XMZX summary-em__ntent"><div class="RubricWrapper-dKmCNX hXRWeY bric bric--disvery SummaryItemRubric-dguGKN lapGFj summary-em__bric"><span class="RubricName-fVtemz cLxcNi">News</span></div><a class="SummaryItemHedLk-civM cxlTHI summary-em-trackg__hed-lk summary-em__hed-lk" data-ponent-type="recirc-river" data-recirc-id="em-hed-2" data-recirc-pattern="summary-em" href=" target="_self"><div data-ttid="ClampWrapper" class="ClampWrapper-kZxfkB hTTNGO clamp SummaryItemHedBase-hiFYpQ drYWLe summary-em__hed"><div class="ClampContent-hilPkr jVhSBH"><div class="SummaryItemHedTag-TWblf gxaOcP" data-ttid="SummaryItemHed">Insi Ivanka Tmp and Jared Khner’s Gild Florida Paradise—Far From Donald Tmp or 2024</div></div></div></a><div class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ SummaryItemDek-CRfsi iUEiRd ijSOpT jDyfzW summary-em__k">Chaos lgers at the periphery, but the Tmp-Khner marriage is thrivg exile. Pbull is a pal, Carbone is for dner, and <em>Game of Thron</em> is only a TV show.</div><div class="SummaryItemByleWrapper-boCfbi cuRXdL summary-em__byle-date-in"><div class="SummaryItemBaseByle-fFbXkY gRtaxp summary-em__byle"><div class="summary-em__byle__ntent"><div data-ttid="BylWrapper" class="BylWrapper-KIudk irTIfE byl"><p class="ByleWrapper-jWHrLH iNSiTG byle byl__byle" data-ttid="ByleWrapper" emProp="thor" emType="><span emProp="name" class="ByleNamWrapper-jbHncj fuDQVo"><span data-ttid="ByleName" class="ByleName-kwmrLn cYaBaU byle__name"><span class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ BylePreamble-iJolpQ iUEiRd bIbWCO gnILss byle__preamble">By </span>Ey Jane Fox</span></span></p></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="SummaryItemWrapper-iwvBff jCBznZ summary-em summary-em--has-le summary-em--ARTICLE summary-em--no-in summary-em--text-align-left summary-em--layout-placement-text-below summary-em--layout-posn-image-left summary-em--layout-proportns-50-50 summary-em--si-by-si-align-center summary-em--si-by-si-image-right-mobile-false summary-em--standard SummaryCollectnGridSummaryItem-WColm ktxezM" role="button" tabx="0"><div class="SummaryItemAssetContaer-gwhFFH VOyg summary-em__asset-ntaer"><a class="SummaryItemImageLk-dshqxb cPpCwE summary-em__image-lk summary-em-trackg__image-lk" href=" aria-hidn="te" tabx="-1" data-ponent-type="recirc-river" data-recirc-id="em-image-3" data-recirc-pattern="summary-em" target="_self"><span class="SpanWrapper-umhxW kGxnNB rponsive-asset SummaryItemRponsiveAsset-hjGIGg bDvSkO summary-em__image"><div data-tt="aspect-rat-ntaer" class="AspectRatContaer-bJHpJz hlQxkn"><div class="aspect-rat--overlay-ntaer"><picture class="RponsiveImagePicture-cWuUZO dUOtEa SummaryItemRponsiveAsset-hjGIGg bDvSkO summary-em__image rponsive-image"><noscript><source media="(max-width: 767px)" srcSet="" siz="100vw"/><source media="(m-width: 768px)" srcSet="" siz="100vw"/><img alt="Brad Pt and Angela Jolie’s War of the Rosé" class="RponsiveImageContaer-eybHBd fptoWY rponsive-image__image" src="></noscript></picture></div></div></span></a></div><div class="SummaryItemContent-eiDYMl XMZX summary-em__ntent"><div class="RubricWrapper-dKmCNX hXRWeY bric bric--disvery SummaryItemRubric-dguGKN lapGFj summary-em__bric"><span class="RubricName-fVtemz cLxcNi">Hollywood</span></div><a class="SummaryItemHedLk-civM cxlTHI summary-em-trackg__hed-lk summary-em__hed-lk" data-ponent-type="recirc-river" data-recirc-id="em-hed-3" data-recirc-pattern="summary-em" href=" target="_self"><div data-ttid="ClampWrapper" class="ClampWrapper-kZxfkB hTTNGO clamp SummaryItemHedBase-hiFYpQ drYWLe summary-em__hed"><div class="ClampContent-hilPkr jVhSBH"><div class="SummaryItemHedTag-TWblf gxaOcP" data-ttid="SummaryItemHed">Brad Pt and Angela Jolie’s War of the Rosé</div></div></div></a><div class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ SummaryItemDek-CRfsi iUEiRd ijSOpT jDyfzW summary-em__k">Miraval was more than jt their fay home. It was their fay bs: a hugely profable we label on an enchantg tate the South of France. When they spl followg a harrowg flight, an epic battle ensued.