Obama's First State Dinner: High Rolling Top Donors, Bundlers Among Elites Invited

Nov. 25, 2009 — -- Venture capitalists, Hollywood high rollers and Chicago billionaires were among a host of top Barack Obama donors invited to the administration's first White House state dinner last night, continuing a Washington, D.C. tradition of rewarding loyal and well-heeled supporters with access to influential movers and shakers, campaign finance watchdog groups said.

"This is very reflective of what has been in the past," Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics, told ABCNews.com. "These are typically very lavish occasions and a top ticket in Washington, so what better way to reward your top donors and bundlers than with a sumptuous affair."

At least 30 top Democratic donors and bundlers received the highly-coveted invitations to dine and mingle with members of Congress, administration officials, celebrities and prominent Indian-Americans under a massive tent erected on the White House lawn especially for the dinner honoring Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Campaign finance watchdogs said Obama's invitee list to his first state dinner follows a precedent set by previous Democratic and Republican administrations.

Inviting such high rollers is "nothing new," said Krumholz, who described it as a "time-honored tradition in Washington."

The list of donors represented three of Obama's key sources of cash – Chicago billionaires, Hollywood moguls and wealth financiers – as well as an emerging source of Democratic support, Indian-Americans.