NZ National Party Secretly Controlled By... Julian Robertson?

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We knew Julian Robertson owned a couple of golf courses in New Zealand but there seems to be some concern among the Kiwis that he may also own a political party:

National has been forced on the defensive after leader Don Brash gave a confusing rebuttal of claimed links to American strategists. He was scrambling last night to explain a confidential e-mail he sent to his inner circle that proposed employing two Republican activists to work on last year's campaign. The e-mail – which detailed a lunch hosted by American billionaire Julian Robertson in New York in June 2004 – was made public by NZ First leader Winston Peters, who is promising to make public more damaging extracts today. Economic Development Minister Trevor Mallard said the e-mail supported his election claim that Mr Robertson was funding National.

We fail to see the problem here. If George Soros can fund Eastern European resistance movements, why can't Julian Robertson buy a small conservative party in New Zealand? Republican fundraising in New York gets old after a while and everyone needs hobbies.
eMail Link to US Has Brash on Back Foot [The Dominion Post]

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Julian Robertson Made Mitt Romney An Offer He Could Refuse

And did! (Next time think about throwing in a tutorial on not letting The Man make you his bitch and some tales from the crypt to sweeten the deal.) Not long after Mitt Romney dropped out of the presidential race in early 2008, a titan of New York finance, Julian H. Robertson, flew to Utah to deliver an eye-popping offer. He asked Mr. Romney to become chief executive of his hedge fund, Tiger Management, for an annual salary of about $30 million, plus investment profits, according to two people told of the discussions. For Mr. Romney, who had spent the previous decade in public life forgoing any paychecks, the position promised to catapult him back to the pinnacle of American business and into the ranks of the stratospherically rich. Several friends and relatives urged him to accept. “Let’s put it this way,” said Mr. Robertson. “He could have made a lot of money.” But Mr. Romney was uninterested. Defeat, Introspection, Reinvention, Nomination [NYT]