Millionaire conservative businessman Rick Scott doesn’t list any endorsements on his campaign website. He’s never held office before. He has no base. So it’s unclear who is paying for the TV ads his campaign has been running — “I bet you’re wondering, where have I seen that handsome bald guy before?” — at an estimated cost of $4-$5 million. (Because he filed to run after the first week in April, he doesn’t have to list his contributors until July.)
A chain of walk-in clinics he founded called Solantic recently sold 50 percent of its stake in its North Florida market to Baptist Health. Both entities are private, but people in the health care field suspect Scott is using his profit from that sale to fund his run for governor. Scott has plenty of money on his own. He was paid $10 million-plus stock options worth $300 million in 1997 to leave a hospital chain he ran — after it was indicted for Medicare fraud.
[Pic via rickscottforflorida.com]
