Bloomberg
ICE’s Jeffrey Sprecher becomes a billionaire on the eve of his wife’s runoff in Georgia
(Bloomberg) – For a guy who turned a few dollars into a company that oversees everything from the New York Stock Exchange to Libor, Jeffrey Sprecher was notably unknown outside of Wall Street. And it may have stayed that way, except that his wife, Kelly Loeffler was nominated from Georgia for a seat in the United States Senate to fill a seat at the end of last year. In a few months, the couple faced public contempt for a series of stock talks made before the coronavirus outbreak shook global markets. His wealth has now become a focal point in the second round of the January 5 election between Loeffler and Raphael Warnock, a Democrat – one of two Senate contests that day that will determine control of the chamber. The 22% demonstration of his company this year helped make Sprecher, 65, a billionaire, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, cemented Loeffler’s position as the richest member of Congress. It is another reminder of how well Wall Street did during the pandemic, as the economy generally struggles, and the latest twist in Sprecher’s unlikely journey to the pinnacle of American finance. Intercontinental Exchange Inc., or ICE, as it is called, is now a $ 63 billion giant that supports much of the global financial system. It was built on the basis of negotiations, good times and a keen sense of where the world was headed. “I would never have thought that ICE would own the NYSE, be a leading provider of fixed income data and seek to automate the mortgage process at the same time,” said Rich Repetto, an analyst at Piper Sandler & Co. who covers the company since its initial public offering in 2005. Precer, through an ICE representative, did not want to be interviewed or comment on his net worth, which largely consists of his share of around 1% in the business. He did not speak publicly about his wife’s candidacy, but he has made donations to several Republican lawmakers and political action committees in recent years, including at least $ 5.5 million for a super PAC that supports him. Loeffler, 50, was an ICE executive for more than a decade and is now in a fragile race with Warnock amid an early attendance record. Your campaign did not comment. Precher, who worked as a salesman at college, entered the energy industry in 1983. Looking for a way to protect fuel prices, he formed ICE in the 1990s by buying a bankrupt Atlanta company called Continental Power Exchange, which he modeled on an EBay for energy companies looking to buy or sell surplus electricity. He paid $ 1 or $ 1,000 for the deal – he said two years ago that he can’t remember the exact amount – and kept it afloat with his savings. The moment was fortuitous. ICE was launched just before its biggest rival, Enron Corp., broke out. Precher did a dizzying number of deals. He bought rival exchanges and also expanded the ICE to areas such as commodity futures, fixed income and clearinghouses, which are in the middle of each trade. The purchase of NYSE Euronext, which included the vaunted New York Stock Exchange, gave ICE control over London-based Liffe, which offered interest rate derivatives trading. In 2014, ICE assumed responsibility for the London interbank rate, or Libor, which is embedded in a series of financial contracts, ranging from credit card fees to derivative prices. And this year it bought Ellie Mae Inc., which processes more than 40% of all new residential mortgages in the United States, a booming business now with record lending costs. At the heart of the company is data, which it collects from customers, classifies and analyzes, and then sells back to those same customers. It supports benchmarks for everything from crude oil products to interest rates. “If I were starting this company today, I would probably call it the Intercontinental Massively Scalable Network and Database Company, because that is what we are,” Sprecher said in a February conference call with analysts. Bloomberg LP, parent of Bloomberg News, competes with ICE to provide financial analysis, data and fixed income information. Loeffler joined ICE in 2002 to lead investor relations and subsequently also took on communications and marketing – responsibilities generally split between three jobs. She and Sprecher were married in 2004. They call themselves workaholics and have no children. Loeffler was active in Republican circles for many years, but he never ran for public office. But when Johnny Isakson, the state’s senior senator, left office in 2019 for health reasons, she sought and won the temporary appointment of Georgia’s governor, Brian Kemp, her gender and financial well-being likely playing roles in her decision. in a 99-page financial disclosure form that lists everything from rented properties to a private plane, came under scrutiny after she revealed a series of stock negotiations that began the day she and other senators received a confidential briefing on the coronavirus outbreak. they said the couple’s independent financial advisers made the deals without their knowledge and that the investment portfolio will be liquidated. The Justice Department withdrew from an investigation into her transactions and that of some other lawmakers, and the Senate ethics panel itself cleared it of any wrongdoing. She serves on four Senate committees, including the Agriculture Committee, which oversees the Commission on Trade in Future Goods. The agency regulates the derivatives market, including many aspects of ICE’s business growth. Precher had no idea that he just built the company. In February, he gave up on an opening for EBay Inc., which puzzled analysts. The acquisition of Ellie Mae was announced just six months later. “I really don’t know how to run a company that isn’t growing,” he said in a podcast in May. “Part of running a growing company is like the duck with its legs moving very quickly underneath. I really wouldn’t know how to stay afloat. ”For more articles like this, visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay on top of the most trusted business news source.