</div><div class="SummaryItemByleWrapper-boCfbi cuRXdL summary-em__byle-date-in"><div class="SummaryItemBaseByle-fFbXkY gRtaxp summary-em__byle"><div class="summary-em__byle__ntent"><div data-ttid="BylWrapper" class="BylWrapper-KIudk irTIfE byl"><p class="ByleWrapper-jWHrLH iNSiTG byle byl__byle" data-ttid="ByleWrapper" emProp="thor" emType="><span emProp="name" class="ByleNamWrapper-jbHncj fuDQVo"><span data-ttid="ByleName" class="ByleName-kwmrLn cYaBaU byle__name"><span class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ BylePreamble-iJolpQ iUEiRd bIbWCO gnILss byle__preamble">By </span>Mark Seal</span></span></p></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="AdWrapper-dQtivb fZrssQ SummaryCollectnGridSummaryItem-WColm ktxezM ad ad--read-more"><div class="ad__slot ad__slot--read-more" data-no-id="7rtb"></div></div><div class="SummaryItemWrapper-iwvBff jCBznZ summary-em summary-em--has-le summary-em--ARTICLE summary-em--no-in summary-em--text-align-left summary-em--layout-placement-text-below summary-em--layout-posn-image-left summary-em--layout-proportns-50-50 summary-em--si-by-si-align-center summary-em--si-by-si-image-right-mobile-false summary-em--standard SummaryCollectnGridSummaryItem-WColm ktxezM" role="button" tabx="0"><div class="SummaryItemAssetContaer-gwhFFH VOyg summary-em__asset-ntaer"><a class="SummaryItemImageLk-dshqxb cPpCwE summary-em__image-lk summary-em-trackg__image-lk" href=" aria-hidn="te" tabx="-1" data-ponent-type="recirc-river" data-recirc-id="em-image-4" data-recirc-pattern="summary-em" target="_self"><span class="SpanWrapper-umhxW kGxnNB rponsive-asset SummaryItemRponsiveAsset-hjGIGg bDvSkO summary-em__image"><div data-tt="aspect-rat-ntaer" class="AspectRatContaer-bJHpJz hlQxkn"><div class="aspect-rat--overlay-ntaer"><picture class="RponsiveImagePicture-cWuUZO dUOtEa SummaryItemRponsiveAsset-hjGIGg bDvSkO summary-em__image rponsive-image"><noscript><source media="(max-width: 767px)" srcSet="" siz="100vw"/><source media="(m-width: 768px)" srcSet="" siz="100vw"/><img alt="“Realy Is Submerged Fantasy”: The Villag Is a Boomer’s Utopia&-And Demographic Time Bomb" class="RponsiveImageContaer-eybHBd fptoWY rponsive-image__image" src="></noscript></picture></div></div></span></a></div><div class="SummaryItemContent-eiDYMl XMZX summary-em__ntent"><div class="RubricWrapper-dKmCNX hXRWeY bric bric--disvery SummaryItemRubric-dguGKN lapGFj summary-em__bric"><span class="RubricName-fVtemz cLxcNi">News</span></div><a class="SummaryItemHedLk-civM cxlTHI summary-em-trackg__hed-lk summary-em__hed-lk" data-ponent-type="recirc-river" data-recirc-id="em-hed-4" data-recirc-pattern="summary-em" href=" target="_self"><div data-ttid="ClampWrapper" class="ClampWrapper-kZxfkB hTTNGO clamp SummaryItemHedBase-hiFYpQ drYWLe summary-em__hed"><div class="ClampContent-hilPkr jVhSBH"><div class="SummaryItemHedTag-TWblf gxaOcP" data-ttid="SummaryItemHed">“Realy Is Submerged Fantasy”: The Villag Is a Boomer’s Utopia—And Demographic Time Bomb</div></div></div></a><div class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ SummaryItemDek-CRfsi iUEiRd ijSOpT jDyfzW summary-em__k">Florida’s Tmp-lovg retirement muny was meticuloly created “to make boomers particular feel fortable and happy,” as Philip Bump wr his forthg book, <em>Aftermath.</em> But behd s idyllic faça lurks a crisis that the Villag—and the rt of the untry—has yet to reckon wh.</div><div class="SummaryItemByleWrapper-boCfbi cuRXdL summary-em__byle-date-in"><div class="SummaryItemBaseByle-fFbXkY gRtaxp summary-em__byle"><div class="summary-em__byle__ntent"><div data-ttid="BylWrapper" class="BylWrapper-KIudk irTIfE byl"><p class="ByleWrapper-jWHrLH iNSiTG byle byl__byle" data-ttid="ByleWrapper" emProp="thor" emType="><span emProp="name" class="ByleNamWrapper-jbHncj fuDQVo"><span data-ttid="ByleName" class="ByleName-kwmrLn cYaBaU byle__name"><span class="BaseWrap-sc-gjQpdd BaseText-ewhhUZ BylePreamble-iJolpQ iUEiRd bIbWCO gnILss byle__preamble">By </span>Philip Bump</span></span></p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="SummaryCollectnGridToActnWrapper-gnReGN eGayfk"></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="RowWrapper-UmqTg HEhan"><div class="TaboolaWrapper-hMVdpE iYfBhy"><div class="TaboolaWidgetWrapper-egPIjc hkSrgt TaboolaWidget-eUSdED hQCCRa" data-ttid="TaboolaWidgetWrapper"><div class="TaboolaWidgetContent-iBEQTO eXroXG TABOOLA" id="taboola-below-article-thumbnails" data-ttid="TaboolaWidgetContent"></div></div></div></div><div class="RowWrapper-UmqTg HEhan"><div class="AdWrapper-dQtivb fZrssQ ad ad--footer should-hold-space"><div class="ad__slot ad__slot--footer" data-no-id="e35zn"></div></div></div></div></div></ma><div class="BasePageMaFooterFiller-hTlZph jSriYf page__ma-footer-filler"></div><div class="RowWrapper-UmqTg HEhan"><div class="ConsumerMarketgUnThemedWrapper-iUTMTf jssHut nsumer-marketg-un nsumer-marketg-un--cm-footer" role="prentatn" aria-hidn="te"><div 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